As we move into 2015, many folks are wondering what the new year will hold in terms of marketing trends and tactics.
While none of us can say with certainty what will happen in the months ahead, I am confident that we’re going to see some big changes in the marketing landscape.
Just think about how much marketing has changed in 2014…
Advertisers finally got serious with remarketing.
Mobile graduated from a second-screen to first-screen experience.
Facebook Ads matured into a solid platform that delivered unprecedented performance.
Hashtag activism hit a home run with the #IceBucketChallange.
Native advertising become the latest buzzword.
Big data grew into even bigger data.
…and so much more that I’m totally forgetting about!
So, what will 2015 be remembered for?
Your guess is as good as mine, but if I had to make a prediction, I’d say the year ahead will be defined by 3 simple words.
1. Agility
Marketers finally realize that the old processes and principles of the trade just aren’t cutting it. Things are changing too quickly. If you snooze for a second, you might miss a huge opportunity.
That’s why agility will become something that marketers live by. Agility is defined as “the ability to be quick and graceful.” Thus, our marketing campaigns in 2015 and beyond must be quick and graceful if we want them to succeed. Here is a great example of agility in action.
Of course, this could lead us into an entirely separate conversation on the power of agile marketing, but I’ll save that topic for another day. But if you want to get a quick glimpse of what agile marketing is all about, check out this previous article.
[Tweet “Marketing campaigns in 2015 must be quick and graceful if they are to succeed. #AgileMarketing”]
2. Attention
Let’s face it, our attention spans are getting smaller and smaller by the minute. In fact, I’m surprised you’re even reading this far down the page!
Just look at how quickly Instagram surpassed Twitter in their number of total users. Yes, you read that right. Instagram–which started in 2010–has built a user base of over 300 million people, while Twitter–which started in 2006–has just over 284 million active users. Instagram is just much more visual that Twitter, and thus, more consumable.
Anyway, as attention spans shrink, marketers are going to need to get their points across in less time than ever before. Want someone to watch your video? You better be ready to capture the viewer’s attention in the first five seconds.
Moreover, marketers are going to have to chase users across whatever platforms catch their interest in the moment, whether that be Google, Facebook, Snapchat or whatever else pops up. Having a “Facebook strategy” won’t matter as much as having an “attention strategy.”
[Tweet “Hey #Marketers, do you have an “attention strategy” for 2015?”]
3. Algorithms
Most of us know about Google’s search algorithm called PageRank and Facebook’s news feed algorithm called EdgeRank. These two algorithms influence our lives every day and we barely take notice of that fact.
Well, in 2015, I believe algorithms will become much more present in our day-to-day. Why? Because we’re reaching a point of information overload that is absolutely unsustainable. We just cannot consume all of the information being thrown at us in one lifetime.
Between social media updates, emails, news, website feeds, blog posts, etc., we’re going to need to have our content filtered for us, so that we only see the most important stuff. Facebook and Google are getting really good at this, and they’re going to keep getting better in 2015.
What this means for marketers is that we’re going to need to produce content that can “break through” these filters and get in front of our audience.
[Tweet “2015 will have to answer the challenge of #ContentOverload. Will more algorithms be the solution?”]
Your Turn, Nostradamus
Well, that’s it. Of course, I might be completely wrong, and that’s okay. Predictions aren’t perfect. The important thing is to start thinking about how our world and our industry is changing, so that we can stay a few steps ahead of the competition.
Do you agree or disagree with these predictions? Maybe you have your own set of words that you believe will define marketing in 2015. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Get in touch on Twitter or in the comments below. And of course, have a very happy and healthy new year!
