Monday, November 10, 2014

5 Digital Marketing Trends for 2015


1.     Google+ is no longer really a thing; however, many argue that it never was. Google+ was introduced in 2011 to try to compete with already wildly popular and successful Facebook. Google claimed that Google+ was not social media but a social layer to Google but I don’t think a big distinction between the two. Google did not officially pull the plug on Google+; however, they no longer require or force users to create an account to access other Google products like Hangout and YouTube.

2.     Mobile Payments are now very much a thing and I am hooked. I love going to Duane Reade (or McDonalds :/ ) just so I can use it even though it doesn’t really save me much time. Google Wallet has been around for years but the recent addition of Apple Pay is really what has been driving the recent increase. Apple’s influence and fanbase is credited with popularizing the sometimes controversial mobile payments industry given the security concerns.

3.     We’ve been hearing about smartwatches for years but the jury is still out and there are many skeptics out there who don’t actually believe that the new product category is going to take off. Everything Apple does is cool so we will see what happens when their smartwatch actually hits the stores. I suspect it will be fairly successful. People are bored and looking for a new tech gadget to play with and show off to friends. Apple’s smartwatch comes out in January, just missing the holiday sales – not a great move on their part.

4.     Social media advertising is on the rise although most internet users are still very weary of ads they see on Facebook etc. Companies like Twitter and LinkedIn are looking for ways to increase the advertising dollars on their sites and have done so by developing more sophisticated tools allowing for more targeted ads. Advertising will also be coming to Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat as these companies look for ways to generate cash.

5.     Media analytics is becoming more accessible to the general public and is no longer reserved for advertisers. Facebook and Google have fairly advanced capabilities and we are seeing LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest entering this space, although these capabilities are more limited. Instagram will only have these analytics available through 3rd party applications.


http://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/5-digital-marketing-trends-2015-01063449

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