Top Marketing and Communications Trends for 2014: Part Two

 

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Curious about what new marketing and communication trends 2014 will bring? In part one of this post, we identified three key trends for the New Year: social media becoming pay-for-play, branded journalism, and wearable technology and the Internet of Things. Today, we’ll discuss three more trends.

Collaborative economy:  Crowd sourcing, crowd funding, crowd storming: Fab, AirBnB, Uber, TaskRabbit. These are all examples of the collaborative economy. Recent advances in technology like mobile, social, 3D printers and the Internet of Things are empowering people and businesses to share existing resources with each other rather than buy anew or reinvent the wheel. It’s a simple, but revolutionary concept. The collaborative economy was a huge trend in 2013, but is likely to grow in 2014 and marketers should challenge themselves to think about how they can leverage it. ‘My Starbucks Idea’ is a good example of how a brand creatively harnessed the power of crowdsourcing, not only for marketing, but to innovate their business.

Anticipatory computing – This is the act of serving up information a person wants before they even know to ask for it. Mobile users have been checking into their locations, listening to music on their phones, and updating ical events for years. Now, companies like Foursquare and Circle are using the data from these mobile interactions to tailor suggestions specific to the user, which effectively means that your smartphone could dictate your preferences and purchases.

For example, Foursquare is rolling out push notification recommendations to help users find what’s happening in their area. People who opt-in to the push notifications will get suggestions on where to eat or what to do in their neighborhoods. I predict that this idea will proliferate in 2014, and will have a significant impact on advertising and marketing.

Super fans as marketers: The idea of engaging an audience that is already passionate about your brand isn’t new, but social media makes ‘super fans’ even more valuable. It’s easier than ever before to find and reach super fans, and they have a menagerie of tools at their fingertips to evangelize their brand affinities.

A recent Mashable article stated that a Facebook friend is now worth about $174, which 28% higher than 2012, and that figure is expected to increase. Online friends are clearly valuable, but if recommendations from Facebook friends are worth almost $200, what’s the value of a recommendation from a real-live friend? Super fans can be a brand’s secret weapon, not only because of their power online, but also offline.

As we progress through the age of the ‘super fan,’ marketers will enlist these ‘assets’ to market and sell for them, both online and in-person. Here’s an example: Pepsi rewarded selected Beyoncé fans who created videos based on the singer’s latest commercial with the chance to appear in a video made with her choreographer, as well as a trip to her concert in Brooklyn. Smart.

What do you think will be the major marketing trends in 2014? Tell us in the comments.

Top Marketing and Communications Trends for 2014: Part One

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At the holidays, most people take time to reflect on the last 365 days, but this year, I looked back on my entire career. I’ve only been doing this for seven years, but in that time, the marketing and communications fields have changed at a lightning pace. In 2006, I was schooled in traditional PR and I worked on a mammoth-sized PC that took up my entire desk space. Facebook was merely a way to keep in touch with college friends and Twitter didn’t exist. In those early years, I remember initial discussions with my team about whether we should count blog posts as media hits.

Oh, how the times have changed.

It’s been fun to be a part of the rapid pace of change, but it can be a challenge to keep up. That’s why, in order to continue to drive success for our clients, I’ve identified the top digital marketing communications trends of 2014.

Social media becoming pay-for-play: Facebook has changed its news feed algorithm, which means it’s harder for brands to achieve organic reach. We’d seen it anecdotally here at (W)right On as we monitor and report on our clients’ Facebook page metrics. In early December, our suspicions were validated in this Ad Age article: “Facebook is being more blunt about the fact that marketers are going to have to pay for reach.”

We should also keep in mind that Twitter went public in 2013 and is expected to be profitable for investors. Right now, there is no “algorithm” that shuts down organic content, but we should keep an eye out for changes in 2014. A pay-for-play at Twitter is a distinct possibility. Agencies should adapt and account for the change in guidance and implementation strategies.

Branded journalism: In 2011, I was doing research for a client on online newsroom best practices, and I discovered Cisco’s award winning brand journalism platform. Since then, more and more companies, like Adobe, GE, and Coca-Cola, have adopted it; and they’re even hiring internal journalists to produce content. Instead of relying on media placements and advertisements, brands are using digital and social tools to speak directly to customers. With all the changes in the traditional and digital media landscape, it makes sense that more brands are adopting a “build it or buy it” strategy to content marketing. I predict that we’ll see even more of this in 2014.

Wearable technology and the Internet of Things: The buzz around wearable tech has been going on for a while, but it’s about to explode. You may own a Nike Fuel Band or a FitBit already, but according to ShotTracker, the market is expected to be eight times larger than it was in 2012. By 2018, it could reach $19 billion.

In 2014, Google Glass will be available for purchase. Glass’ marketing applications and impact on search will be limited at first, but I predict that will change rapidly. One clue: A recently released Glass app, Glashion, enables users to snap clothing and accessories of passers-by and complete a comparison shop. Think about what those possibilities mean for marketers!

Wearable technology is just one aspect of the ‘Internet of Things,’ which are billions of smart, connected “things,” (i.e., machines or devices) that will encompass every aspect of our lives. As a result, huge amounts of user data are being generated. As the Internet of Things becomes more ubiquitous, marketers will need to figure out how to harness that data.

Be sure to check the blog next week for part two of this series where we’ll provide three more top digital marketing trends for 2014.