Introduction As consumers flock to the internet, the marketing industry continues to evolve and expand. As this happens, traditional models of marketing begin to lose efficiency and new types of marketing are beginning to gain steam. Out with the old, in with the new. This old means of marketing I m referring to is something we should all be familiar with: print, TV, radio, banner advertising, cold calls, outbound marketing. While outbound marketing pushes products and services on customers, inbound marketing relies on earning people s interest instead of buying it. Rather than going after the customer, the customer is drawn to you. While outbound marketing does still exist, it s inbound marketing that has taken over the most effective marketing strategies these past several years. Why is this? Inbound marketing strategies are cheaper and more effective. But that doesn t mean it s not constantly changing. The consistent growth of the cyber world has major impacts on consumer decisions which is why it s extremely important to know marketing trends before they even happen. That brings me to the purpose of this ebook. 2015 Inbound Marketing Predictions brings you several important predictions and tips to take into the new year that could impact the success of your business. Read on to find out what major inbound marketing trends 2015 will bring. 2
Key Takeaways Digital marketing has undergone a substantial transformation over the last few years, becoming an increasingly important medium for creating an online brand experience Content creation remains important as ever Lead generation is still important, but lead nurturing is growing You must harness data to drive strategy The popularity of mobile devices will only grow in 2015, driven by smartphones, tablets and wearable technology. Although marketing noise is on the rise, visual storytelling is increasingly effective Inbound continues to surge ahead as one of the most powerful strategies for reaching new audiences 3
What is Inbound Marketing? 4
Content Creation Before we dive into marketing trends and predictions, let s get a clear idea of what inbound marketing it. Inbound marketing refers to a strategy that relies on creating and sharing compelling content with the world. By tailoring content that is specific to buyer personas, businesses are able to attract qualified leads and building long-term relationships with them. The goal is to develop an inbound marketing strategy that delivers te right content at the rigth time, to the right people. Content Time People Is content marketing a major objective for your organization? Companies with blogs get 97% more inbound links 55% of blogs on company sites result in 55% more visitors 70% of customers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than advertising 5
Personalization Your business can provide a more personalized experience by catering to the interests of your different buyer personas. Using email list segmentation will play a huge role in delivering your content to the right people. Doing so will help build long-term relationships with customers who will continue referring your business. In-house marketers who are personalizing their web experiences and who are able to quantify the improvement see, on average, a 19% uplift in sales. 44% of customers value retailers that remember their past purchase behavior Personalization causes a 300% improve- ment in customer lifetime value Integration Your inbound marketing strategy will not be complete until you integrate it with the other systems your business has in place, such as your marketing automation and CRM system. This enables you to automate your processes so that the right content is delivered, at the right time, to the right people. Automation users have a 53% higher conversion rate for marketing response to marketing qualified leads than nonusers. 6
Lifecycle Marketing The sooner you recognize that your prospects are all at different stages of the buying process, the sooner you can accommodate their needs accordingly. Below is an example of what your Lifecycle Marketing Map might look like. I will go more in-depth with this process later in the course, but if you want to do some studying ahead of time, check out one of our previous articles, Yazamo Client Lifecycle Marketing Process. 7
2014 Marketing Trends 8
The Rise of Content Marketing Content marketing has transformed the way businesses interact with their customers. Today, your interaction with consumers relies on engaging stories and information that is of genuine use or interest. Content Marketing Builds a community of loyal customers Makes your brand an authority Allows you to get to know your customers Adds value to your business Most Popular Marketing Tactics (%) 9
Lead Nurturing Growth Lead generation is still the primary driver for creating content, but the amount of people citing lead nurturing as their main reason for creating content has increased over 5x. Because it emphasizes long-term relationships, lead nurturing often requires more content and a longer term plan. Lead nurturing is about keeping conversations going over time, building relationships, and allowing the creation of interest in products and/or services while bringing the leads to a sales-ready status. Lead nurturing is about cultivating and maintaining mindshare, building and sustaining interest in what you have to offer and developing trusted relationships with those who could possibly be your next customer. What is lead nurturing worth? Without lead nurturing: Marketing funnel misses valuable opportunities. With lead nurturing: Stop leads from leaking out. Widen reach and recapture opportunities. 10
Effectiveness of Social Proof Simply put, social proof is the positive influence that is created on others when they find out what other people are doing. Peer pressure. Bandwagon. Influential science. You e probably heard them all. And for good reason. Social proof has proven to have one of the most influential impacts on consumer behavior. Studies show that 7 out of 10 Americans now look at product reviews before making a purchase. 73% of consumers say positive reviews make them trust a business more. 79% of consumers trust onreviews as much as personal recommendations. 72% of consumers have recommended a business by word of mouth 11
Mobile Marketing Mobile marketing is changing how we communicate as more and more consumers access the internet, social media and email through their mobile devices. Types of Mobile Marketing App-based Mobile search ads SMS messages Local ads Mobile image ads 25% of online searches are done on a mobile device 70% of mobile searches lead to an action on websites within one hour On average, Americans spend 2 hours a day on a mobile device 1 in 7 people worldwide use a smartphone 60% of social media time is spent on a smartphone or tablet. 12
Content Marketing Remains as Important as Ever The popularity of content marketing strategies will continue unabated into the upcoming year, which essentially means that marketers will abandon the traditional digital marketing tactics in favor of creating more relevant and inspiring content. Instead of relying on tested solutions, companies will pay more attention to customer experience and curate content in a more emphatic, client-oriented way. Companies with blogs are expected to generate 67% more leads per month than those organizations that don t have a blog The type of content you share is closely related to what you sell. In other words, you re educating people so they know, like, and trust you enough to do busi- ness with you. Think about it - your friends aren t your friends for any reason. You ve gotten to know them, like them, and trust them to the point where you can give them that title. Creating content builds a friendship with consumers. 60% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site 80% of business decision makers prefer to get company informaiton in a series of articles versus an advertisement 8 in 10 people prefer receiving information about a company through custom media 13
Marketing Analytics Will Boom Data for marketing is more available than ever. It s increasingly easier to understand the cost per acquisition of a new customer and tie down marketing spend to see what s driving profitability. Systems like HubSpot, InfusionSoft, and Marketo allow marketers to understand a customer s every interaction. Spending on marketing analytics is expected to increase by 60% by 2015 CMOs report they spend 8% of their marketing budgets on analytics and expect to increase the level in the next 3 years. The adoption of marketing automation technology is expected to increase by 50% in 2015. Analytics have revolutionized how we advertise and to whom we advertise. Now we understand the insights and the facts behind consumer behavior and consumer purchases online. But Analytics is not for everyone and a great deal of experience is required to know how to apply the data. You need to ask the right questions, adjust reports and dashboards and interpret difficult reports for the best marketing results. We foresee that there will be an increase in demand for skilled analytic specialists in 2015. Marketing data is predicted to continue to become more detailed, easier, and faster to obtain. More companies will seek ways to be Data Driven as tools become available to help them digest and use the data. 14
More Personalization Marketers want users to interact with their content, and what better way to achieve that than through providing something relevant? By offering personalized content during the last year, companies were able to increase the number of sales, lower the costs of acquisition, inspire users to stay longer on their websites and foster customer satisfaction. In 2015, 1-to-1 marketing is expected to grow as personalization becomes more available and more widely adopted. 74% of online consumers get frustrated with websites when content appears that has nothing to do with their interests. Personalized emails improve clickthrough rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10% In-house marketers who are personalizing their web experiences see, on average, a 19% uplift 15
1 You don t need to be a data scientist to make sense of your customer data. Marketing technology can assist with personalization, which is easy to manage and deploy through cloud-based, client-side technology. 2 Together with increased interest in content creation goes marketing noise, a kind of low quality content that doesn t really add any value. Because marketers will focus more on providing interesting and engaging content, we might see marketing noise slowly losing its power. Over the last few years, marketers increasingly appreciated long copy over short copy and we ll see this trend bloom in 2015. 3 Don t think of the channel, think of the customer. Don t be afraid to turn your strategy on its head, and force a consumercentric approach to marketing. 4 Be in it for the long haul. Transactions do not build sustainable businesses, loyalty does. True personalization puts the cus- tomer in the lens, and allows marketers to present relevant offers and messages that develop a relationship throughout the customer lifecycle. 16
Visual Storytelling Will Go Wild Due to the increase in marketing noise, marketers will need to find a medium that will help their message to stand out- visual storytelling. Perfect for engaging and nurturing engaged consumer communities, visual storytelling will be employed to communicate the brand s philosophy and aesthetics. Photos are liked 2x more than text updates Over 60 hours of videos are uploaded each minute on YouTube.com 100 million users are taking social action on YouTube every week Photo and videos saw a 65% increase in engagement one month after Facebook s timeline launched Videos are shared 12x more than links and text posts combined on Facebook. Infographics was the tactic with the biggest jump in usage (from 51% last year to 62% this year.) Illustrations/Photos was a new choice this year at 69%. 17
More Money Spent on Online Ads As people spend more time online in their work and personal lives, the opportunities for marketers to target online keeps rising. In addition to this, online gives a wealth of targeting, segmentation and tracking options that you just don t get with offline ad spend. Globally, internet avertising will grow at an average of 14% per year. 18
Increased Focus on Mobile This ever-increasing use of mobile devices gives marketers more ways to target people during a longer period of the day. Mobile usage also gives marketers a chance to target people during different activities in- cluding work, rest, play and research time. Some believe that the mobile web will become bigger than desktop usage in 2015, but one thing is clear spending for mobile ads will grow and grow fast. All agree that the popularity of mobile devices will only grow in 2015, driven by smartphones, tablets and wearable technology. 19
Thanks for taking the time to learn about the predictions for inbound marketing in 2015! Want to Learn More? Visit our blog at www.blog.yazamo.com to learn more on inbound marketing strategies. Eager to start your own inbound marketing strategy? Follow Yazamo to help you start your inbound marketing journey to achieve the results you want! Visit www.yazamo.com and fill out our questionnaire to get your free consultation! 20
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