Digital Trends of 2014, And Their Impact on Content Marketing

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As the New Year 2014 approaches, consumers and marketers alike find themselves in an ever-changing landscape of technology. 2013 saw 3D printing, cloud storage going mainstream, and digital currencies getting mass attention. While innovative technologies drive productivity and more engaging communication, marketers will have to struggle to get creative to deliver value to their brands. 

New Tech Paradigm Emerges

The new year will bring a shift (albeit slowly) toward wearable technologies. With ultra-hyped eyeglass computer Google Glass expected to be released sometime in 2014, a slew of competitors will surely follow, including Epiphany Eyewear and Zeyez. 

Already on the market in 2013 were the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch and a popular competitor, the Pebble Smartwatch. These iPod nano-like watches provide hands-free bluetooth connection to your smartphone, plus stand-alone apps for seemingly limitless applications.

While mainstream adoption may not occur right away for some wearables, health and fitness-tracking technologies like NikeFuel Band and Jawbone Up devices could be hot items throughout the year and beyond.

 
Google Glass will launch to consumers in 2014.

 Smartwatches could be a hot gift item next Christmas 2014. 

Visual Content Dominates 

The top three fastest growing apps this year were all visually-based. Vine, Flickr, and Instagram made huge strides in building their usage (Vine grew by nearly 400%). Twitter and Facebook have long realized that people enjoy sharing images and videos. Proof? Twitter acquired Vine in 2012. Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 and introduced Instagram video this summer. Snapchat turned down $3 billion from Facebook last fall. If that doesn't tell you where visual content is headed, nothing will. 

As more and more information washes over internet users, concise writing and impacting images will become more necessary to attract and hold viewers' attentions. Look for more infographics and short Vine-like videos to supplement content marketing as marketers seek to leverage emerging platforms.
  

Dunkin Donuts ran a series of Vine ads on Monday Night Football.

What It All Means

More devices and more apps means brands need more content to target and engage users. The rise of mobile in the last couple of years has mandated a shift toward mobile ads and content. The same will eventually happen for wearable devices once app development catches up. Concision + visual aids make content creation more challenging and rewarding for those brands that get it right. 

I like what Justin Pearse, head of marketing at Bite, had to say about content in 2014:

"In 2014 we will see brands stop talking about 'acting like a publisher' and start actually acting like one. The froth surrounding content marketing will start to settle and brands will start investing in the people, processes and technologies to deliver truly compelling content. 

2014 will be the year job titles such as head of content and content director become common at brands, both B2C and B2B. This will help companies start to emulate content professionals like journalists, authors and even film directors, in treating content as sacred. 

If they do, brands will be able to avoid contributing to the problem of content pollution choking us online and start delivering content people actually want."

Check out our digital marketing services at chromatic-solutions.com.

Why Mobile was King of 2013

In 2013, smartphone usage finally reached more than half of the U.S. population with 139 million users.

Rise of M-Commerce

While businesses continue to shore up e-commerce efforts, significant mobile and tablet growth continues to push sales on mobile devices to the forefront of online sales activity. According to Groupon, for example, 45% of their sales occurred on mobile devices including tablets over the last year. While 

And with the average user looking at their phone over 150 times a day, marketers need to make m-commerce a top priority.

This video shows how m-commerce will not just be an online experience, as Google Wallet will make POS transactions easier for consumers in-store, while they use their mobile devices for research and coupons.

Growth of Apps

With the growth of mobile the growth of apps must follow, obviously. According to Flurry Analytics, most new apps are entering the retail market, coinciding with the significant rise in m-commerce. (see below) 

It's amazing how may people are surfing throughout the ENTIRE day. The chart below shows time spent on iOS devices in the US. 

Marketers: 9:00 PM is mobile primetime, but really, someone will be browsing anytime of the day or night. 

In 2013, the big winner was Vine, growing by 403% between Q1 and Q3 

Conclusion

Marketers need to be thinking mobile. They need to know who is using which apps on what device. Technology is leading to greater segmentation, which will help marketers reach their targets and businesses find their niche. 

Check out our mobile solutions at chromatic-solutions.com.

Best Fall Colors, 2013

Old Mission Point Lighthouse, Traverse City, MI (courtesy: michigan.org)

It's November, and the vibrant colors of autumn are beginning to wane in many parts of northern America. Hopefully you had ample time to take plenty of photos of all the bright chromatic foliage. But if you didn't have time to take a color tour, here's a small sample of 2013's brilliant display. 

Virginia

Blue Ridge Moutains, VA (courtesy: Getty Images)

Colorado

Kebler Pass near Crested Butte, CO (courtesy: Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Assoc.)

Last Dollar Road, CO (courtesy: Vic Schendel)

Oregon

Drake Park, Bend, OR (courtesy: visitbend.org)

5 Reasons Businesses Can't Ignore Twitter

It's hard to believe, but it's already been 7 years since the launching of Twitter in July of 2006. Today, the social networking site has more than 500 million registered users, and is currently one of the top 10 most visited sites in the U.S. and the world.  

The sheer usage and momentum of people beginning to use twitter could be reason enough to build a twitter account for your business. But in today's marketing atmosphere, targeting your message for a specific audience to create a conversation trumps the mass consumption billboard advertising of yester-year. 



Here are five reasons you cannot ignore twitter for marketing purposes. 

1. Connecting to Customers

Connection is the main purpose of social media. You should be able to engage in conversation with your customers or your target audience. Make sure your customers know that they can engage with you on Twitter by replying quickly to mentions and questions. 

2. Branding

Your Twitter brand should convey an image of openness and personality, relative to your offline brand. This ties in to your overall engagement. Do your interact with others by retweeting or mentioning? Do you provide links to valuable and engaging content? That's what top Twitter brands do. 

3. Feedback

You should also use Twitter to listen. What does your audience do, read, and watch in their spare time? Use analytic tools to monitor trends and behaviors. If that's too much to keep track of, hire an agency that can track your engagement and tweek your strategy. 

4. News

This ties into engagement and conversation. Keep your audience aware of your latest offers and events to maintain and motivate that engagement.

5. Loyalty

After you've engaged with your customers, answered their desperate cries for help, and tantalized their senses with epic photos and neat videos, you've successfully built brand loyalty. Your followers will not only share your content with their followers, but they'll tell their friends about you offline, using their own voices. Ultimately, that's what you're after, right?

Website Study: Coca-Cola

For 126 years, the Coca-Cola Company has been branding itself on one universal ideal: happiness. As one of the world's most recognizable brands, marketers should be aware of Coke's unique designs and strategies, and should emulate when possible.  This week's website study focuses on the core aspects of the Coca-Cola (US) homepage.

Dr. Oli says: "Let's Begin!"

A: Scrolling Banner

Here, the banner serves as a header for the rest of the homepage. It creates the visual foundation that introduces the rest of the content, and it contains some of the most interesting graphic design on the entire page. On each tile is a call to action, an essential part of capturing a visitor, as 66% of all website visitors show some form of engagement according to a recent study by Chartbeat.  For those visitors, the average time engaging in content is 47 seconds.

B: Video/Multimedia

Multimedia, especially videos, also helps to engage site visitors. According to research sited by YouOn Group (video below), video content is 5.33 times more effective than text when it comes to engagement.  The visual placement of this video on the site is strategic as well: the black video frame helps draw your eye toward it in the center of the page, and its placement just above the bottom of the screen is optimal for visitor engagement. According to Chartbeat, 94% of engaged visitors view this part of the screen, the most of the entire site. You may not have a budget for video production like Coke, but you can attach videos to your site's blog, which will still help your overall SEO efforts.

C: Social

Just to the right of the video, Coke prominently displays its social media feeds. You can look at their posts from facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and flikr. Your site should contain some link to your social media accounts somewhere if not on your homepage, whether it's a live feed, or simply icon links to you account pages, or a "like" button displayed in a prominent location. Check out these examples for inspiration!

D: Complementary Content

Here's where Coke's immense marketing budget really shows itself. At ahh.com, a friendly and funny polar bear introduces the visitor to a whole new world of interactive content. Videos, games, and nifty graphics just beg to be shared, growing Coke's personal connection and further increasing its brand awareness. But you don't necessarily need a witty polar bear to connect with your audience, just something simple and unique to give your website and brand a voice. A story about your business on the "about us" page, or even personal bios of your staff can be an effective engagement strategy. 

Conclusion

As one of the world's top brands (#3 to be exact), Coke inherently takes its web design and brand engagement to the next level. But you don't need a big-league marketing budget to emulate a big-time player like Coke. Just study what makes other websites successful and make sure your web design strategically encourages visitor engagement. 

3 Types of Social Marketing

Steal These 3 Social Marketing Tricks from Top Brands

by Todd Wasserman, Mashable.com

 

Top 6 "Flat" Websites

>> In the last three years or so, web and graphic design has transitioned from lots and lots on texture, bevels and shadows to flat colors, grids, and clean and simple fonts. Content overload, media sharing, mobile and tablet platforms, and a desire for user-friendly interfaces have brought about this trend. 

Let's take a look at 6 beautiful flat and simple web designs. 

#6: Palace

Like Microsoft 8, Palace incorporates a grid layout, with a grey color scheme and color-popping buttons.



#5: Microsoft Store

One of the originators of the popular style, Microsoft uses flat colored grids, and simple, contrasting fonts.

#4: The Clocksmiths

Creative user-interface salvages the monochrome palette. 

#3: Symbolset

The colors and typesetting show off the icons that the site is about. 

#2: Teamsort

Flat design doesn't have to forego pictures.

#1: Theissland

Simple and bold. 

So, now that we've got you interest in flat design, why not bring your business to the second decade of this century? Chromatic Solutions can do it for you! 

Your Sandwich and Google Glass

This Sandwich Shop's Special Ingredient? Google Glass

By John Brandon, inc.com