Emerging trends in digital marketing include: 1) Search marketing is for engaging those already seeking a specific service, while social media aligns brands with new customer intents and spreads through peer recommendations. 2) Digital marketing spending is growing as customer behavior shifts online, requiring brands to communicate where consumers now engage. 3) Key areas for investment are social media, digital experiences, and maintaining optimized websites that integrate across channels. 4) Unpaid advertising through personal referrals is growing in influence over direct brand messages.

1. Emerging Trends in Digital Marketing David Edmundson-Bird Director MSc Digital Marketing Communications MMU Business School

2. Emerging Trends in Digital Marketing You’re going to expect:

5. Behaviour drives Investment Investment in digital is increasing because customers are changing the way they behave Digital isn't about fashion it’s about communicating to consumers in a way that coincides with their new behaviour

6. What should you be investing in? Clearly Social networks, social media, social applications But also Digital experiences of the brand Experiential marketing shifts to a digital focus Creativity will be key

7. The Web Site is still King It’s still vitally important to invest and maintain your web sites in terms of content, brand, search But it’s becoming almost as important to invest in social media presences The main web site is where many customers consult and/or finally transact The main web site needs to be optimized for mobile Integration across channels to point to the site as a final destination

8. Unpaid Advertising is Growing Consumers experience a brand best from someone else The growth in personal referrals Consumers are increasingly trusting messages from contacts rather than direct from brands Valuable but risky Brand Hijack

9. There are going to be more Social Media Marketing Gurus Some of them will be douchebags The skillset will evolve Key points Kids who use social media networks as participants are not social media experts There needs to be a growth in the development of key skills in the area

10. Old School Analytics is Over Controversial but... Measuring CTR, hits, CPM, traffic may not be helpful Measuring engagement might be more useful Measure brand awareness Measure the number of leads generated by a marketing lever The Growth of “Return on Engagement” and the demise of ROI

11. We need to do our homework into how customers behave Market research remains important But “listening” via networks is vital Reading blogs (tiny influencers) Creating blogs where customers can comment Your most critical customer could be your biggest fan

12. The Jury is Out on.... Location Somebody might find a way to make Foursquare work (if Foursquare can find a way to make money) Augmented Reality Still a bit clunky, requires seamlessness

13. The Future of Digital Marketing Every year will remain the year of mobile Something will replace Twitter Tablets will replace laptops for casual interaction Neuroscience will become an important field in understanding customer behaviour

14. Thank You David Edmundson-Bird d.edmundson-bird@mmu.ac.uk @groovegenerator http://uk.linkedin.com/in/davidbird