Constant Contact, an email marketing service for small businesses, released its predictions today for what’s to come for small business marketing next year. The top takeaway? Small businesses will use what they’ve learned from experimenting with social and mobile strategies to develop and execute on integrated multi-channel marketing campaigns.
To effectively execute these multi-channel campaigns, Constant Contact predicts that 1) small businesses will start to look closer at “big data,” 2) mobile commerce will become the norm and 3) the use of photos and videos in marketing efforts will increase. Let’s take a closer look at all three predictions.
1) Small businesses will benefit from big data insights
This will be the year that small businesses really draw on the data they’re gaining from sources like Facebook Insights, Google Analytics, etc. to fine tune email marketing campaigns and social media content. “Small businesses will benefit from the practical insights companies like Constant Contact pull from data, helping [them] to see around the corners,” says the company’s chief analytics officer. “And that will be a game-changer.”
2) Mobile commerce becomes the norm and not the exception
With mobile use rapidly growing – ABI Research reports this consumer base of users is expected to reach 1.4 billion by the start of 2014 – more small businesses will implement mobile marketing practices and mobile payment processes at the point of sale.
3) Small businesses will move to visual-based social networks
While small businesses continue to rate Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as the most effective networks for their marketing efforts, they’re also reporting an increase in effectiveness on visually-focused channels such as Pinterest and YouTube. Sharable and visual content will play an increasingly important role in a small business’s marketing strategy. “In 2014,” says the company’s general manager of social media, “a picture truly will be worth a thousand words as small businesses increase their adoption of visual-based social networks like Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, and Slideshare.”
Do you agree with Constant Contact’s predictions? Which marketing efforts does your business plan to focus on in the coming year?
