Digital marketing is a disruptive process that has frustrated many traditional marketers and that has led to many successes and failures. Complementing its disruptive nature is the fact that it itself can be easily disrupted by new trends, technology and current events. Marketers understand that failure to adapt to a rapidly-changing atmosphere within an industry can be very detrimental to overall success in the long-term, which is why being aware of what will happen before it happens is especially valuable information in this case. Below, we’ll review some important digital marketing trends that we expect will take over the nature of the game in the coming year or so.

Multimedia Rich Marketing

Many people may already believe that we live in a world filled with multimedia-based marketing, but the reality is that digital marketing in particular still relies substantially on pure text. In fact, digital marketing may very well be in the unique position of being more comprised of pure text than traditional marketing, which uses a variety of elements across multiple mediums to deliver rich content. As technologies vital to multimedia creation continue to become better honed and less expensive, even the most basic brands and businesses will be able to implement multimedia-rich approaches when pinging to Google and Facebook their latest marketing campaigns.

Mobile Dominance

We have recently reached many milestones across multiple mediums in which mobile traffic or devices now comprise a majority of devices used or accessing various forms of content. With this change will come a further revolution – one in which the nature of content is completely rewritten based on mobile devices. We have already seen Google and others completely rewrite their organic search algorithms to penalize websites that do not optimize for mobile. As time continues to pass, consumers will organically punish brands and marketers that do not do the equivalent for marketing efforts. In the meantime, be sure to adapt all web-based elements of your brand to this changing mobile climate – websites, social media posts, multimedia and even software development.

Subversive Advertising

While elements such as PPC campaigns will continue to play important roles in the broader marketing arsenal, the need to embrace elements of subversive advertising (sometimes called native advertising, among other things) is crucial. This form of advertising is incorporated into quality content and ensures – when done properly – that people do not recoil by being witness to a focus-grouped, generic message. Many big brands have been using this form of marketing for years in movies and television, but the era of small-scale subversive advertising in internet media – articles, infographics, videos and podcasts – has arrived. This strategy can be especially effective when pinging to Google a combination of subversive advertising and optimized organic content.

Conclusion

Forecasting the future of digital marketing can be difficult, but it is necessary in order to know where and how to adapt. Embracing the concepts of subversive advertising, mobile adoption and multimedia-rich marketing will ensure that your campaigns continue to enjoy positive and wide-reaching receptions among targeted audiences.