What 2013 Holds in Store for Interactive Marketing

Interactive Marketing

With 2013 upon us, those who watch marketing research trends closely are learning what part of the social media mix works best and why. They must decide how best to implement an interactive marketing strategy into existing plans to maximize results.

Much has been written and predicted about the use of social media in marketing, but the facts are still somewhat vague. Response measuring charts show an indication that interactive marketing works better than static advertising with today’s consumer. To help take advantage of new social media benefits, there are some exciting and dynamic interactive tools that you can add to your own or client websites.

The nature of social media involves direct connections between friends and family members. This is possibly the strongest possible link you can utilize for advertising, as studies from ROI Research show recommendations from friends holds the highest power to influence buying decisions, even over expert opinion. If you can get your customers to share information or positive opinions about a client’s website or products, that is a win. Use photographs to gain an extra edge for attracting attention.

 Mention social media and most people think of Facebook, but there are many other options to use to increase brand recognition, such as YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest. You want to use as many as possible, in part because conversion rates are lower than from other types of marketing. Fortunately, little cost other than your time and planning is involved to get your materials onto social media.

Consumers use more than their computers to access the Internet. Marketing research trends show that in 2013, those users are going to be more active on devices like their smartphones, mobile phones, tablets or game consoles. To get consumers to come to you, you first must go to them.

Content should be interesting, captivating, emotional and realistic, but not promotional for best impact. This is a good way to help gain some social actions like sharing your content, which then extends your reach. You also have a great opportunity to show and tell about products and companies prior to the consumer’s actual purchase. Going viral is a fortunate occurrence that allows you to reach an amazing number of viewers.

Social media promotion is a great way to latch onto consumer interest, but getting the sale requires additional work. Use of email is more effective than a sell message within your content, so try to establish direct connections by getting those consumers to sign onto your email or newsletter list. Then, use the direct email contact to gain sales.

Follow trends closely and remember that a picture will always be worth 1000 words.  Use images liberally to reinforce your text content. In short, 2013 will be an online social media party of sorts, with consumers ready and waiting for you if you can work their favorites into your overall marketing strategy.