How to Stay Ahead of the Pack with the Latest Marketing Trends

Gini Dietrich is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arment Dietrich – an integrated marketing and communications firm in Chicago. She’s also a co-author of “Marketing in the Round,” a lead blogger at Spin Sucks, and a co-host of a weekly podcast called “Inside PR.”

Innovation makes the world go round, and the internet has made it even better. The establishment of the digital infrastructure has provided a platform for new trends to emerge faster than ever before. By the time you get hold of one trend, another one is already emerging.

Is it possible to stay updated on the ever-changing trends in a way that is cost-effective to your business?

3 Ways to Stay Updated on the Latest Marketing Trends

Here are tips by Gini on how to stay on top of any developing marketing trend, and how to effectively capitalize on them before your competition does:

Read Widely

You have to pay attention to what the influencers in the market are talking about. You can achieve this by reading blogs, going to conferences, and watching videos, and get a general idea of what people are talking about in your industry.

Also, you can follow a number of major influencers in your industry on various social media platforms and read through their posts. You can use the “Who to follow” feature on Twitter, which makes recommendations of who to follow in your particular industry. Using this strategy, you will be able to see little pockets of trends that you can tap into.

Study Your Industry

It takes a bit of experience to know what is going to be a trend and what won’t in your industry. You need to be able to look at something interesting and think of how it may change or shake up your industry.  

For instance, when Twitter was first launched, marketers didn’t know how they can use it from a business point of view. Through research as well as trial and error, it was tested out for B2B and B2C, and it eventually grew into a business social media platform. Other social networks came into play from that perspective as well.

Grow Your Network in Your Industry

Stay close to people in the industry who are conversant with trends that might be of interest to you. This means that you will have to build relationships with influencers, journalists at conferences, industry leaders, and have conversations with like-minded individuals about things you think might affect your industry.

A good way of doing this is by finding an active community on various online platforms and start going through the posts. Once you get comfortable with the group, introduce yourself and start sharing ideas and knowledge as well as what you anticipate in the market. This will not only keep you updated on marketing trends but will also help with your networking.

What Is New in the B2B World?

The evolving B2B marketing trends reveal that strategies like email campaigns are back, while digital advertising - though still effective - is becoming less popular.

With marketing automation, mobile automation, and content marketing seen as emerging trends, BOT-fraud and ad blocking will definitely pose a huge challenge for marketers.
Here are some trends to look out for according to Gini Dietrich:

Texting Campaigns

Unlike many critics, B2B is not oversaturated. There are a lot of things happening in the B2B world. One good marketing strategy right now is text campaigns. It’ll be a good idea to start collecting cell phone numbers. Texting campaigns are increasingly becoming more efficient than email marketing.

However, for a business to have effective marketing strategies, it should be smart on metrics, creating and tracking effectiveness, as well as paying attention to brand ambassadors and what they are saying.

Chatbots are Changing Our Conversations

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is slowly taking over the marketing world. Chatbots are designed to offer 24-hour engagement with consumers on a number of platforms.  For instance, Facebook Messenger uses chatbots for virtual assistance, and consumers can order things as well as make queries. A chatbot is basically a virtual assistant who never sleeps and is always prompt with appropriate replies.

Even though many people might not be ready to have a virtual assistant schedule meetings for them, this is something you should keep a close eye on. It’s definitely going to be a big hit in the marketing industry.

Email Marketing Automation

Email marketing has been there for quite a long time, but a lot of people don’t use it. It isn’t rocket science. You can create all sorts of campaigns and engage a customer by sharing helpful content that will make them buy from you.

Always ensure you have established a relationship with your potential clients before trying to sell to them. The best way is to send engaging content on their probable challenges and problems that they may have. Once that’s done, offer your products or services as a solution. This is marketing at its best!

Never Stop Staying Up-To-Date

The latest trends will assist marketers to engage their clients more personally by increasing marketing research and circumventing distractions. These tactics are designed to appeal to the fundamental aspects of ordinary people.  As such, they’re used to developing carefully coordinated conversations and campaigns where customers and brands coalesce into a pleasant shared experience.

Businesses that want to rise above the rest are creating content that allows them to bond with their clients. Succeeding in digital marketing has a lot to do with trying out new strategies, tools, and techniques.

Never borrow a strategy from another business. Bear in mind that what worked for them may not necessarily work for you. As the digital infrastructure changes, it is important that you update your knowledge and develop better strategies.

Through persistent learning and a proactive approach, you will know the latest marketing possibilities that are available in your industry, and you can employ them to stay one step ahead of the game.