Forward Marketing President Matt Stark leads the creative, business development and campaign performance efforts for his company. Stark's background is in helping small and mid-sized businesses establish and grow through strategic digital marketing. He believes that, despite the evolving trends in the digital marketing space, the goal should remain the same for small business owners — gain more visibility and reach more customers. When small business owners have an understanding of today’s trends, they can better implement a winning strategy.
Stark shared ways small businesses can improve their marketing tactics by perfecting current SEO and PPC strategies.
Mobile
Mobile has been a topic of conversation for years now, but for some reason there are still businesses that are slow to adopt. If you look around, people are consumed by their mobile devices. From mobile-friendly websites and content, mobile will continue to be a top priority for marketers and businesses alike for years to come.
Video
As mobile consumption continues to grow, so will video. Mobile video views are expected to increase by 25 percent in 2018, so integrating video into your digital marketing strategy is something worth considering. Live video and video blogs are great ways to disperse relevant content that will feed into your SEO strategy.
User generated content
Content created by customers has an authenticity that is difficult to replicate by marketers. No matter what type of business you are in, customer reviews and testimonials establish trust with prospects. Implementing a strategy to increase content created by users should be an element of any business's marketing strategy.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Advances in AI will enable marketers to target and engage prospects more effectively. As this technology continues to advance, you are likely to see AI increase its reach in this space.
Voice search
According to ComScore, more than 50 percent of all searches will be voice searches by 2020. Since voice search commands typically only reveal the top search results, the pressure to get to number one will only increase over the coming years. If you want to gain an edge of your competition, it may be worth adjusting your marketing strategy to accommodate voice search.
Although it can be a challenge, the digital landscape is making it easier than ever to speak to prospects online. If small business owners can implement and execute some of these marketing tactics, their business future will be bright.
This article was written by Michelle M. Guilbeau for Small Business Pulse