The end of the marketing year is near, so let’s take a look at some digital marketing predictions for 2017.
1. Display advertising will evolve.
2016 wasn’t a great year for display advertising. To be effective, it has to be done well. And with the rise of pop-up blockers, marketers may move more toward video or native advertising. Experts are hoping that display advertisers will step it up a notch for 2017.
2. Augmented reality is on the rise.
Since Pokemon Go took off in 2016, augmented reality was all the rage. Though, the hype quickly burned out. Digital marketing predictions are leaning toward gaming companies developing more games to reignite the fire again.
3. Content marketing will be more competitive.
While all marketers are creating content, no matter their fields, this of course creates greater competition. Consumers can pick out bad marketing from the bunch, which means marketers will have to step up their game to stick out. The key to standing out is having visually appealing content. If you adapt live video streaming now, you’ll be one step ahead.
4. Mobile will continue to be king.
With Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project, marketers will want to make sure their sites are fit for mobile devices. Mobile SEO is more important now than ever for consumers.
5. Internet of things will go to a whole new level.
Internet of things (IoT), or the connectivity between devices to send and receive data (e.g. smart devices) will be on the rise for 2017. We saw it with wearable technology, including the Fitbit and Apple Watch, but there are other devices in development. For instance, the voice-activated entertainment system Amazon Echo is expected to change the direction of IoT. Experts say these devices will become more mainstream.
6. Voice search will continue to grow.
With the search engine being so readily accessible using voice commands, voice search became on the rise in 2016 and will continue to be popular next year.
7. The relationship between social media and the news will continue to be investigated.
Recent news stories and polical pressure has encouraged social media networks to reexamine the news that’s published in users’ feeds. However, the pressure to allow balanced news may affect user engagement. This of course will directly affect media channels. Experts say that the solution for this balance is still being investigated.
