Experts from different industries have shared countless predictions for the coming year. Today, I decided to compile some of the most noteworthy digital marketing trends to keep an eye on in 2020 which can prove beneficial to many small business owners.
The Dominance Of Content Marketing
Consumers will continue to become motivated by well-produced and easy to consume content. From being a buzz word in digital marketing, it has advanced quickly into a crucial business must-have by those who want to strengthen their business presence online.
In a survey conducted by Econsultancy, 73% of digital marketers agree that “brands are becoming publishers.” B2B content marketers are spending 33% of their marketing budgets on content marketing, up from 26% last year; 54% plan to increase content marketing spending come 2013.
What this means for small businesses: The benefits of content marketing have gone beyond SEO rankings. Fresh, original, and high-quality content infused in your company blog, social media fan page, or website will go a long way to strengthening your brand and providing value-added information to your target audience.
Mobile-First Marketing Campaigns
Targeting consumers using mobile makes perfect sense. The mobile upswing is no longer a fad. Mobile strategies will shift from being a nice-to-have to becoming a bare essential. Tablets are chipping away market share from desktops and laptops, with an estimated 90 million consumers in the US to own one by 2014. Mobile access to the internet using mobile devices will also exceed desktop by 2014.
What this means for small businesses: Create marketing campaigns with the mobile user in mind. It pays to invest in Responsive Web Design where your website layout automatically adjusts to all types of screen sizes used by mobile customers. Taking advantage of strategic email marketing and newsletter efforts where your brand message can easily be accessed by a mobile consumer is also worth considering.
Google+ and Google Authorship
Google Authorship is one way of protecting your original published content on the web from content scrapers. This is an effective way to let Google know that you are the owner of a certain webpage, article post, or blog entry. This helps prevent content stealing across the web and helps highlight your posts in search results thus increasing your online visibility and credibility.
What this means for small businesses: Google Authorship presents an opportunity to rank high in search results for your content at no cost. If you don’t have a business page with Google+, it’s high time that you create one and start taking advantage of Google Authorship.
Link Diversification
With Google’s simultaneous Penguin updates, link diversification will continue to grow in importance in 2013. A normal and healthy website with high-quality content overtime should have inbound links from authority sites, blog comments, web2.0, etc.
What this means for small businesses: Take time to hire a reputable SEO outsourcing firm which engages purely in white hat SEO strategies. Many SEO companies can offer immediate rankings in SERPs but the long-term sustainability of that ranking should be prioritized over short term gains.
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