2014 is nearly over and so it is now time to look at marketing strategies for the coming year. The marketing world is constantly changing, so your business should evolve with it as well. Discover the most effective marketing strategies for 2015 and implement them in your business plan for guaranteed success.

Clarity In Representation

Consumers are starting to pay more attention to the transparency of a company, therefore it is a good idea to represent your product or service in such a way. Do not try to market your product or service with a sentence that has been used a million times before, for example: “product x is the cheapest product on the market” or “service x is the fastest and cheapest service in your area.” Unclear advertising simply won’t affect consumers anymore, since they prefer a clear picture of the products and/or services you offer. Represent your product or service in a clear-cut manner. Consumers prefer to be informed instead of told.

Don’t Be Afraid To Look At New Digital Marketing Technologies

The marketing strategy you are using at the moment may be quite effective, but it is always wise to look to the future. 2015 is going to be jam-packed with new innovating marketing technologies that can make the life of any marketing strategist a lot easier.

Digital technologies are not the only development, because you’ll also find more diversity in marketing jobs. The so-called marketing technologist is one of these marketing jobs. A marketing technologist is basically a marketer with significant IT skills. In order words, if you are looking for the complete marketing package, you should be looking at digital marketing companies who cover a wide range of marketing areas.

Faster Results Through Fast-result Marketing

Marketing used to take month to take effect. Clients had to wait for a few months until they actually reaped the fruit of various marketing campaigns, this has changed due to the modern era of social media platforms and pay-per-clicks. The most advanced marketers are also able to adapt their strategy faster, provide shorter lead times and are always involved in real-time marketing.

Personalisation Is The Key

Consumers had enough of global companies and are looking for businesses with personality. Thanks to various social media platforms, the internet has also become more personal and this is something that many marketing companies will take advantage of. The demand for regional and local businesses is back on the rise, giving small businesses more chance to reel in customers.

Enter The Social Media Craze

Social media madness has been going on for quite some time. If you haven’t done so already, make sure that you jump on the social media bandwagon. You wouldn’t believe how many people look for a social media page for a local or regional business.

Contrary to the beginning of social media, the emphasis lies no longer on the amount of likes you get. Don’t get me wrong, it is still somewhat important, but 2015 will be the time to interact with your clients on social media. Interacting with clients is essential to give your business some personality, however, it can be very time consuming.

The most important social media platforms in 2015 are still Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and newcomer Instagram. The Instagram platform is not suited for every target group though, since the social media platform mainly attracts a younger group of people. If your business has a young target group, it might be worth getting on Instagram.

Video Marketing

Text is not as popular as it used to be, so video marketing is a good way to go. YouTube has millions of visitors every single day, this means that there are a lot of customers to be had. Video marketing can be hard for some companies though, especially when you sell a product that everyone is familiar with already. If this is the case, you can always introduce yourself and your company as an expert.

YouTube is definitely a medium you need to use, but you’ll also find other options. You could integrate a video on your website to make the website more attractive, but then you won’t speak to those potential customers on YouTube.

If you have some videos on YouTube, and people following your posts, you’ll also get more traffic to your website. More traffic means more advertising revenue if you use integrated advertisements, for example AdSense.

Visual Attractiveness

Website look better when there is something more to look at than text. Images make your website look livelier and break down boring text blocks. Well placed images also keep your clients interested, which is essential when you want to make a good first impression.

Images aren’t the only thing that make your website attractive though, because an attractive layout will also grasp the attention of a potential client. If your website or advertisements look good, your sales will be looking good to.

Search Engine Optimization

You probably heard these words a million times before, but search engine optimisation will still play an important role in the marketing strategy for 2015. The majority of businesses implement search engine optimization in the content of their website, but there is a lot more to it than that.

If your search engine optimisation strategy is solely based on content, you will get problems in 2015 due to the deluge of investment in content marketing. Many businesses will have to revert to old-school tactics, for example resource pages, to really stand out from the competition.

Google will change their rules again in 2015 and this will make it a lot harder for optimisation experts to determine how to get higher in the search rankings. The internet giant will implement more regulations to counter spam and to remain on top of the search engines. Bing and Yahoo may still be around, but they will continue to struggle in the coming year. Due to the position of Bing and Yahoo, it is better to focus on popular search engine Google.

Put Mobile Devices First

The era of the computer seems to be over since most people now use their mobile devices for nearly everything. In order to keep up with this trend, businesses will have to adjust their websites to fit mobile devices. Placing the focus on mobile devices instead of computer will speak to a much broader audience.

Putting mobile devices first might also help you in the search rankings. Google has announced the so-called mobile-friendly label, where Google will give your website a certain friendliness ranking for mobile devices. The higher your score, the better your search rankings will be for mobile devices.

Spend Money To Make Money

It is really hard to find a decent service for free, therefore you should be willing to pay money to make money. Paying for advertisements has become more affordable due to its large availability on the internet.

Investing in Google AdSense will help you in the search rankings, but it can cost you tons of money if you aren’t careful. Incorporate the costs for Google AdSense into your marketing budget for 2015. Sometimes it may seem like you only spend a few dollars a day, but this little amount can quickly pile up after a certain amount of time.

If you decide to pay for a certain advertising service, it is needed to regularly evaluate the impact of this service. Paying for an entire year is unwise, because if this strategy does not work you will spend money for nothing. Reviewing all your marketing strategies often is recommended for any business owner.

Look For New Opportunities

A working marketing strategy is difficult to change and you don’t have to, but this does not mean you shouldn’t be looking for new opportunities. For example, you could be getting the majority of your clients through a blog, but you could be getting more if you made a Facebook account for your business.

Engage Your Clients

Interacting with your clients will be one of the building blocks for your marketing strategy of 2015. Have you ever asked a client how they heard of you? This might help you determine which marketing channels are working and which are not, saving you more money in the long run.

Research regarding marketing channels is not the only research you can do by talking to your clients. You can also find new ways to improve your products, delivery, services or even website design. Ask your clients why they choose you and if they think something could be improved.

Networking

If you want to make it in the business world, you will need important and useful business contacts. It is important to realise that all beginnings can be difficult, but once you have one valuable contact, the rest will follow soon.

There are many different ways to start networking. The majority of businesses try to network through social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, although it is important to realize that this might not be the ideal way to acquire new business contacts. Personal contact is always better and leaves more of an impression with potential partners or customers.

You can engage clients personally in many different ways and some are more intrusive than others. If you often get calls with some query at home, you definitely know what I mean. Luckily there are less intrusive ways of engaging clients in conversation. Visit a local seminar, participate in a charity or sponsor a local sports event.

Say Goodbye To Broad Keywords

Broad keywords are no longer a good idea, especially in the year to come. The broad keywords may have a very large search volume, but they won’t attract the customers you require, except when you have a huge budget to spend on keyword advertising.

Instead of using broad keywords, pick narrow keywords that really speak to your target group. The use of narrow keywords will not only cost you less money, you will get less competition as well. You will also attract customers that will be interested in buying your product or service, instead of a lead that ended up on your website through a broad keyword.

Branding

Given the fact that personality will play a huge role in the marketing scene of 2015, you will need a proper brand to accompany that personality. If you don’t have any brand in place, there is still time! Many marketing specialists are experts in creating a brand for you and know exactly what will speak to your customers.

Before you order a brand or create a brand for yourself, you need a clear picture of your target group, the message you want to convey and the feeling you want to deliver to your clients. For example, a bank will emphasise trust and safety while a local plumber will emphasise speed and skill. The answers to these questions might not seem important right now, but they are essential for each and every aspect of your brand design.

Design And Development

Whether you trade online or not, every business needs a website nowadays. It is hard to imagine a household without a computer or at least an Android device. People find it easier to search for a website than picking up the phone and calling someone and this is why you need a good website design but also development.

It is always best to hire someone to do this, especially when you never had a website before. Website design and development is not easy and there is more to it than meets the eye. You will need a host, domain name, a website template, content and much more. If you are a business owner, it is highly unlikely that you have the time to handle all these matters efficiently.

The cost for a decent looking website and the maintenance of this website is very affordable nowadays. You could also take advantage of several package deals that offer the creation of a website and search engine optimisation!