If you haven’t done so already you are probably preparing your marketing activity for the New Year based on 2015’s marketing trends. In a once off change to our usual blog post format, we’re going to keep this post short and sweet (we hope) and in bullet point form.

We’ll have a quick look at some marketing trends that cropped up last year, then look ahead to 2016 and finish with some business resolutions to consider when planning.

Some marketing trends we noticed in 2015.

• Blogs – nothing new really but appeared to be growing in volume, especially with B2B marketers claiming increased importance. Automated distribution was a growing feature
• Mobile video – tools such as periscope, meerkat and vine together with channels such as Blab, Snapchat and Facebook video arose from people’s need for mobile content to share
• Buy Now buttons – appearing on twitter and other networks started to drive social commerce
• Messaging apps – watch this space: this is where it will all happen we believe
• Social Media marketing – Facebook et al started to get an increased % of marketing spend
• Digital marketing – the need for automated processes, SEM and SEO drove outsourcing
• Content marketing – more professional approach drove the outsourcing of content creation, video production and design
• Marketing strategy – A realisation that communications must become more professional to fight through the noise
• Measurement – many new tools allowing the tracking and analysis of marketing results

Will these marketing trends continue to dominate in 2016?

As a result of the above trends, which we believe will continue,  the following will form an important part of businesses staying at the cutting edge in 2016.

• Video – will continue to grow everywhere as part of content marketing activity, particularly if augmented reality / virtual reality experiences kick-in as expected
• Relationship marketing – better understanding of customers will allow for increased personalisation of ads.
• Buy buttons – there will be a proliferation of ‘buy now’ buttons which will open the door for data driven marketing
• Ad blocking – will force businesses to be smarter about how they deliver their message
• Storytelling – the public’s desire for authentic interactions will drive businesses to use all elements of its brand to allow customers engage with a story they want to be a part of

Tips and Timesavers

We have 6 items for you to consider when planning for New Year resolutions for your business.

1. A brand story – make it relevant and allow people engage with your brand essence
2. A business plan – obtain invaluable insights from the thought process of compiling it
3. A marketing plan – outline customer personas / audiences etc. review quarterly
4. A digital presence – review and plan your social media and website activity monthly
5. A revenue plan – brainstorm to discover new revenue sources / expense controls
6. An event plan – network more to meet new clients in a most cost effective way

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else” – Yogi Berra

Good luck with your resolutions and best wishes for a prosperous 2016.

“Thank you for reading our blog post today” – Aidan & Jim.

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