There are many different words that can be used to describe online marketing and stagnant would not be one of them. Each and every year, trends emerge which are designed to help take internet marketing into a bold new direction. These trends are studied by internet marketers for a very specific reason; tapping into new innovations in marketing increases the potential for success. When a marketing strategy or approach becomes old and tired it will fail to deliver results. In something as dynamic as marketing online, marketers must learn of new strategies and trends in order to continue to attract customers.

The Mobile Marketing Paradigm

What would be one of the clearest examples of a new realm of online marketing? The answer would be mobile marketing.

More and more people are now accessing the internet via mobile devices. The development of highly advanced smart phones and tablets has made such access possible. As a result, an entrepreneur has to target those mobile device users while they are on the go and taking advantage of mobile internet access. Customers no longer wait until after they return home after a long commute on the train to access their computers. The customer may take advantage of the down time on the train to make purchases on a mobile device during the commute. To catch the attention of these customers, effective mobile marketing strategies have to be employed. Surprisingly, many of the trends in mobile marketing are relatively simple in concept yet may very well bring forth the potential for great profit.

Mobile push marketing would be one such example. This marketing strategy takes the basic concept of email marketing and upgrades it for the mobile world. Instead of sending out promotional messages via email, this strategy sends out promotional text messages and even promotional voice mails. Of course, the promotional message has to be a catchy and attractive one in order to be viable. Merely sending out messages will not automatically yield sales.

In a similar vein, mobile pull marketing is a concept in development that attempts to use more interactive strategies for stimulating a customer’s response. The simplest way this marketing strategy works would be instead of the marketer sending the text, advertising may be circulated online that suggests the person reading the ads send a text. Once the text is received, a special coupon or discount offer may be revealed.

Social Media to Play a Role in New Trends

It should not come as much of a surprise that social media will play a major role in upcoming online marketing trends. The audience an entrepreneur can reach through effective social media promotions is vast. However, the members of the many social networking sites have grown somewhat accustomed to traditional marketing strategies vying for their attention. This is why innovative new techniques should be used.

Probably the best way to increase and enhance your social media marketing strategy would be to launch one that integrates all your different social media platforms with a single, overall marketing plan. That means you must create and maintain a profile on every available social media site and use the various profiles to promote a consistent marketing message.

Once again, marketers do need to add a little innovation to their social media marketing strategies. One way would be to use social media monitoring tools to stay on top of what members of the social media community are saying about your business, product or service. If you have been alerted to what is being said, you can capitalize on it by promoting the positive commentary you are receiving to potential customers. Conversely, if there are negative sentiments surfacing you can take appropriate steps to address any underlying problems.

Social media customer relationship management would be another innovative new trend many are experimenting with. The way social media CRM works is relatively simple. It revolves around using social media sites for the purpose of tracking customer purchasing decisions and identifying fads and trends. As soon as a savvy marketer has procured such knowledge, it becomes possible to devise appropriate marketing plans based on the information gained. In short, if you determine what customers want through effectively monitoring the social media sites, you can better market to them.

New and Relevant Marketers Can Succeed

Online marketing does require new approaches and strategies in order to remain both relevant and successful. Talented and knowledgeable internet marketers understand this which is why they stay on top of innovative new trends and put the information discovered to effective use.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Johan Hedin is the Managing Director of Marketing Ignite, the Online Marketing Company