27 digital marketing trends predictions 2015

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27 Digital Marketing Trends for 2015: Our Predictions

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27 Digital Marketing Trends for 2015: Our Predictions

Introduction.Our predictions:

It may be difficult to build a stable brand when digital marketing is constantly changing — but that’s not the case.

By monitoring trends and being prepared to adapt, your brand will survive the competitive digital world and also stand out.

In this Presentation Fresh Egg’s digital experts look back at their predictions form last year, and let you in on the key trends you should be looking out for in 2015.

Digital marketing best practice

1. Deeper impact of Universal Analytics

Julian Erbsloeh, Head of Insight

As more companies embrace Universal Analytics and get to grips with the advanced measurement opportunities it offers, the data will become more meaningful to organisations; and with accurate interpretation, businesses will garner more profitable insight.

For 2015 you will see the early adopters reap the rewards of being a step ahead. By the time their competitors are forced to migrate to UA, early adopters will have already fine-tuned their implementation several times, giving them a distinct competitive advantage.

No company can afford a digital decision maker who is not passionate about data and understands how to translate insight into actions.

1. Deeper impact of Universal Analytics

2. Improved personalisation of websites

Julian Erbsloeh, Head of Insight

One of my predictions last year was for personalisation to become more main stream. In my view, this has not been fully realised.Many vendors have created more accessible sets of tools and services for that sector, but the uptake has not been as great as anticipated.

If it’s done well, users shouldn’t even notice it creeping into their lives. The internet will simply become a little better overall.

my prediction for 2015 is that more businesses will adapt this new technology.

2. Improved Personalisation of Websites.

3. Increased user-centric analytics (profiling, personalisation and re-marketing)

Julian Erbsloeh, Head of Insight

In 2014 many online businesses seemed obsessed with profiling their users, gathering as much information about them as possible, and using that data to sell more.

This data can be all sorts of personal and behavioural insights.

This approach will continue throughout 2015, but wont last forever. There will be a point where we will own our personal data and choose when we want to be approached by brands and services.

3. Increased user-centric analytics (profiling, personalisation and re-marketing)

Duncan Heath, Head of Conversion Services

4. Measuring from source to sale: lead generation sites will look beyond just conversion rate

There will be far more lead generation sites starting to scientifically optimise their sites/apps for the quality of their leads, not just the volume.

Conversion rates for ecommerce sites are still a critical success metric for the last few years. But there has been a greater importance on the quality of those conversions.

EAD generation sites have been getting a raw deal. They've been optimising their conversion rates well enough, but few have spent time and energy trying to understand the quality of the leads they're getting.

Now it’s been clear that there’s never been a better time for lead-generation businesses to step up their optimisation.

4. Measuring from source to sale: lead generation sites will look beyond just conversion rate

5. Integrations will be everywhere

Duncan Heath, Head of Conversion Services

Data is great, but data that talks to other data is really great.

Integrating different data streams together can be really beneficial for conversion rate optimisation.

Your call tracking solution integrates your CRM (such as SalesForce) to tell you how many of those phone calls actually led to sales, and your CRM integrates with your ESP (such as Pure360) to tell you which emails drove those converting phone call. These integrations give you real, actionable insight, and in 2015 there will be increasingly more of them.

5. Integrations will be everywhere

David Sewell, Head of Innovation

6. "The internet of things"

I predict a massive explosion in internet-enabled devices measuring you, measuring this, measuring that, measuring them, measuring me and measuring other stuff too. Medical devices, household appliances and transport networks will all talk to each about us: making decisions on our behalf about which TV channel to show and whether or not it’s time to draw the blinds.

6. "The internet of things"

7. Improvements to Google webmaster tools

David Sewell, Head of Innovation

Improvements to Google Webmaster tools continued in the last 12 months, as per my 2014 prediction. A host of new features have been added, including:

• Mobile-usability testing

• Rendering webpages

• Improvements to the GWMT API

• Testing robots.txt files

• Troubleshooting hreflang

• Debugging app-indexing

• Signalling faulty redirects with smartphones

I am going to extend my prediction from last year to 2015 too, when I expect a paid version of Webmaster Tools will become available, with increased historic data and per-day limits.

7. Improvements to Google webmaster tools

8. Death of cookies

David Sewell, Head of Innovation

I foresee Google leading the way with the roll out of anonymous identifiers (AdID) – currently used in Android apps – but being be extended to browsers too by defining a new standard in the header response.

This will not only solve the issue of tracking using cookies on mobile devices, but will also give individuals the ability to set their own advertising preferences.

8. Death of cookies

David Somerville, Head of Inbound Marketing

Reflections on my 2014 predictions

Looking back on my predictions from last year, social media advertising spend has undoubtedly increased in 2014. A recent announcement by Group M (a worldwide media buying company) stated that the UK will be the first country, where digital advertising spend overtakes all other forms of advertising (print, outdoor, TV, radio etc.).

Having spent some time out in Australia this year, I have seen first-hand how many brands are still over-reliant on traditional ‘push’ marketing, whereas in the UK there’s a definite shift away from this.

Reflections on my 2014 predictions

9. Social media advertising will go from strength to strength

David Somerville, Head of Inbound Marketing

While this was a prediction for last year, I’m also going to use it as my first for 2015.

eMarketer’s recent industry report showed that social media platforms are this year accounting for 10.5% of the UK’s overall digital ad funding. Facebook take the lion’s share of this, with a 7.5% stake alone.

Last year I also talked about an increase in diversity of social media advertising products, which again came to fruition. In October this year Tumblr introduced auto-play video ads, partnering with the likes of Lexus, Universal and JCPenney.

The platform’s audience has grown by 40% (from 300m to 428m) since the acquisition by Yahoo!. Also in October, messaging platform Snapchat introduced ads to its US users, while Instagram began exposing UK users to its “natural” ads.

9. Social media advertising will go from strength to strength

10. Brands will tackle Dark Social sharing

David Somerville, Head of Inbound Marketing

My second prediction for 2015 concerns the increase of ‘Dark Social’. This refers to social media content that is shared away from the social media platform it was first posted on, for example via email or online chat apps. This sharing can't necessarily be measured by web analytic programs and therefore the data on engagement, reach is ‘dark’ to us marketers.

For brands, this means that reporting fully on the effectiveness of campaigns may be nigh-on impossible. A recent study by RadiumOneshows that currently only about 31% of shared activity takes place on Facebook and other public-sharing channels, whereas 69% is on ‘dark’ platforms.

Team Sky has looked to tackle this issue by ensuring that all their content is shared using the Po.st link shortener, enabling more accurate tracking.

10. Brands will tackle Dark Social sharing

11. Video will dominate further

David Somerville, Head of Inbound Marketing

My final prediction for 2015 is the continued increase in the use of video. It seems this medium is always ‘the next big thing’, but there are more reasons than ever for this to be the case.

Twitter is taking advantage of the trend as more consumers adopt two-screen usage (watching TV and tweeting on their phone/tablet at the same time), with the launch of Twitter Amplify. This video-based product takes something from a TV broadcast and packages it into a video ad on Twitter. This is then sponsored by a relevant brand and ‘amplified’ across Twitter beyond the sponsor’s usual reach of followers.

Outside of the ad space, we have seen Facebook video views on desktop overtake YouTube. In August, the platform recorded nearly a billion more video plays than YouTube - although this was buoyed by the Ice Bucket challenge. Facebook now serves up more than a billion video views daily – a result of a recent adjustment to the algorithm to show more videos in news feeds.

11. Video will dominate further

Steve Teece, Head of Technical SEO

12. SEOs understanding of JavaScript more important than ever

Google announced in May that it’s now executing JavaScript and that it will be at the forefront of new development projects in 2015.

SEOs understanding of client-side JavaScript frameworks including Angular, Backbone, Ember and Isomorphic JavaScript, is going to be more important than ever in 2015.

12. SEOs understanding of JavaScript more important than ever

13. Greater visibility of SPAs in the SERPs

Steve Teece, Head of Technical SEO

With the further adoption of client-side SPAs (single page applications) and Google’s continued improvements in indexing and evaluating JavaScript, I believe we're going to see a rise in visibility in the SERPs for client-side SPAs in 2015.

13. Greater visibility of SPAs in the SERPs

Nate Wood, Head of Biddable Media

14. Further commercialisation of Google SERPS

In the past 12 months we’ve seen the trialling of Google image ad extensions, increased testing of Google shopping and new call-out extensions to promote elements of businesses.

Google is really keen to keep the usability of its SERPs high, while squeezing every penny of revenue opportunity from its traffic - and 2015 should see further advances to Google Shopping as competition for retail advertising spend increases.

14. Further commercialisation of Google SERPS

15. Improved targeting

Nate Wood, Head of Biddable Media

This was a prediction of mine for 2014, but not a lot happened in this arena. The introduction of RLSA (remarketing lists for search ads) in 2013 saw a large take-up by advertisers, as a strategy to target generic search in a cost-effective manner.

However, the additional tools for segmentation didn't really materialise in any ground-breaking way.

15. Improved targeting

Nate Wood, Head of Biddable Media

16. Google mobile and growth of RTB

Google pushed mobile heavily in 2014 and continued to see traffic share for mobile increase. Google also saw its first day where mobile traffic overtook desktop traffic.

RTB (real-time bidding) grew substantially in 2014. In the US, possibly the largest global market, ad sales grew by 55% year-on-year. Mobile and video ad sales were an estimated five times that of 2013.

16. Google mobile and growth of RTB

17. Increased use of video

Nate Wood, Head of Biddable Media

In 2014 video continued to see great adoption by brands. John Lewis used YouTube to great effect in November with the launch of its TV ad – a highly-anticipated advertising campaign. This formed the central piece in a well-executed digital strategy that could proudly hold its head up as ‘multichannel’.

17. Increased use of video

Nate Wood, Head of Biddable Media

18. Native advertising will boom in 2015

Content ad networks and native advertising will be adopted by more publishers and advertisers alike in the New Year. Ads will appear to be more like content, as engagement and rich-media experience becomes the norm.

Publishers will use ads as part of the content mix and will condense ad inventory to make room for larger, more engaging ad content. Expect to see more engagement ads and fewer static banners. Ads that behave and look like content will gain good traction.

18. Native advertising will boom in 2015

19. Targeted personalisation and integration in 2015

Nate Wood, Head of Biddable Media

Targeting will be even more personalised in 2015. At the same time, however, expect to see brands adopting more of a widespread approach in order to scale activity. Utilising the full funnel, we'll see more generic activity to capture the customer in order to fuel personalisation later on in the journey.

Native advertising will blur the lines between paid and organic, but we'll being to see campaigns that are better integrated. For example, we should expect to see more campaigns bridging the offline and online worlds across multiple channels. "Multichannel strategy" will become one of the key buzzwords of 2015.

19. Targeted personalisation and integration in 2015

Nate Wood, Head of Biddable Media

20. Mobile, mobile, mobile

Mobile advertising has been hit and miss, with much inventory failing to deliver, and in-app advertising performing poorly. We'll begin to see the integration element taking shape, and advertisers using the mobility element of mobiles more.

There'll be an increased use of NFC and geo-targeted campaigns to augment the high-street experience. Google already offers in-store floor mapping, and will further extend the Street View capability to open shop doors to customers remotely.

20. Mobile, mobile, mobile

Sarah Leach, Director of Client Services

Reflections on my 2014 predictions

Last year I talked largely around the increase in marketers who would be focussing on their strategy and the integration of their teams and activity in 2014. We have definitely seen this across Fresh Egg’s client base; and where ‘Big Data’ was very much a buzz word of 2014, I see ‘Digital Transformation’ being the hot topic of conversation among marketers and business leaders in 2015.

I’ve definitely seen an increase in confidence among digital leaders and their teams in their knowledge of managing digital channels –including social and paid – and there’s some really hot talent coming through within the industry.

Fresh Egg began an internship programme in 2014 and it’s exciting to see the talent come on-board. Generation Z, as they are referred to (born between 1994 and 2010), will become a major target for companies looking to hire in 2015 – Microsoft and Rackspace already do this, and Facebook and LinkedIn are known for paying high school students for internships.

Reflections on my 2014 predictions

Fresh Egg began an internship programme in 2014 and it’s exciting to see the talent come on-board. Generation Z, as they are referred to (born between 1994 and 2010), will become a major target for companies looking to hire in 2015 – Microsoft and Rackspace already do this, and Facebook and LinkedIn are known for paying high school students for internships.

Reflections on my 2014 predictions

21. Organisations will need to change the way they operate in 2015

Sarah Leach, Director of Client Services

As organisations shift from traditional marketing to digital, integration becomes a key priority for the majority. Understanding how digital integrates with other channels is one of the biggest challenges I see our client base and business leaders face. It requires leaders to define a vision of how channels will integrate with each other; however few companies have cross-functional teams to facilitate this, and they often still operate in silos.

The transformation of teams, tools, processes and reporting is required if businesses are to succeed. This isn’t something that happens overnight; it requires a long-term strategy and commitment from everyone involved.

21. Organisations will need to change the way they operate in 2015

22. Customer-led marketing will lead the way

Sarah Leach, Director of Client Services

Understanding the customer journey and adapting the channel mix accordingly will be a major success factor for many businesses in 2015. Fresh Egg has pioneered the Audience Intent led approach –even before Google released Hummingbird. This technique identifies opportunities for clients to target in order to improve their marketing efforts by putting their customers first.

We will hopefully see more businesses put the customer first next year, by producing content that engages with the audience at the right time, in the right place and with the right message.

22. Customer-led marketing will lead the way

Ashley Hitchcock, Senior Web Designer

Reflections on my 2014 predictions

As per my predictions for last year, flat UIs became a big trend, with many big brands ditching gradient-heavy sites for clean fresh designs. The mobile trend also continued to grow, as we all predicted. The wide variety of device sizes will continue to challenge us. Many websites now use users’ locations to deliver relevant content, and I think this will continue to expand with greater customisation based on users’ profiles and browsing habits.

Reflections on my 2014 predictions

23. The Rise of JavaScript

Ashley Hitchcock, Senior Web Designer

Browsers have improved massively in recent years enabling toolsets like AngularJS to be used to build fully-dynamic sites. Google has also delivered the ability to index JavaScript-based sites and, to top it off, this can all be run from a JavaScript-based server using node.js.

23. The Rise of JavaScript

24. Automation of code

Ashley Hitchcock, Senior Web Designer

Build, scaffolding, dependency management and testing tools, including Grunt, Yeoman and Bower, will all help developers get work done quicker and with fewer bugs.

24. Automation of code

25. Increase in responsive images

Ashley Hitchcock, Senior Web Designer

One thing that has been lacking in most responsive websites is responsive images, by this I am referring to the serving different images for different size screens – not just the resizing them. This saves bandwidth and helps with art direction. The <picture> element has been designed to solve this issue. Browser support is increasing and can be poylfilled while we wait for full support.

25. Increase in responsive images

Matthew Abbott, Senior Web Developer

26. Software as a Service

• The 'as-a-Service' moniker represents the changing shape of software and hardware in computing, and Software (SaaS) is one of the tenants making up the modern cloud computing platform. All the big players, from Microsoft, IBM, Google, Amazon and a host of other providers, offer cloud solutions, platforms and infrastructure.

• SaaS is the next logical step for software vendors, and we've seen how the likes of Wordpress and others are offering hosted solutions. However there is little interaction from the user for managing their software.

26. Software as a Service

• A plethora of new tools, such as Virb, SquareSpace are enabling customers to get their websites up-and-running without managing those pesky installs, backing up databases and installing dependencies.

• This has been a fundamental shift in the development model, and I expect more services to go this way in future, producing shared, modular, composable-software solutions that can be offered up with granular-pricing models, tested extensively, and made available on more devices, to more customers.

26. Software as a Service

27. JavaScript will be everywhere

Matthew Abbott, Senior Web Developer

• As the language becomes more capable, and with new standards (ECMAScript) being implemented, JavaScript can only go to new strengths. Couple this with languages like CoffeeScript and TypeScript, and we not only have a much broader range of tools, but also a new breed of developer to go with it.

• In 2015, I am expecting JavaScript to be at the forefront of most new development projects, firmly seating itself as the #1 development language of choice. It'll be front and centre across development platforms, and hidden in the cloud performing its magic.

27. JavaScript will be everywhere

• The Redmonk Language Rankings 2014 placed JavaScript joint first with its namesake, Java. Fast-forward just a year, and the JavaScript movement has been pushing hard. We've got new browsers, with faster interpreters/compilers. We've got server environments both standalone and now in the cloud.

• Software is being developed in JavaScript (e.g. Ghost), rather than the language being used for client-side 'features'.

27. JavaScript will be everywhere

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