What’s around the corner for digital marketing in 2015?
Answers to that question seems to be in abundance as we close out 2014 and look for affirmations of plans for the coming year. From social media to mobile to big data and predictive analytics, there are preparations, pontifications and predictions being advocated everywhere you look.
I think more than a few marketing executives are wondering right now how much they should pursue “what’s next” vs. performance optimization of their existing marketing. Tentativeness is easy to understand since SEO has been “dead” and it’s been the year of mobile for the past 5 years.
Shifts in technology and changes in consumer behaviors are relevant areas of focus for both “what’s next” and for optimization of current marketing performance.
How? Here’s some perspective: The empowerment of billions of consumers with an internet connected (internected) device makes every person, let alone brand, a publisher. Consumers are now acting out their expressive and creative passions by creating and co-creating content at a rapid pace.
The notion of collective wisdom is not limited simply to problem solving and I’m confident we’ll see a lot more community driven content creation in the coming year.
Participation Marketing: In 2015 I think marketing will start to break free of corporate marketing departments involving more participation in content creation. Amongst constituent audiences, content and media collaboration will create mutual value for both brands and individuals. The notion of participation marketing means brands co-create content with the very audiences and industry influencers that they would like to attract as customers. The investment in co-creation provides incentive for quality and sharing in a way that helps brands scale their content and at the same time helps satisfy consumer needs for expression, attention and engagement.
What does participation have to do with digital marketing predictions? Earlier this year in May we published a list of 21 digital marketing predictions including introducing the idea of participation marketing. That post has since attracted well over 11,000 social shares and nearly 100,000 page views. For your inspiration, I’ve pulled 10 of my favorite “tweetable” quotes from that post.
I think you’ll agree, these tweetable digital marketing trends for 2015 come from a great group of marketers including:
- Adam Singer (@adamsinger) of Google
- Ann Handley (@annhandley) of MarketingProfs
- Brian Clark (@brianclark) of Copyblogger
- Brian Solis (@briansolis) of Altimeter Group
- Jay Baer (@jaybaer) of Convince and Convert
- Lee Odden (@leeodden) of TopRank Online Marketing (hey, that’s me)
- Mark Schaefer (@markwschaefer) of Schaefer Marketing Solutions
- Pam Didner (@pamdider) of Global Content Marketing
- Susan Emerick (@sfemerick) of Brands Rising
- Tom Webster (@webby2001) of Edison Research
200+ Digital Marketing Predictions:
For even more digital marketing predictions to consider for 2015 (as if you haven’t read enough of them) check out this list of over 200 marketing predictions from the most shared posts across the web over the past week – thanks to BuzzSumo!):
Mashable: 10 predictions for content marketing in 2015 – Shafqat Islam
Forbes: 2015 Predictions For CMOs And Digital Marketing – Gil Press
Entreprenuer: 3 Social-Marketing Predictions for 2015 – Bill Sussman
Contently: 17 Content Marketing Predictions for 2015 – Crowdsourced
Search Engine Land: Glimpses Of The Future: 10 Fringe SEO Predictions For 2015 – Nate Dame
KISS Metrics: 5 Smart Marketing Predictions for 2015 that All CMOs Should Know About – Chloe Mason Gray
Content Marketing Institute: 60 Content Marketing Predictions for 2015 – Joe Pulizzi
Simply Measured: 2015 Social Media Predictions From the Experts
ClickZ: 10 Digital Marketing Predictions for 2015 – Michael Della Penna
The Guardian: Digital marketing: experts reveal their trends and predictions for 2015 – Adam Davidi
Marketing Land: What Does The Future Hold For Marketers? 16 CMOs Share Their Predictions For 2015 – Amy Gesenhues
Social Media Today: 8 Bold Predictions for Digital Marketing in 2015 – Chad Pollitt
NewsCred: 17 Marketing Influencer Predictions For 2015 – Kylie Jane Wakefield and Lauren Mangiaforte
Forbes: 10 Local Marketing Predictions For 2015 – Court Cunningham
WordStream: 15 Expert Predictions for PPC & Search Marketing in 2015 – Larry Kim
MediaPost: Digital Marketing In 2015: Mobile, Data And RTB Hype – James Green
HubSpot: Marketing Predictions
Lattice Engines: Predictions 2015: Data-Driven Marketing And Sales – Amanda Maksymiw
Kapost: 2015 Content Marketing Predictions – Jean Spencer
What is your single most important prediction about marketing in 2015? How about no more predictions and more performance optimization!
Photo: Shutterstock
