Establishing a brand is all-consuming. From time to human resources and even money, there is never enough to flaunt around. That is why for many people, after creating a promising ad that guarantees average ROI, they sit back and stick to that.

Does that sound too normal? For some marketers, maybe it does. With so many digital marketing platforms, it cannot be fair enough hanging your hopes on one strategy. Every new day presents you with an opportunity of challenging your assumptions and stepping out boldly to embrace new ideas.

In 2017, winning the digital marketing race involves adopting certain trends. For those who are willing to let go of everything and embrace the strategies below, the future is bright.

1. Collective marketing is the way to go

For marketers who are used to creating and distributing their content on their own, the current system demands more. Ideally, it has nothing to do with producing and publishing content being so challenging for an individual to handle. The truth is, it has become easier, and key players in the market are aggressively taking advantage of that.

According to a report by Web Strategies Inc, marketers are likely to have increased their spending on digital marketing by up to 35%. Even more, 54.1% of marketers opt for hiring content from other sources to boost their campaigns. Apparently, everyone is trying to get their voices heard, but the slots are limited and only a few get to reap big from such platforms.

For those who choose to do it on their own, it is proving more challenging in the coming years. That is why great digital marketers have chosen collaboration. With a sea of credible networks, you can have your content seen far and wide. At the end of the day, you are competing against cat and baby videos to get noticed. What will make the difference? Bring others on board and walk the road as a team.

The other way of looking at it is using influencer marketers. These people might not necessarily be sharing the same business niche with you. Through the huge following they attract however, they can get your brand’s messages to thousands of potential customers. Influencer marketers can be other non-competing companies or influential media personalities.

2. Time for more interactive content

Digital content marketing has been with us for quite some time. For most people however, digital content is all about quality articles. Articles are easier to generate compared to videos, infographics, podcasts, and even slideshows. However, the internet is already flooded with millions of articles pertaining to varied niches.

For marketers, it is important acknowledging that your target audience jostles between reading your 2000 word article and watching a funny cat video on YouTube. At the end of the day, the person who puts up more engaging content gets the most attention.

In 2017, you can be certain to obtain more organic backlinks from other interactive content as compared to well-written articles. The current corporate system demands for more creativity and user-engagement. It might have been challenging creating interactive content in the past but not anymore. With varied interactive tools, one is able to design beautiful and more interactive content including web surveys, calculators, and Buzzfeed Quizzes without the need for a developer.  

“Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.” – Andrew Davis

3. Beyond SEO

In the past, gaining and maintaining massive traffic was as easy as stepping up your SEO game. In 2017, wholly relying on SEO for traffic is a recipe for failure. Recently, Google has continued with Algorithm change techniques.

From Panda to Penguin and Mobilegeddon, the list is neverending. A good number of legitimate sites with incredible content have suffered in the process. That shouldn’t suggest you should forget all those fantastic SEO skills you have spent countless hours acquiring over the years.

Keep them and improve them if you can. However, do not hide yourself from the fact that traffic acquisition in 2017 demands more than just SEO skills. You need to invest in other marketing skills and put as much effort and investments in them.

4. Get personal

Think of a scenario where your target audience is bundled up in one location. Your work as a marketer would be easier, right? That’s never the case. While some are on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Reddit, others you will only get to reach through emails. For marketers, your main role is to interact with each one of them at their channel of choice. Getting personal with your audience will mean dancing to the tune of their music.

However, as you grow your customer base and widen your market scope, having such conversations with your clients becomes more difficult, but not entirely impossible. With tools like Lifecycle.io and Autopilot, you can still have those conversations that customers love, but automatically. Engaging your customers at a personal level is a critical component of winning the digital marketing game.

“Marketing’s job is never done. It’s about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day.” – Beth Comstock

5. Pay to play will no longer be optional

For marketers heavily relying on social networks, a lot more than just posting your messages on your social media profile will be necessary to win your target audience. According to a report by Forrester Research, only 16% of brands’ followers get to see their Facebook posts. As for Twitter, the average tweet only reaches 10% of the followers.

It might be sad, but truth be told, we are entering a digital marketing era where you will have to pay to have your content distributed appropriately. For many, it means loosening your budget to accommodate extra costs. If you need to have a greater impact, you will have to pay for the associated services.

The digital marketing arena is getting more demanding with each growing day. Winning the war would mean embracing new ideas as you analyse the rising trends. Are you ready to play along or will you be left out in 2017?

What Digital Marketing strategies do you think will be effective in 2017? Leave your thoughts below!