Actionable steps across the pillars of digital marketing from our recent report

Digital marketing today is complex and it’s inevitable it will get more complex in the future as new technologies and platforms emerge. Take the huge adoption and interest in Open AI ChatGPT, as an example. Marketers also have to contend with the complexity of the many channels we need to track in our analytics such as organic and paid search, social media, display, and email marketing.

January 2024 update

Here we'll update readers on the latest developments in digital marketing.

Changes to tracking using cookies affecting tracking

As we enter 2024, one of the biggest changes for marketers will be changes to how we track advertising through third-party cookies as platforms seek to improve consumer privacy. This doesn't mean first-party cookies won't still be used to track interactions with your site, so there isn't an immediate panic and knee-jerk reactions aren't needed -…

Practical ideas for you to use including how to use ChatGPT

Each year, for the last 10 years, or so, I have identified the latest trends in digital marketing and forecast what the major trends will be in the year ahead. The aim is to help marketers and business owners find new marketing ideas, review their budget investments and put together their plans. There’s always a lot of interest as businesses consider tactics they can deploy to gain an edge by using some of the latest techniques. This review covers the latest developments in digital marketing across the many digital marketing channels tools that businesses can use shown in the visual below based on our RACE digital marketing framework. I cover ChatGPT at the end of the article. We developed this to help businesses develop a robust approach to developing integrated digital marketing strategies across 25 key activities which we define as…

Marketers, managers, and digitally-savvy customers have all experienced first-hand the effects of Financial Services digital transformation over the last year.

Of course, challenges relating to digital transformation are not unique to the financial sector. As in many industries, COVID-19 was another resounding wake-up call for the financial industry in terms of digitalization. In this blog, I will be making my Financial Services digital transformation recommendations, based on trends and innovation in the sector at present. Even before the pandemic, Financial Services customers were already seeing rapid growth in digital services available online. The digital disruption caused by the events of 2020 only accelerated that. Now, many industry studies are suggesting Financial Services digital transformation will have a lasting effect. So, it's up to Financial Services marketing leaders to ensure their business is reaching, interacting with, converting and engaging customers across all digital touchpoints in the customer lifecycle. This is demonstrated via our popular RACE…

What does future-proof digital marketing training look like?

When it comes to technology, “The ability of something to continue to be of value into the distant future and not become obsolete” seems pretty obvious. We can all recognize items that have become obsolete as technology changes and improves. But, what does future-proof mean in the context of digital marketing training for work and employment? From my perspective and looking at reviews from experts in education and psychology, to be future-proof is to “Continue to be useful or successful in future when the situation changes.”  This definition sounds a bit woolly but can be distilled into three primary components: Being able to identify opportunities by anticipating the future Using this knowledge to minimize the effects of shocks and stresses of future events by having a clear strategy Then, using this strategy to…

Digital marketing, simply put, cannot be ignored

No one can be found disputing the power of effective marketing. After all, if a marketing and advertising campaign are executed expertly, it can serve the requirements of any business and grow the demand for the product or service that they offer. While the need for marketing is still present, the areas where marketing is most effective has improved a lot. The rapid growth in the field of digital marketing has launched a new era of human engagement throughout every aspect of life. For industries that are business-centered, the combined effect of digital technologies in promotion and marketing has proven to have a high value for online trade and distribution. Since the world today is witnessing the feasibility of the digital era, marketing strategies involving the utilization of electronic media are prioritized in today’s business approach. Trends of a digital scene including personalized & unique content,…

Chart of the Day: Social Media spend has always fallen well below predictions

Making predictions is easy. Identify a trend and extrapolate to your heart's content. So long as you don't actually check what you predicted against the real world data when the time comes, then you're in the clear. Except when some killjoy comes along and goes and plots your predictions against what actually happened for four years in a row and found your predictions were consistently overshooting reality. That's what happened when the CMO survey asked 388 top US marketing execs about their actual and predicted social media spend. The CMOs consistently predicted higher social media spending than was actually the case, and if they were meeting their predictions they would be spending close to twice as much on social media marketing as they are at current. So why is this? It could…

What does your Horoscope say about your Digital Marketing?

The Digital Marketing Horoscope 2015 links the key digital marketing trends for 2015 with the 12 signs of the Zodiac. Each sign represents a different trend and notable influencer who might share your approach to marketing! Omnichannel marketing, wearable tech and paid amplification are just a few of the predicted digital marketing trends for 2015, identified by key industry influencers. While mobile friendly content and video continue to be key trends going into the New Year, brands will be focusing their efforts on distributing their content for maximum ROI in 2015. We will also see marketers hone their writing skills to create branded content that is confident, bold and honest to really resonate with audiences. So, even if you don’t believe your life is governed by the position of the sun, moon and planets, some of the trends below need to be regarded as…

The TOP 5 Trends to look out for in digital marketing in 2015

1.Mobile (still)

“It’s all going mobile”. Yes, we’ve been saying this for some time now. And every year it gets more true. The technology gets better (both hardware and networks). Things just work better. It’s faster. And easier. So consumers are more inclined to do things on mobile devices. As users, we are all accustomed to our mobile devices. We’re well up the learning curve. And so the payback becomes greater and the effort required becomes less. For most of us, using mobile devices has become a habit and increasingly a life-support system. This thing in our pocket is the most personal communications device ever invented and many of us would struggle without it (ever lose your phone? Or drop it in the toilet? Or just run out of battery? Or struggle to…