GOOGLE REVIEWS
Just a couple of months into the new year and it’s already interesting to see what marketers are focusing their attention on.
Business Development experts, ALF, spoke to 153 marketers from some of the UK’s biggest brands to see which areas of marketing they were investing in most in 2015.
Lead generation seems to be a priority. 73% of marketers cite getting new customers as their focal effort for this year. Marketers also have improving audience engagement and experience near the top of their priority list, as well as getting more value out of existing customers.
It becomes more apparent with every update to Google’s search algorithms that quality content is the best way to the search engine’s heart and this shows, with 80% of the marketers asked by ALF allocating a large budget to developing content. The report even states that many people in the industry are more concerned about quality of content than the design of the site.
As far as technology goes, customer relationship management (CRM) software is one of the frontrunners, with many large businesses deciding to merge their communications and reporting into these inclusive systems, in order to increase organisation. 41% of marketers asked are looking to invest in CRM.
Also growing in popularity, but more widely affordable, are social media dashboards, such as Buffer or Hootsuite. If you don’t already know, these systems allow for multiple social accounts to be viewed and managed in one place, making social media management more efficient, with options to schedule posts to multiple networks and accounts simultaneously.
Mobile technology is even more important in 2015. Last year, Search Engine Land reported that 92% of business executives use a smartphone for work and this figure is set to increase.
According to the ALF figures, 46% of marketers are going to be using mobile-based marketing this year, up from 23% last year. This means that mobile apps and advertising on mobile devices are going to be real growth areas.
The issue here is that many SMEs still cling to outdated sites that aren’t responsive to mobile devices; something that Google is cracking down on with an iron fist by removing sites that aren’t mobile-friendly from their mobile search results. So, although investment in mobile is on the up, too many businesses aren’t paying close enough attention.
Although it is dismissed by some, budgets for social media marketing are ever increasing, with 64% of marketers considering social networks a vital part of modern day marketing. This is particularly apparent for B2C brands.
38% of marketers plan to shift focus to digital marketing from traditional methods this year, as the digital bubble continues to grow. The most prominent areas for spending increase are social media and mobile technology.
As more people turn to Google to find absolutely everything they could ever need or want, SEO is unsurprisingly very important for modern businesses. However, the ALF findings show that a massive 91% of executives still feel like they need more help getting people to their site. So if you’re struggling to get to grips with search, you’re not alone!
ALF add that this is a critical matter, as sites with poor SEO can “become invisible online”.
There’s a lot to take in here. The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving, meaning that your business cannot stand still. This shouldn’t scare you though, it should excite you. If you make the most of the technology available to you, 2015 could be your year!
If these findings aren’t enough and you need further inspiration, take a look a look at some of the work we’ve done for our clients here.
And for any more advice on online marketing and other digital services, give us a ring on 01623 6002620.
