Selina's 2013 Online Marketing Predictions

The year 2013 is almost upon us, and with that, the ever changing digital environment continues to alter and it is up to us to foresee and adapt to these shifts for us and our clients. These changes include a real emphasis on the way that we do online marketing as well as how we reach our target audience.

Here are some of my predictions for next year.

1. Shifts towards Agile Marketing

In comparison to traditional marketing which focuses on the Four P's (Product,Price, Place, Promotion), Agile Marketing has the Four Principles of Cost, Convenience, Communication and Consumer. As this is, the Agile Marketing strategy concentrates more intently on multiple, short term campaigns which allows more focus on the consumers feedback and desires rather than creating assumptions. In the ever shifting and highly connected digital world, Agile Marketing proves to be beneficial due to its ability to be rapid, ongoing and disposable.

2. Real- Time Marketing

Real- Time marketing is becoming more relevant to today digital environment as it allows more flexibility than traditional marketing campaigns. Campaigns are designed in advance based on a company's timeline which causes issues of rigidity and disables opportunities of alterations. Real-Time communications takes into consideration changes in consumer behaviors and technology. This enables alterations to the communication strategies as well as engaging the consumers at the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT).

3. Mobile transcending PC's

In the year 2012, it was estimated that 800 million smartphones and tablets were sold. A study showed results that in 2013, mobile phones will overwhelm PC's as the most common web access device worldwide. On average, 70% of mobile searches result in user action within one hour and 9/10 lead to some kind of action. A mobile-first marketing campaign will become more relevant which involves the process of making sure that online assets collaborate with mobile devices of all shapes and sizes as the best way to reach consumers.

Next year will definitely be an interesting time to watch for trends in marketing and the vehicles that we use. It is apparent that a larger focus on the target audience as a whole, the ability to be flexible in marketing activities as well as the medium that we use to pass our message along will become of greater importance. If you would like further predictions into 2013, check out Steve's web design predictions.