My Views as published in http://www.digitalvidya.com/blog/top-digital-marketing-trends-for-2017-what-experts-expect/
As foreseen for Digital Marketing Trends 2016, here are few Digital Marketing Trends 2017 that I expect to see:
1. New Technologies to Track & Measure Conversion in the Era of Dark Social
In 2017, nearly 1.81 billion people will engage in conversations with their peers on channels like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Skype, Snapchat and other similar tools. Almost 70% of all online sharing today, happens through private messaging apps and channels. This phenomenon is known as Dark Social, and its importance can’t be denied.
With more than half of the global internet users “ghosting” away from the main channels, it’s now time for marketers to rethink their strategies. Some brands have already taken advantage of this emerging trend, by launching ‘Chat Bots’ on Facebook Messenger and another proof point in this direction is the introduction of Messenger ads by Facebook itself.
As a result of the rise of Dark Social, the industry needs to invest in evolving technologies to track and measure conversions from these channels.
2. Acknowledgement of Chief Marketing Technologist Role
Marketing has gone digital, big time.
From Web Analytics to Demand Generation and Social Media, a Typical Marketer today spends about 75% of their job role working around and managing these digital technologies. According to Gartner’s research, by 2017, a company’s chief marketing officer would be spending more on technology than what its chief information officer was.
It’s time; companies need to start acknowledging a new type of executive, the Chief Marketing Technologist, who is emerging at the centre of the transformation today.
3. More Formal Strategies to Boost Customer Loyalty and Social Influencer Marketing
About 35% of Amazon’s sale can be attributed to recommendations, and similarly, a lot of B2B sales start off with a referral from Customers. Hence, it is important for brands to have a more thorough and detailed approach on how to create a strong referral base of happy customers.
In order to drive higher revenue and recurring business, it is imperative for brands to invest more budget into relationship-based marketing. A happy customer is the greatest advertisement a brand can ever have.
