In 2016, predictions become reality and momentum becomes mainstream. Here is what the digital transformation can mean for your business in the year ahead.
Responsive Websites
In early 2015, we hammered home the importance of responsive websites. This is because as people spent more time on their mobile devices, it became increasingly critical for businesses with an online presence to make their websites easy to view and use on smartphones and tablets.
In 2016, responsive websites continue to be a key component to digital marketing transformation for businesses. Mobile responsive website design ensures your site is secure, loads quickly, displays correctly on mobile devices, and is optimized for mobile search.
How do you know if it’s the right time to update your website? If it has been more than a few years since your last redesign, then it is unlikely your site is mobile-friendly.
Video Marketing
The rise in video consumption was never more apparent than in 2015. According to Merchant Marketing Group, 50 percent of all mobile traffic comes from online video. Considering more people are spending time on their mobile devices, investing in video marketing can deliver impressive value for businesses looking to do more, digitally.
Digital Advertising
Reaching your audience where they spent their time (mobile vs. desktop, email vs. app) was huge in 2015, and in the coming year we see this shift in reaching audiences “on their terms” gaining traction.
With digital advertising – via Google AdWords, for instance – your business not only promotes its products and services to your audience, but can also collect data and find out if paid ads are profitable for your organization.
Social Media
Instagram’s revenue was expected to be 600 million in 2015, but instead their revenues are expected to climb to more than 2.8 billion dollars by 2017. The visually-driven social media platform was predicted to grow, but it has outgrown predictions to become one of the most influential social media networks.
This is just one example of how digital marketing via social media is key for businesses. Social media is not going anywhere, so 2016 is the year to embrace the art of communication and relationships.
Digital Consultation
The key to a successful digital transformation is a solid strategy, and no one does this better than a digital consultant. Your business is communicating with customers on various platforms – social, mobile, video, blog – and that takes a considerable investment of resources. Working with a consultant who specializes in digital gives you the opportunity to focus on what you do best while achieving real business goals with a strategy that is refined over time.
Stick with It
At this point, you may be realizing you have a lot of work ahead of you. The important part of any digital transformation is to stick with it. Success can be easily measured with various tools and analytics programs. Then you can keep what works and abandon what doesn’t, so you discover what is profitable for your company. In the long run, it is this tenacity that helps you make the digital transformation.
What predictions or insights do you have for digital marketing in 2016?
