What are the top marketing trends for 2017?

Marketing trends 2017

2017 is bound to be a big year for everyone, not least of all for those who were counting down the days for 2016 to come to an end. With a new year comes new trends in every field. Here are some of the marketing trends for 2017 which even the pros need to be aware of.

Related: 3 mobile marketing trends you need to know about

Interactive content

There comes a point where you just can’t read any more content. Especially those long form articles which take hours to read. That might seem like bad news for content marketers but that's where interactive content comes in. think quizzes, polls, surveys, infographics and competitions. These are the types of content which people are often more likely to share.

Visuals

For many years now, visuals have been at the top of the list for marketing trends to take note of. Content marketers have been clamoring to have the best possible visuals in their content. And the stats back this up. Colorful visuals increase the chances of a piece of content being read by 80% and content containing images get 94% more views than content without relevant images.

Virtual and augmented reality

One of the highlights of 2016 was the popularity of Pokémon GO. It was remarkable to see how popular it became, so quickly. Scores of people, children and adults alike, ventured outdoors to catch Pokémon and explore the augmented reality world. It became an opportunity for brands to see how this technology could be used to increase customer numbers and, ultimately, their bottom line.

Related: 2016 was the year of augmented reality

The IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) is simply about connecting devices over the internet, allowing them to communicate to each other and to us. These are the devices which are making coffee for you before you wake up, turning on your lights as you arrive home and setting your thermostat at your preferred temperature. This gives brands an opportunity to connect with consumers in their daily lives. Imagine a fridge encouraging you to buy certain food products. Actually, you don’t have to imagine, smart fridges are already a reality.

Mobile always

We live in a mobile always world. Customers want to see their content on their phones or tablets, in the palm of their hands. The majority of internet traffic originates from mobile. And that means ads, content and user experience all needs to be created for mobile. Now, mobile must be your priority rather than an addition.

Personalization

We know that people love to receive personalized content. And they are more likely to buy products when content has been personalized for them. Examples include receiving marketing messages specific to the area they live in, the weather they’re experiencing or events taking place in their town.

Chatbots

They’re becoming increasingly common and sound so natural now that customers often aren’t sure when they’re speaking to a bot. Are you talking to a human or a bot? If you can’t tell, then the bot is doing its job. In fact, you’ve likely had many interactions with Facebook’s bots – without even realizing it. They’ve put huge resources into bot programs which provide users with news updates, personalized responses and more.

Related: How chatbots are changing call centers

An example of this is Clickatell Touch, our new chatbot-driven solution for customer support. It’s a tool which businesses can use to allow their customers to communicate with them at the touch of a button – whether they’re online at the time or not. With Touch, businesses won’t be stuck using unwieldy call centers but rather communicate with customers quickly and easily. Staying on top of marketing trends means you won’t be left behind, you’ll be at the forefront of using new technologies for your business.