Digital Marketing Cheat Sheet – Tools and Trends for 2014

Lauren Owens - January 2, 2014

Another year has come and gone and we have scores of opportunities to explore in 2014. In the world of digital marketing, this means taking advantage of both tried-and-true methods and emerging trends for targeting users and inspiring customer loyalty. What should be on your digital marketing menu in 2014?

Channel Diversification

Paid search, PLAs, display, remarketing, and social advertising…there are a lot of weapons in the advertising arsenal – and a lot of opportunities to find and target your audience via paid ads. This year, if you want to truly move the needle, it’ll be important to take a broad approach to paid advertising and create a feeling of ad ubiquity. This means moving beyond your current channels and designing campaigns that’ll find your audience where, and when, they’re online.  For more on this, check our recent white paper on e-commerce marketing strategies.

Content Marketing and Curation

In 2013, content marketing was seen as a panacea – the cure for everything from building natural links to gaining an edge on the social web. This year, the content marketing machines that were built in 2013 will become refined, and brands large and small will get smarter about how, and where, they market their content. Where should your content marketing program be in 2014? Take a look at this recent post about how the big brands are tackling content marketing, and get tips for getting started.

Geo Targeting

Thanks to geo-targeting, advertisers can focus their energies – and their budgets – on location-relevant users. While this is nothing new, geo-targeting is being invigorated thanks to enhanced campaigns and new location-centric data that allows advertisers to get extremely granular in their approach. This means improved ROI and a better understanding of who your customers are – and where they’re coming from.

Audience Targeting and Personalization

Thanks to the use of big data and real-time bidding, marketers are able to target their audiences like never before. This year, the web will become even more personalized, thanks to location targeting, device targeting and the ability to create dynamic, personalized content across channels.

Device Targeting (Read: Mobile, Mobile, Mobile)

Last year, we told you to get your mobile house in order. And it’s a good thing you did.  This year, success will hinge on device-specific content curation and landing pages.  Need a little help? Check out our white paper on mobile marketing and strategy.

Where Will 2014 Take You?

It feels like change happens rapidly, but if you think about it, the things that affect us now have taken years to come to fruition. Next year, we’ll likely talk about slightly different versions of the above – no flying cars, just better ways to find, target and serve online audiences.