Q: What are the most significant trends in the online marketing industry in 2012? Are things as easy as before to make money… or are there NEW ideas that need to be implemented to maintain the same level of success?
A: This is a very common question that comes up through our articles, blog posts, and even newsletter subscribers. The truth is, if you’re a passionate professional or online entrepreneur working in the branding, blogging, or business industry, you NEED to know what’s working NOW…and what’s not working anymore.
I want to share with you 3 key trends that are vitally important in my own business, and that I truly believe each and every successful business owner (or online agency) needs to adopt ASAP, or risk being trampled. .and left behind by what they are.
1 – Communities are critical
Static websites, or even simple blogs, are no longer enough to stand out in your space. You need to think community FIRST and set up the infrastructure to create an interactive environment where your users can become content creators and evangelists for your blog, your brand and your business. The good news is that the Facebook-style marketing model can be EASILY implemented on all blogs running WordPress (the most used blogging platform in the world) with free plugins that can transform your blog into an interactive community in just one click. hour. (if you are slow!)
2 – Dynamic navigation environments
It used to be that marketers didn’t have to think about design as much…as the direct response mantra was that design didn’t matter. (think of the long text-heavy sales pages of yesteryear that are still being used by some marketing “gurus” in 2012)
The truth is, in my own business, I’m seeing firsthand how much cross-device design and access is transforming my own communities and conversions as well. According to recent statistics, roughly HALF of Facebook’s 900 million users access the site a significant portion of the time via a mobile device or iPad (or similar reader). Unless you’re creating responsive or adaptive environments that adapt to your users’ screens, you’ll exponentially increase your bounce rates, lose readers, and of course suffer from an SEO standpoint as a result. (since page permanence is a very important factor in determining how relevant your pages are to the searches that send you traffic)
3 – Control what you create
Short site marketing strategists are forgoing traditional blogs and websites for social profiles and social media branding. The truth is that this is a BIG mistake, because if you don’t control the content you create, you risk losing everything, at the whim of someone else’s schedule or business goals. For example? I’ve seen people who have built a great presence on Facebook lose it overnight… when FB decided to take down their page. Or those who built their entire business around sites like Squidoo or HubPages or even just article directories… only to find that when those sites get slapped or punished, you suffer too.
When you control what you create and own the places you post, you are RARELY at risk of going out of business due to factors beyond your control. Using social media as a complementary strategy is SMART. But using it as the only strategy is super dumb… and very short too.
