3 Notable Marketing Trends of 2013 (And Our Social Media Resolutions for the New Year)

Marketing is evolving. There is no denying that the way the world consumes information is changing—and more rapidly than ever. In order to move forward, marketers must take a look back. Here are some of the biggest changes in the marketing landscape in 2013:

1. 54 % of American consumers are on more than one content platform (desktop, smartphone, and tablet)
This number is up by 10% in 2012. The interesting part is that only 20% of advertisers in the US execute multiscreen campaigns. This number will surely go up once marketers understand the importance of adapting their content to the specific device their consumers are viewing from. No longer are we making purchasing decision merely from our desktop. We develop brand loyalty on the go—in our cars, on the couch, at the office. It is an exciting change, and we will surely be seeing a push towards multiple platform campaigns for 2014.

2. Content Marketing is exploding
What exactly is content marketing? The Content Marketing Institute defines it as “…a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience—with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

If you don’t know what it is by now though, you probably should get on it. Ninety-three percent of B2B and 90% of B2C marketers utilized it in 2013. The real question is—are they utilizing it correctly and effectively? I am sure that brands will begin to question their efforts in this increasingly crucial area of their overall strategy in 2014. They will come to realize that merely creating content is not enough…that it is equally important to tell a story, inspire a viewer. Perhaps more companies will reach out for external help in this area.

3. SEO is so last year
Okay, SEO is not dead (no matter what you read), but it has changed. Drastically.  In September of 2013, Google stopped providing data on search queries to site owners. Now marketers are blindly attempting to optimize their content. Throwing up a crappy website or blog post with a few keywords sprinkled on top is no longer going to cut it. All of the shortcuts and sneaky scams to get clicks are GONE. It’s all about creating great content that is valuable to your target audience.  And that is pretty cool!

So what should our social media resolutions be in 2014?

– Let’s not be lazy with our campaigns. Let’s make our content mobile/tablet friendly and tailor each and every post to whatever platform we share it on.

– Hop on the content marketing train, or be left in the dust. It’s pretty clear that it’s happening…with or without you.

– Don’t even think about taking shortcuts with your content. Create something of value to attract your ideal client. Don’t have time? Get some help!

[Statistics via Uberflip]