Emerging Trends in the Digital Marketing Industry

The digital marketing industry is nothing if not volatile. Digital marketing trends can change dramatically at a moment’s notice, tossing your tried-and-true efforts out of the game. If you’re not up to date with the latest happenings, you may find yourself scrambling to compensate for the changes. However, if you stay on top of digital marketing trends, you can turn these into key opportunities to edge ahead of your competitors.

Coordinate Cross-Channel Marketing Campaigns

It’s easy for digital marketers to dive so deep into their online efforts that they forget to resurface and see how customers are interacting with the brand beyond the internet and across devices. Cross-channel marketing is a customer-focused digital marketing technique used by marketers to provide the best experience across all paid, owned, earned media, and digital experiences.

When you’re selecting channels for cross-channel marketing, you need to be selective. Certain channels work better together than others for your specific brand. Try to incorporate all channels that your audience interacts the most. For example, include URLs in emails or have visitors check in online when they get you your location. From creating brand awareness to generating leads and driving higher sales, a powerful cross-channel marketing strategy will help every step of the way.

Influencer Marketing as a Social Media Trend

Social media is a powerful tool, but it requires extreme vigilance to keep up with emerging trends in digital marketing. Influencers are individuals who have a dedicated following and can sometimes be viewed as experts, but in the end are trusted by their following. Recommendations or promotions from influencers serve as a form of social proof to your brand’s potential customers. Influencer marketing is here to stay, it’s important that you create an influencer marketing strategy if you haven’t already.

Focus on User Experience

As mobile traffic continues to increase, it is imperative that you provide a good user experience for smartphone users. Marketers should focus on improving the accessibility, usability, design, and speed of their websites to make each experience a delightful one.

While a good experience is important for all marketing channels, it is becoming even more relevant for organic search. With Google’s release of Core Web Vitals, we know there is a large push to improve UX metrics and signals – especially when it comes to speed. This digital trend will likely increase in importance over time, so it is vital to make continuous improvements to your own site to stay competitive.

Digital Marketing Education

If your marketing degree came from a different decade, or you have a background in a different business area, you’re going to have some holes in your knowledge base. Digital marketing is a fast-paced industry with many complexities. If you are looking to get started in your path into the digital marketing industry, Bryant & Stratton College offers both an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree in Digital Marketing. You can stay at the top of the pack by diligently pursuing continuing education, whether this means going back to school to finish your degree with a digital marketing focus, or obtaining a digital marketing diploma to beef up your resume and expand your skills.

Stay on Task

It is easy to get distracted by shiny new digital marketing tools and ways to reach your audience. Forbes predicted trends upcoming for the next year to pay attention to your social strategy. They also discuss how marketers love new trends and to be on the leading edge of new technologies and platforms. While introducing new tools, don’t forget to focus on your foundation and key points of your brand strategy and the best way to reach your target audience. If you can optimize your base digital strategy, you will provide a better return on investment than experimenting with every new tool in the marketing industry.

Make sure you keep a keen eye on digital marketing trends and work proactively to keep your knowledge current. Though it’s challenging to stay at the cutting edge, the rewards are more than worth the effort. For more information on digital marketing degrees at Bryant & Stratton College, speak to an Admissions team member today at 1.888.273.2758.