Online Crystal Ball Sees Video, Mobile & Price Hikes

While many digital marketers are focused on the upcoming holiday frenzy, at least one online marketing guru is already looking ahead to next year's challenges. A recent Forbes magazine post by Jayson DeMers, an online marketing consultant, suggests preparing for these seven top online marketing trends in 2016: 1) videos will increase their ad dominance now that Google, already involved via YouTube, is adding video ads to search results for 2016; 2) watch for an explosion of dedicated apps that boost reach beyond mobile-optimized web pages; 3) the crowning of mobile as a digital marketing power is assured now that mobile traffic overtook Google's desktop traffic and Google unveiled its mobile-favored search algorithm; 4) look for a new kind of online optimizing to take advantage of popular digital assistants like Siri; 5) the launch of more virtual reality devices next year portends the arrival of a new advertising medium; 6) emergence of more wearable smart devices, in the footsteps of Apple Watch, will help wearable technology gain traction as a marketing application; 7) and now the bad news--expect a continued rise in online ad prices. DeMers' crystal ball may not be on target for all 2016 trends. Online marketers probably have time to prepare for VR, digital assistants and wearable technology, but failing to plan for the impact of video, mobile and pricing is less wise. For the full post, go to http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/09/29/the-top-7-online-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2016/

Staying on Top of E-mail Trends That Deliver ROI

Marketers are expected to spend $2.3 billion on e-mail marketing this year, and emerging e-mail trends can mean the difference between stellar marketing ROI and wasted dollars for many moving forward. Our thanks to Liga Bizune's article for MarketingProfs, which highlights six e-mail trends likely to define success in the next few years. Her list includes 1) planning for the triage effect and creative challenge of wearable technology like smartwatches; 2) adapting e-mail to the continued charge of mobile marketing, with its triage, creative and content impacts; 3) proximity and geolocation opportunities for hyper-targeting and smart automation; 4) the arrival of video as a standard e-mail engagement and sharing technique; 5) embrace of transactional e-mail, which delivers four times more revenue than promotional e-mail, via detailed list segmentation and optimized, timely delivery; and 6) greater use of predictive analytics for behavioral marketing, allowing for automated, triggered, targeted and re-targeted messaging throughout the sales funnel. For details on each trend, go to http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2015/27328/top-six-email-marketing-trends-you-need-to-keep-pace-with