Now that 2017 has arrived, it’s prognosticating time. Here are a few of my predictions for marketers.
- Consumers’ desire to connect with authentic brands that stand for a higher purpose will only grow. And so will the stakes for marketers to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, or else put their reputation at great risk.
- As the Trump administration takes control, Federal agencies, healthcare organizations and whole industries are pondering how to pivot their messaging and potentially overhaul their outreach and engagement programs. Expect a slowdown and read-the-tea-leaves approach early in the year, and a resurgence of activity in the second half of 2017.
- Paid social media costs will increase more than ever due to increased demand. At the same time, reported delivery will decline among key metrics such as video views and reach due to recent 3rd party data verification efforts. The impact of this one-two punch will become evident as marketers start to compare year-over-year trends in ROI.
- Digital video will surpass growth goals as immersive story telling opportunities increase, such as live and 360 video. Emerging technologies are spurring increased use of video while reducing overall production costs that used to be a deterrent for some content creators.
- Brands will rely on social media as a primary platform for enhancing the customer experience. Content creation priorities will shift away from scale and volume to a larger focus on 1 to 1 and live chat opportunities. The popularity of platforms like Snapchat and Messenger prove that consumers embrace and even expect this.
- The Internet of Things is here. Marketers will really start to harness and put into action the billions of data points they can access. The opportunities to connect, engage and really know their customers is mindboggling. Data is coming from fitness devices, TVs, beacons, clothing, computers, apps, cars and more.
- Fake news gets a rest as big players such as Facebook and Google set policies to combat its spread. In addition, with the election over, there will be less creation, demand and buzz.
That’s my view on the year ahead. What do you expect will gain traction in marketing and communications?
