Earlier in the year we shared with you our article on Marketing Predictions for 2013. We reviewed some local and international marketing predictions and trends from industry leaders and experts and it may come as no surprise, they were pretty much spot on. Just in case you missed it, here’s a little wrap of the year that was 2013 (in terms of marketing at least).
We Embraced a Digital Life
A year is a long time in the world of digital marketing. We’ve put together a couple of highlights for you. Google changed its algorithm (again) pulling in more factors than ever before. Quality content was all the rage, distributed via the usual social media channels. Mobile usage grew, as did Google+, online advertising spend and location-based marketing.
Mobile use grew. Exponentially. Over 2 billion mobile phones were bought this year. And over 50% of people confirmed that they use their mobile phone as the only means of accessing the internet. 71% of smartphone users accessed the internet on their smartphones daily (up from 56% in 2012). Not surprisingly, approximately 189 million Facebook users declared they were mobile-only users and 30% of all Facebook advertising revenue in 2013 came from mobile ads.
Everyone got touchy-feely. Tablet device ownership exploded. A third of households now own tablets, with this expected to rise to 50% by the end of 2014. And by 2015, more tablets will be sold than computers. As a result, marketing industry experts continued to design websites and advertising campaigns tailored to tablet-users.
And then watched videos. With the explosion of tablet ownership, online video consumption increased in 2013. 100 hours of video was uploaded to YouTube every minute this year. Surprising, consumers are 27 times more likely to click through online video ads than standard banners.
Online advertising was a winner. Digital ad spend increased by 17% this year. This looks set to continue, with digital video advertising spending expected to double to $4.2 billion in 2014 and $8 billion by 2016.
Content was King
Content marketing went viral. Over US$120 billion was spent on content marketing, video marketing, and social media in 2013. With good reason. Research has found that blogs give websites over 430% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. And, 90% of clients think custom content is useful, with 78% believing that companies with tailored content are interested in building a solid relationship with them. Best of all, it generates three times as many leads and costs 60% less than traditional forms of marketing. Our advice: get on board in 2014 (if you haven’t already).
Social media became vital. Social media is now a necessity, not a luxury. In 2013, social media became even more vital to online marketing and customer engagement. A survey of over 850 American companies found that 92.5% of companies have a dedicated, full-time employee for social media.
Google+ became more popular. As you might expect, Facebook is still the most popular social media network. Google+ isn’t too far behind though; 2013 saw Google+ increase market share to 50%. Keep in mind though; one must create a Google+ account when creating a Gmail account. This skews the data somewhat. Chances are, there are a lot of unused Google+ accounts out there in cyberspace, however many savvy brands are well and truly on board with Google+.
Customers Were the Focus
Engage. Engage. Engage. That was the mantra for marketers in 2013. We all did our best to deliver marketing programs that engaged, entertained, informed or educated our audience. One of the top campaigns in Australia for 2013 was Metro’s ‘Dumbest Ways to Die’ campaign. This was all about engagement. Not only were there radio ads, but there was a film clip, an app, a game and a Tumblr blog. All designed to engage (and educate), via a variety of platforms.
WIIFM. Not familiar with this particular acronym? Marketing in 2013 was all about answering ‘What’s In It For Me?’ for clients. If you missed the boat in 2013, get on-board for 2014.
Stay tuned for our 2014 marketing predictions coming soon!
Sally has worked in marketing, communications, and PR for over 15 years. She is the Chief Wordsmith at Wordly: a copywriting and content marketing agency that works predominantly with WordPress powered websites.
