Online Biz

If you stick around long enough in the digital marketing business, you get to read a lot of these types of columns — one expert or another prognosticating about the future. If I had such a talent, my sense is that it would be put to best use in selecting next week’s lottery numbers. Like you, I have no crystal ball. But I have spent a great deal of my career meeting with marketers in search of innovative ways to acquire and retain new and existing customers, build lifetime value, and win back lost customers.

What follows are five digital marketing predictions for 2012 that are a direct result of numerous client and prospect meetings. 

1. The year of the tablet. All of this is likely to occur in the next 13 months:

• the installed base of tablet devices will continue to grow exponentially;
• consumer adoption of tablets will continue to accelerate;
• new tablet devices will enable traditional print units to be displayed effectively;
• the rising cost of paper, printing and postage will continue to fuel marketers’ desire for more cost-efficient delivery formats;
• the web makes a comeback in terms of tablet applications; and
• the App Store still dominates, but will have new competition.

2. New demands for greater attribution analysis tools and methods. As a result, be prepared for the following:

• company finance departments will require greater proof and validation of cost efficiency;
• marketers will demand greater accountability from channels on media plan optimization; and
• there will be a new focus on integrated marketing proficiency and effectiveness.

3. Get mobile … and fast. The following trends around mobile will emerge next year:

• consumers will spend more time accessing and communicating via mobile devices;
• marketers will get their websites in shape to reap the benefits of the new mobile economy; and
• mobile search and advertising will ramp up dramatically.

4. Social media grows up. Here’s what you can expect when it comes to social media marketing in 2012:

• most marketers will aggressively launch a new array of social strategies and programs;
• growth in social gaming will flatten out;
• marketers crack the code in terms of turning community building into measurable transactions; and
• websites will play second fiddle to social media destinations.

5. Digital will play a pivotal role in presidential politics. With 2012 an election year, don’t be surprised to see the following:

• candidates will be smarter about how to use the full spectrum of digital tools at their disposal, following President Obama’s lead when he leveraged social media in building a coalition and donor base four years ago;
• the battle will heat up in late 2011 and throughout the primary season; and
• whoever wins the battle online will win the White House.

It’s challenging to predict trends in a marketplace that continues to evolve and change as quickly as the digital landscape. I continue to watch for signs that marketers are getting smarter about using the digital tools available to monitor the dialogs they’re having with their customers in real time.

As we watch the tremendous shift in media consumption patterns and the lamentations about the demise of direct mail, my sense is that digital still has a long way to go before it can be viewed as much more than electronic junk communication. It’s our responsibility as marketers to step up and show consumers that we can be trusted with their data. In earning this trust, we must build more meaningful relationships with them.

Of all of the predictions that could be realized, my sincere hope is that a new awakening to the power of the digital tools and strategies within our current toolkit comes to reality. Consumers have been waiting for years.

Provided by Al Diguido