As 2017 draws to a close, we can take a look back at the exciting new digital marketing trends the year brought us. Some are fresh spins on old favorites while others are brand new hot topics in the world of digital marketing, but one thing they all have in common is creating a personalized experience for the consumer and allowing them to connect with a brand on a whole new level. Here are some of our favorite digital marketing solutions that made their mark in 2017.
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Influencer Marketing
2017 was the year that revolutionized marketing as we know it by coming up with the bright idea to let the experts do the talking. Influencer marketing is a strategy that places focus on individuals who have influence over potential buyers of a product or service, rather than on consumers as a whole. These influencers then set the tone for branding, rather than the other way around. Examples of influencer marketing can be found in clothing brand GAP’s ultra-successful Styld.by campaign, in which people could shop looks created by social media personalities, as well as Skype’s “Your City, Your Passion” campaign, where social media influencers around the world created content that told a story about their hometowns. Influencer marketing takes advertising away from brands and uniquely places it into the hands of the creative and talented people who influence them, giving digital marketing campaigns a more approachable, less “sales-y” approach to targeting core audiences.
Automation
When we look back at 2017 in future years, we may think of it as the year much of our marketing efforts became automated. Marketing automation, or the process of automating certain repetitive aspects of digital marketing campaigns for an effective, time-saving boost to productivity. Marketing automation truly exploded this year, with platforms such as Marketo, Salesforce Pardot, and MailChimp catching fire and generating much-deserved buzz in marketing departments across virtually all industries. Suddenly things like mass emails could be group-sent to segmented target audiences at the touch of a button. Best of all, since certain content can be scheduled to send at timed intervals, marketers can use automation to create “nurture tracks” to gently guide their prospects to a conversion rather than overloading them with a hard sell. Marketing automation may just be the tool we’ve been waiting for to bridge the gap between digital marketing efforts and increased conversion rates, and it can all work in the background while marketers put more of their time and creativity into other aspects of every campaign.
Content Marketing
Though SEO practices have been around for much longer than just this year, it’s safe to say 2017 was the year the concept of content marketing really caught fire. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the practice of optimizing web content with specific key phrases designed to boost organic ranking results on Google and other search engines. Of course, not all SEO is created equal: thanks to advances in the ever-evolving Google algorithms, marketers want to be careful to avoid underhanded optimization strategies, commonly referred to as “black hat SEO.” By keeping it above-board with highly reputable, “white label” SEO solutions, like the ones offered by 51Blocks, marketers can rest assured that their content is optimized to rank higher, increase conversion rates, and boost overall ROI without getting flagged by the powers that be at Google. Best of all, white label SEO strategies exist to inform consumers about a product or service and add value to their everyday lives rather than simply to sell them something. Keeping with 2017’s theme of personalization, white label SEO can help create loyalty and drive brand awareness so each client can have a customized, unique experience that fills a specific need in his or her life.
51Blocks wants to help you kick off 2018 with the digital marketing strategies you need to have a successful and prosperous new year. Contact us today to hear more about our white label SEO services and how they can benefit your business!
