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Every year new technology and new software help to dictate a whole host of sweeping changes which are either adopted or rejected by the business world. Those who choose to ignore these new opportunities risk missing out and being left behind their competitors. Whilst not every change below will affect every type of business, it’s worth taking note of the changing online landscape and how it impacts digital marketing.

Video adverts 

Video adverts are becoming more and more popular. As platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, host and share countless videos every day. As a customer we are becoming more accepting of video advertising, and as such the likes of Facebook and Bing are now offering specific video advertising options to businesses. As video ads become more common place, we can expect to see them more often in the coming year.

More apps

Google has indexed apps for a while now (adding them to their searchable database), but as their search criteria becomes more complex, 2016 is set to be the year that more and more businesses look to make use of the added online visibility a dedicated mobile app can bring. Apps are quickly becoming better and better, and in some cases replacing websites entirely.

Mobile will dominate

Google have thought for a while that mobile web traffic would one day overtake desktop web traffic, and in 2015 it did. Mobile web traffic overtook desktop in 10 different countries. Throw into the mix Google’s new algorithm which penalises websites which are not mobile-optimised, but doesn’t penalise those which aren’t optimised for desktop – it’s plain to see that Google thinks the future is in mobile.

Virtual reality

Whilst virtual reality sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie set in the future, it is a technology which is advancing now in present day. From devices specifically designed to impact video gaming, online advertising, social media and with largely hype-driven launches such as the Oculus Rift, some think virtual reality is still a fad. However with billions of pounds being pumped into this new technology from the likes of Facebook, it looks like it’s here to stay. How marketers capitalise on the new technology will be interesting to see unfold.

Wearable technology

This year saw the much-hyped Apple iWatch launch, and with it much more focus on wearable technology. The interest to marketers like in its applications for every day productivity, and its ability to put brands at the forefront of these new devises.

More expensive advertising

Online marketing competition has increased dramatically over the last few years, and as with all things an increase in demand usually equals an increase in price. As the price increases, it will be interesting to see how the price of adverts are effected over the course of 2016, and especially how it will affect the introduction of new digital marketing mediums.

Michael Carter

Marketing Manager

MoJo People Ltd.

Your logo is probably the first thing people think of when thinking about your brand. Studies have shown that 80% of people consider a colour as the main way they recognise a brand logo.

Research suggests that consumers typically make a judgement about a product in less than 90 seconds. The majority of people base this assessment on colour alone. Perhaps more shockingly, up to 85% of people base their decision on whether to purchase a product or not, entirely on its colour.

Different colours are associated with different feelings and emotions and it pays to know the difference. Have a think about some of your most loved brand logos, what do their colours make you feel?

‘Purple’ is associated with an imaginative, creative, luxurious brand, whilst ‘green’ is associated with relaxation, caring, wellbeing and nature. Now consider the purple logos of Cadbury and Yahoo, and the green logos of Greenpeace and Tropicana. Do you think these brands are accurately represented by their colour?

Below is a breakdown of each colour and its significance, along with some of the most recognisable brands in each category – enjoy!

Blue

Blue is most thought of as a secure, calm, honest, strong, caring, trustworthy, productive colour, which is related to communication, and expression. Some of the most notable brands with a blue logo are: Facebook, Ford, Visa, Barclays, Skype, Oreo.

Red

Red is renowned for evoking strong emotions and represents passion, excitement, intensity, love, and also is thought to stimulate appetite. Some of the most notable brands with a red logo are: Coca-Cola, Red bull, Kellogg’s, Pinterest, YouTube, CNN, and Nintendo.

Orange

Orange is happy, sociable, friendly, and affordable. It reflects warmth, excitement and enthusiasm. Some of the most notable brands with an orange logo are: Fanta, Amazon, and Nickelodeon.

Yellow

Yellow symbolises cheerfulness, warmth, communication, optimism, clarity, and action. Some of the most notable brands with a yellow logo are: McDonald’s, Shell, Ikea, DHL, and National Geographic.

Green

Green represents health, tranquillity, money, nature, growth. Some of the most notable brands with a green logo are:  Subway, Greenpeace, Starbucks, Holiday Inn, BP, and Land Rover.

Purple

Purple is used to demonstrate wealth, royalty, wisdom, creativity, imagination, and wisdom. Some of the most notable brands with a purple logo are: Cadbury and Yahoo.

Black

Black is a sophisticated colour, denoting luxury, its formal and shows authority. Some of the most notable brands with a purple logo are: BBC, Sony and Chanel.

Multi-coloured

Finally multi-coloured logos, represent positivity, playful, bold and boundless companies, the most recognisable of which being Google. Some of the most notable brands with a multi-coloured logo are: Google, eBay and NBC.

Michael Carter

Marketing Manager

MoJo People Ltd.

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a specialist marketing discipline which focuses on increasing the visibility of a website through non-paid means, appearing organically in search engine results.

The majority of traffic driven to websites is by the major search engines of Google, Bing, and Yahoo! Although other sources such as social media can generate traffic also, search engines are the primary means of customers searching for information, services, products, and everything else on the internet.

It doesn’t really matter what the purpose of your website is, if no one knows about it, it’s not going to get any traffic to it. If search engines can’t find your website, your customers aren’t going to find it, and you are going to miss out on valuable traffic and the resulting business.

As intelligent as search engines are, they need help finding content, which is where SEO comes in. SEO helps search engines find content more easily, boosting the rankings of your website in their search results, so that your content is more easily accessible to your customers.

If your website is setup correctly and is appearing on search engines, the next thing to consider is where you appear within the search results. Being discoverable is one thing, but how often you are discovered makes all the difference. Google, for example, displays 10 results per page, and statistics show that between 48-95% of people only view the results on page 1. Your goal should be to ensure your website appears within these top 10 results.

4.73 billion internet web pages have been indexed by Google, so it’s safe to say you will have your work cut out. Where your website appears in search results depends on the content of your website, and the search terms your customers are using to find similar information, products or services. It is only by understanding how your customers are searching, and matching these keywords and phrases with relevant content on your website that you are able to organically climb the search rankings and work your way towards upwards in rankings by being more and more relevant to your customers.

If you want people to know about your website, you need to appreciate the time investment it requires and the continued effort it takes, but the value and benefits it has for your business with increased exposure and sales opportunities.

Michael Carter

Marketing Manager

MoJo People Ltd

Content marketing, in essence, is a strategic approach to creating and distributing content which is both valuable and relevant to your target audience. The purpose of content marketing it to consistently attract and retain a specific audience to ultimately drive customers into making a purchase or performing a profitable action for your business.

Successful content has value for your audience. It is able to change or enhance your customer’s behaviour over time, all to the benefit of your business. Valuable content is curated from various sources, and repurposed to form something educational and relevant to your audience without directly selling to them.

The premise of content marketing is not to openly sell products or services, and instead to deliver information that makes your customer more intelligent over time about your area of interest and expertise to enhance their work and personal lives. By educating your audience, you will highlight a ‘need’ for your business or services, and in turn when looking to fulfil that ‘need’, they will reward you with their business and loyalty.

By educating and not selling to your customer, you are treating them with respect. Providing credible knowledge and information instead of selling directly to them, or rather at them. It is viewed as a much softer approach to sales and more favourable approach from the customer perspective. In an era where people frequently research businesses and their services before purchase either online, through referrals or reviews, the more educational content available, the better informed your customers will be, and will choose to select your product, not your competitors.

As an educated customer, able to make better informed product decisions, they will see that the sensible and logical option when seeking to purchase, is to buy from you. It’s then just down to your businesses ability to meet and exceed your customers demand.

So, you know you need to be producing timely, valuable and credible content for your audience, but what do you write about? Choosing a topic which directly resonates with your audience is key to attracting attention initially. Your topic should be based on content your audience wants to hear, it should be relevant to them, and come from a credible source in that field i.e. your business.

Content should come from credible sources or be supported by credible research, it should be relevant to your audience interests, industry or business and add value to the reader having read it. Content will be deemed as a valuable and worthwhile reading if the topic is relevant to your audience, and the audience you are trying to attract. As interesting as the content may be, the value to your business hangs on the ability of your content to create a value connection to yourself or your business’s expertise. This will help to pique the interest of your audience, maintain it, and ensure your content achieves your objective – more sales.

Still sceptical? Think of content marketing as an opportunity for your customers to not just spend a few seconds looking at a traditional advert, but rather an opportunity to spend minutes reading, rereading and digesting information about your area of specialism and how it relates to your business. Eventually, having spent time with your brand, your business will become the natural, familiar, and most well-informed choice for your customers.

Michael Carter

Marketing Manager

MoJo People Ltd

Social media is one of the biggest opportunities, and biggest issues of business today. The success of a business depends upon how it is best able to utilise this medium, or risks being left in the dust.

There is a considerable assumption in terms of ‘social media’ that firstly, everyone understands why a business needs it, and secondly, that they understand its value. The first step with social media – like any idea in business – is understanding why you are investing time and effort into it, and not simply doing it because you think you should.

Social media is where your potential customers reside. They are using social media for over 2 and a half hours a day. What used to be something worth your business dabbling in, is now almost mandatory for businesses. It needs to be effectively harnessed so that a business can take advantage of the media’s ability to influence customers perceptions.

Social media’s strength comes from its ability to make connections, and the information transfer which results from those connections. If you think about the idea of ‘six degrees of separation’ – that any person is six steps of less from another person by way of introduction – and then think in terms of the ability of social media to connect your customers. Suddenly you will start to realise embracing social media has incredible business potential.

Customers, don’t just stick to one channel when looking for a job. Just as you might see a product online and then go to the shop and buy it there instead. This is why social media is sometimes more difficult to quantify for a business because a purchase may come from a traditional channel such as an email or in person, but might have been prompted by a tweet or Facebook post in the first instance.

Its better sometimes to therefor to think about the marketing process as a whole, rather than in its individual components of advertising, and how social media promotes interaction with your business, builds brand advocacy and promotes customer engagement. In essence, the value of social media comes from its ability to improve your digital presence, supporting your reputation of thought leadership which will already be established by website, and engage and building a stronger relationship with your customers.

However, it’s only by planning your social media strategically that you are able to achieve these objectives and ultimately gain benefit from this revolutionary media.

Michael Carter

Marketing Manager

MoJo People Ltd