Marketing Trends To Look for in 2016

A new year means new trends in the marketing industry. Keeping up with new but proven marketing tools and strategies is a key to running a successful business. Keep reading to find out some of the top trends that experts say will be widely popular in 2016!

Use of Video. Businesses are hiring professional videographers to create video content for marketing purposes. In addition, quality cameras in smartphones allow marketing departments to create their own video for content, especially for blogging.

Promotional videos are key to attracting new customers. Compared to infographics or pictures, video content offers the audience an interactive look at the company or its products. Videos are more attention grabbing and entertaining, and have proven to draw in potential customers. According to Microsoft, 58% of consumers better trust companies who produce video content. According to Unbounce, using video on landing pages can increase conversions by 80%. Also, 59% of senior executives prefer to watch video over reading text, according to Forbes.

Mobile Marketing. Converting your company’s online presence so that it is accessible on mobile devices is crucial. In today’s society, people are obsessed with their smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Making your company’s website compatible for mobile devices ensures that users will have a readable, usable site, free of frustrations like having to zoom in to read the content! 

Additionally, a mobile-friendly website will increase your search engine optimization.  If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, Google’s search engine will penalize you which could impact your rankings.

Social Media. Creating a profile for your business on social media, whether it be Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, opens up entirely new channels to market your company. Be sure to create a social media strategy and plan that provides structure and a return on your social media efforts.  Also, continue to evaluate new social media. There are a few new social media outlets that became popular in 2015 that experts predict will be big in the marketing industry this year. Snapchat, for example, provides consumers with content in real time. After 24 hours, that content disappears. According to Forbes.com, exclusive content with an expiration makes consumers feel more connected and unique.

Retain Clients with Rewards. According to Microsoft, consumers love being rewarded for good behavior. For example, 37% of Millennials are “strongly motivated” by devices, apps, and companies that reward them with loyalty points. Giving your customers an incentive to take an action is always a good way to encourage them to get involved and interact on a more personal level. For example, try offering a coupon code or a discount on a product or service to anyone who tweets at your company using a hashtag related to a campaign you’re trying to promote.

These are just a few marketing developments to experiment with in 2016. Comment below the trends you think will become popular this year!

Need a Makeover in 2016? Five Ways to Refresh Your Marketing

by Guest Blogger, Michele Kelly, owner of GraphicWays Design

If you can't recall the last time your revamped your brochures, signs or website, you might not be properly conveying your message, product benefits or brand and missing out on valuable sales opportunities.

Savvy businesses realize that in order to attract more clients, contemporary, updated marketing materials that best communicate your products or services can give you an advantage.  While there might not be a budget for a total overhaul, a timely review of your critical marketing tools is a must. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Logo

Is your logo still relevant and does it reflect your brand?

Are the colors and typefaces stuck in a time warp?

Is your logo geared toward your target audience?

2. Brochures

Have you added new products or services?

Does your current brochure look dated?

Is there a call to action in your sales material?

3. Website

Is your website mobile friendly?

Are you getting found in search engines?

Is your site optimized for a wider format?

4. Stationery

Has your company changed address or phone numbers?

Is your website listed on your letterhead?

Are your business cards impressive and unique?

5. Email Marketing

Missing an opportunity by not utilizing your email lists?

Do your emails end up in a client or prospects spam folder? 

Are you getting good open and click through rates?

Remember to review and understand what marketing campaigns have worked in the past. This will better enable you to recreate your marketing for the new year to wake up and re-energize your business!

Mari Smith's 2016 Facebook Tips and Trends

Facebook marketing expert, Mari Smith, recently offered some great Facebook tips and trends to look for in 2016 during her presentation at the Inbound conference in Boston. Here are a few useful pieces of information that I took away:

1.  Mari discussed three critical Facebook trends:

•  Facebook is disrupting TV and video. Will Facebook overtake YouTube? As of September 2014, Facebook's share of video posts was approaching YouTube's.  The new Facebook Live is a live-streaming feature that's only available to celebrity Pages right now. Strategize how to use live video for your business.
• There will be a stronger emphasis on Messenger for Business. Facebook predicts that businesses will be using Messenger for all kinds of customer communication and transactions. Messenger will essentially serve as an inbox to connect with customers.
•  Brand storytelling: Use Facebook to put the spotlight on your customers, to feature case studies, to use video, and to be more "people centric".

2. Mari also focused on Facebook marketing mistakes that businesses are making:

•  Making posts overly promotional
•  Targeting the wrong audience
• Using only the Boost button
• Promoting posts without a measurable ROI
• Not having an effective landing page to tie in with your ads
• Advertising without using a tracking pixel

3. Regarding content and engagement, Mari recommends that your posts either entertain, inform or prompt a call to action. Here are a few of her common sense content tips:

•  Personalize your posts (write in first person when possible)
•  Address people who comment by name
• Use humor
• Always be prompt in responding to comments/questions

4. While organic reach is on the decline, here are some ways to maximize it:

•  Post more native video
•  Try posting outside business hours
• Mix up post types and post lengths
• Repost popular posts
• Include "@" tags of other Pages
• Drive traffic from other sources
• Embed posts and videos in your blog

Are you using any of these techniques effectively? What other trends do you see on Facebook?

Free PR Tools and Tips to Grow Your Business

Publicity is an easy way to expand your business' visibility and drive sales.  For budget-conscious small business owners, here are some free tools and useful tips that can help you implement successful public relations campaigns in no time!

Google Alerts

Google Alerts can be a powerful tool to stay on top of your business' online presence.  Set up Google Alerts to monitor your business, competition, or any industry topic that's important to you.  Google will send you an email when there's any mention of your query in an online news, blogs, discussions, etc. 

HARO

If you want to share your expertise while getting free PR, check out HARO. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) connects journalists with sources or experts for their stories.  Sign up (for free) to receive a daily email with  queries from reporters from all types of media.  Respond promptly to any applicable requests for a possible interview or direct quote. It's an easy way to get PR exposure for your brand or business. 

Twitter

Follow relevant journalists, reporters or bloggers on Twitter.  Put them in a list so you can easily filter them in your Twitter stream.  Check their posts to find out what they're researching or working on.  Alert reporters by sending them a @ message with a link to more information. Or send a Tweet to follow up on emails you've already sent to a particular reporter.  To spread your news, politely ask journalists or key influencers to retweet(RT) your news.

Connect with Reporters

Build a relationship with journalists by engaging with them on social media. Show them you're interested in what they write or publish by commenting or sharing their posts, article links, etc.  Know the topics, industries or geographic areas that each reporter covers.

Build a Plan

Plan our your publicity ideas and pitches for the year.  Look at the holidays, seasons, events and trends that drive your business and create pitches using them.  

Developing and executing your own PR takes time and considerable effort, but the exposure it brings your business will be worthwhile. 

Marketing Pros to Follow on Social Media

Creating an online presence for your brand or company is vital in today’s marketing world, and the top marketing professionals are doing just that. To stay in the know about what’s happening in the marketing industry, it’s important to make sure you’re following the most influential gurus. Here are a few key influencers to check out:

Mari Smith: Mari Smith, author of Top Ten Tips To Boost Your Facebook Ad Conversion &
ROI, has often been referred to as the “ the Queen of Facebook”. She has been named one of the
Top Ten Social Media Power Influencers by Forbes several years in a row, and is the premier
Facebook marketing expert. She offers online marketing training courses, and has published
several webinar guidebooks. Mari is also the author of The New Relationship Marketing and
coauthor of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day. She has had over 12 years of experience in
the fields of relationships, marketing and Internet technology. Follow her on Twitter at
@MariSmith to stay up to date on all her blog postings and to be the first to know when she has
new content available! You can also check out her Facebook page.

Neil Patel: Co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar and KISSmetrics, Neil Patel helps companies
like Amazon, Viacom, and NBC boost their revenue. Forbes considers him one of the top 10
online marketers, and he has been referred to as a “top influencer on the web” by Wall Street
Journal. Neil has also been awarded Congressional Recognition from the United States House of
Representatives - and he’s only 30 years old. Growing up, he was surrounded by successful
entrepreneurs and was interested in starting his own business at a young age. He’s created a large online presence, where he offers insight about his past experiences as an entrepreneur and a current successful business owner. Following him on Twitter (@NeilPatel) or  Facebook will
allow you to stay up to date with his current blog postings, like his latest one titled ““Don’t Waste Your Time: 6 Ways To Become More Efficient On Social Media””.

Kim Garst: Founder and CEO of Boom! Social, a personal branding social media business
consulting firm, Kim is a current leading business coach. She provides social media keynotes and
offers training to businesses such as IBM and Florida Keys Digital Marketing Conference. She’s
also the author of The Quick and Easy Guide to Branding Your Business and Creating Massive
Sales with Pinterest. Kim is a social media expert and has made a name for herself in the digital
media world, which is why you should check out her Twitter profile, where you can stay in the
know on what’s trending in the social media industry. Follow her at @KimGarst or check out her
Facebook page!

Gary Vaynerchuk: From growing his family’s wine business from $3 million to $60 million, to
running one of the world’s “hottest digital agencies”, Gary is a marketing pro that you should
definitely consider following. He currently owns VaynerMedia, and is the co-founder of
VaynerRSE, a $25 million angel fund. He even hosts his own show, The #AskGaryVee Show,
where he answers questions about social media, entrepreneurship, startups and family businesses.He offers insight about a lifetime of building successful businesses on his online platform, and has spoken at events like SXSW. Stay up to date with Gary at @GaryVee on Twitter,Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest.

HubSpot: HubSpot has been helping businesses grow and creating bigger online presences
since 2006. The company offers new and innovative ways for companies to market
themselves online successfully. Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah started HubSpot with
one goal: to create one integrated system, designed from the ground up to transform how
organizations market and sell. The company is at the top of its game, staying up to date with how
people are “transforming how they consume information, research products and services, and make purchasing decisions”. They’ve recently come out with a new book as well, titled The Beginners Guide to Retargeting. They are constantly posting about the latest social media marketing strategies online, so following HubSpot will keep you in the know on what’s working and what’s not in the digital marketing world. Check them out on Twitter at @HubSpot and at their website, where they have a variety of different blogs, including a marketing blog, a sales blog, a web design blog and more!

Facebook Adds 'Donate Now' Button for Charities

Last month, Facebook added a "Donate Now" option for non-profit Pages' Call to Action button and linked advertisements.This is a useful tool for non-profits to lead social media visitors directly to their websites to take action and become donors.

According to Facebook, " Now, it's easier than ever for nonprofits to connect with people who care about their causes and encourage them to contribute through the website of their choice."

When visitors click on the "Donate Now" button, a Facebook message alerts them to the fact that they're not affiliated with and don't endorse the organization. Then visitors can continue on to an external site where donations can be made.

Non-profits and charities can also run Facebook ads with the Donate Now button as part of any campaign.

For easy step by step instructions on how to post the 'Donate Now' button, click here.

Paid Virtual Marketing Intern

I'm currently searching for a college student (Business, Marketing or Communications major a plus) who's interested in getting hands on marketing experience. The right candidate must have strong written communications skills, be creative yet detail oriented, Internet and social media savvy. 

Tasks include writing, creating newsletters and other email promotions, doing research, assisting with web site updates, and social media work including postings and performing monthly social media measurements. Experience with web content management systems and Constant Contact email marketing system is a plus but not necessary.  Candidate must have access to the Internet and MS Word.

Up to 20 hours per month. Internship will begin in September 2015. Looking for one year commitment.

Send a cover letter and resume to jocelynm@marketing-er.com.