According to a survey conducted by Penn Schoen & Berland Associates and LinkShare in March 2009, 81% of the respondents prefer to research online before making a purchase. Moreover, 92% showed more confidence in the information provided online than in that offered by sales people in brick and mortar shops. This underlines the importance of online marketing. The top ten predictions for online marketing are:
Online Ad Spend
Websites hosting blogs blossomed into a powerful media channel in 2009. With the availability of third party technologies, such as Skimlinks, the use of blogging websites is expected to grow in 2010. According to the 2009 Marketers’ Internet Ad Barometer prepared by the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA), online ad spending in European countries is likely to rise by about 8% in 2010.
One-Way Websites on Their Deathbeds
Websites are like clothes. They are the first thing that people notice when they spot you in the crowd. With websites having the potential of being the greatest marketing asset, the focus will be on making them as interactive as possible in 2010. Websites should enable customers to give their feedback and easily connect with you via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Content Marketing
The barrier to entry for creating your own content is at a historically low level. Thus, instead of relying on a multi-million pound marketing plan, you, the brand, can market, promote, syndicate and share by using content. While the key to successful content marketing is consistency, you also need to know your customers and their preferences.
Spending Ahead of Recovery:
Website owners have been spending ahead of the potential economic recovery, buoyed by the current and forecasted performance of online retail. They are, thus, well positioned to tackle the marketing fight.
Online Reputation Management
With companies using social media as a marketing tool, the demand for online reputation management is growing. Social media networks will talk more and more about brands, companies and their products and for successful e-commerce, website owners will need to engage in online reputation management.
Online PR
Online press releases is another growth sector that, apart from being an excellent marketing channels to distribute your company news to varied sources, also draws traffic to your site.
Growth in Multivariate Analysis M-VAP
This will be in demand for websites having high traffic but poor conversion rates, such as those actively using social media and online PR. M-VAP would help such sites in making subtle design tweaks and monitoring improvements to increase conversion rates.
Continued Declined in 30-Second Ad
In 30-second ads, marketers interrupt customers to make their sales pitch. In 2010, there will be a visible shift in creative paid content.
Email Marketing
Email marketing spending is likely to grow in 2010. However, the key to success would remain making email marketing relevant to the product or service.
Social Media
Social media is one of the fastest growing trends and will continue to remain so in 2010 and beyond.
