Three Marketing Predictions for 2015

Katie Woods, Amanda Andrew

To continue the great advice Ellen gave last week on 4 Ways to Kick Start Your Marketing in 2015, the three Red Sage Marketing Coordinators, Amanda Andrew, Heather Thompson, and Katie Woods, spent some time researching one specific marketing trend or tool that they feel will greatly change how you reach your target audience in 2015. As Teresa has said, the only thing constant is change. As we move into 2015, we believe this will not only be evident in website development, but in marketing as well.

Amanda’s Prediction:
2015 will be the Year of the Video

The use of video in marketing has been growing by leaps and bounds, but 2015 will be the year of the video. YouTube has been the number two search engine for over two years, and continues to grow. But Facebook actually passed YouTube in August of last year for the greatest number of desktop video views. In September, videos on Facebook were viewed over a billion times per day.

While YouTube is still ahead of Facebook in terms of overall video posts, the trend favors Facebook. Trends suggest that uploads to Facebook will not only overtake YouTube in early 2015, but the number of video views and shares will significantly increase as well.

What does this mean for you?

You cannot ignore video marketing any longer. No matter how you do it – via smartphone, with a professional videographer, etc. – now is the time to jump on the video bandwagon. Heather’s SageAdvice blog post from a couple of weeks back gives some great ideas of how to make an inexpensive video that is tied to each blog post – helping you not only create video content, but get more out of your blog post.

Heather’s Prediction:
2015 will Bring Even More SEO Changes

Forbes contributor John Rampton, nailed the future of SEO in 2015 with his comment, You must say to yourself, “I will be comfortable with change.” With all of the talk about Panda, Penguin, and Pigeons last year, I started to develop a fear of all animals. In 2015, expect even more algorithm changes as Google, Bing, other search engines, and social media outlets find new ways to organize the ever growing amount of content.

What does this mean for you?

You could spend a great deal of time and money keeping up with the latest SEO trends, but for most small- to medium-sized businesses, it simply isn’t possible. Instead, I recommend that you continue to stick to the SEO basics and do the following things:

1. Write quality content and not just filler content. Google’s goal is to serve up sites that answer the questions that people have. Give them those answers.

2. Use words that your reader would use. While keyword stuffing is out, it does not hurt to naturally use the words that your reader would be looking for in a search.

3. Create natural links back to your website through your social media efforts.

4. Don’t think you can rely solely on organic search traffic to drive all of your business. Some companies can rely on search only, but for most us, we need to add in other marketing efforts to help drive business.

Katie’s Prediction:
2015 Social Media Engagement will come with a Price Tag

While the slow trek towards “Pay to Play” for social media comes as no surprise, many businesses are just now realizing the negative effects that new algorithms have wreaked on their social reach.

In fact, studies show that an organic Facebook post (a post without any paid promotion), will reach only 2-6% of a page’s audience at best.

Statistics like this one are the reason paid promotion is a strong contender for 2015 targeted trends. Major social networks including Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest have launched or modified paid advertising plans that significantly inhibit organic reach for business accounts.

What does this mean for you?

Paid social advertising probably needs to be included in your 2015 marketing budget. Even small budgets like $5 or $10 promotions a couple times a month can have a significant impact. Check out this in-depth case study, The $100 Difference, where Amanda outlines how adding a small paid promotion budget catapulted one small business’ Facebook account.

While most companies still do not achieve the same reach or engagement that they did prior to the algorithm shifts, paying for posts secures a boost in visibility reaching those who had just a 2% chance of seeing them otherwise. This kind of increase can breathe new life into stagnant social media accounts, and the time and effort spent on a business page suddenly become a worthwhile investment again.

What Are Your Predictions?

Now that you’ve read our predictions for marketing trends in 2015, which activities do you plan to incorporate into your marketing this year? Need some help with any of them? We are just a phone call away.