Video, apps and VR are 3 digital marketing trends you’ll see more of in 2016.
Digital marketing is a fast moving and unruly domain which is constantly growing and developing, delivering digital marketing new ideas and with new trends emerging relentlessly. 2015 was the year of the mobile, with both Google and Bing’s mobile algorithm updates changing the way every business thinks about their SEO and forcing mobile optimisation for websites. So what is to come in 2016? Let’s take a look at three major trends that could define digital marketing in the coming year.
1. More in-video ads
In-video advertising is nothing new, and brands have been doing it on video channels like YouTube for some time. However, we’ve been reading that Google is considering introducing videos into its search engine results next year, which could radically change the significance of in-video ads and make them much more common outside of video channels.
2. The rising importance of apps
Application indexing is currently taking the world of SEO by storm, and looks set to revolutionise the way that brands and businesses market their digital content.
Essentially, application indexing is the process by which search engines like Google will index the content of mobile and tablet applications, in order to display results relating to these apps in search results. You may have already seen results for in-app content in some of your Google search results over the last few months, and now that it is being rolled out fully, expect to see more businesses designing apps in 2016, and using them to market their content to mobile and tablet users.
3. Virtual reality
Virtual reality (or VR) has been on the horizon for some time, and digital marketing experts expect it to go mainstream in 2016. Lots of the initial VR technology was designed for video games, but now headsets made for more general use are being set for release. Of these, the most commonly known is the Facebook-owned, Occulus Rift, the new version of which is due for release in 2016.
These headsets are also set for integration with social media, video channels like YouTube, and direct messaging, offering a whole range of advertising platforms for businesses and brands. Although this might not be available for everyone next year, 2016 looks set to be the year that VR really takes off, and it would make sense to get in on the ground floor whilst you still can.
If you’re on a budget, there’s always Google cardboard! A DIY version of VR glasses, which may not last as long, but it’s fun putting it together to see how it works.
Labels: digital marketing predictions, social media trends