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As trends come and go, emerging technologies allow new marketing and business management methods to emerge. People in the world of business do well when they have a good grasp on these new trends and concepts. Students who graduate from the Online MBA program from Northeastern University learn about real-world business tactics and dive deep into important business concepts.
Among the many emerging trends changing the business world today, three stand out as perhaps the most influential: online marketing, data collection and video strategy. Getting a clear understanding of these methods early on is important to later success.
Here’s what leaders need to know about each of them:
Online marketing
The internet has changed the way people do business. Rather than making phone calls and sending faxes, people communicate through email; and instead of taking out ad space in magazines and newspapers, or spots on television and radio, companies invest in online marketing initiatives.
That’s not to say that traditional methods of doing business aren’t relevant anymore. People still use phones and purchase television advertising. However, executives are increasingly turning their focus to digital strategies.
Between February 2016 and February 2017, digital marketing spend increased 14.6 percent, according to The CMO Survey. In the same time period, traditional advertising spend increased just 0.6 percent, following five years of decline.
One of the major differences between traditional advertising and digital marketing is how the consumer perceives the message. In an online space, consumers want to be in charge of their experiences. They don’t want to see advertisements, and many people install ad blockers to reduce interference, Forbes contributor AJ Agrawal pointed out.
This has forced people to rethink what an “advertisement” looks like. Today, an advertisement can be a free e-book, a contest entry, an industry blog or a contributed article.
A huge benefit of online marketing is its targetability. Platforms like TV spots or billboards reach a wide range of people, some of whom might be interested in a certain product or service. But website data can tell marketers exactly who is looking at what, allowing them to pick and choose where to focus their advertising dollars and what the message should be, Startup Grind pointed out.
There are countless websites and blogs on the web today. Many have space for advertisements in their margins, news feeds or even directly in their content. It’s important to choose which websites will reach your target audience best, Boostability pointed out. Finding a niche blog that shares a similar audience as yours can help get your message out through new channels.
Data collection
Marketing makeovers aren’t the only benefit that businesses have realized through online tools. Businesses today can collect data on nearly anything: Who is visiting their website; how long it takes for their package to be delivered; how consumers use their products, and more, Forbes contributor Bernard Marr explained.
Every business, no matter how big or small, has access to some form of data that can give it greater insight into its consumer base, its internal company culture or its audience’s opinion of the company.
One form of data collection every business should already be using is website analytics, Analytics Ninja pointed out. These tools are installed into your website’s HTML and collect information about:
• How people access your website (such as through a computer or mobile device, as well as how they found your website, like through a Google search or a social media post).
• Where they live (such as the country, state or city, as well as the language their browsers are set to).
• What time of day they access your website.
• How much time they spend on your website, and which page they left from.
From this information, companies can learn how to improve their websites; if bounce rates are much higher on a certain platform, for example, they might investigate to determine whether a particular form, image or other object doesn’t load correctly on that device or browser. They can identify what time is best to have their live chat software active on their website based on the time of day they have the most web traffic. They might also use that to determine when to send out social media posts or newsletters for best engagement.
Another method to collect data is through loyalty programs, Entrepreneur pointed out. With the data collected through loyalty programs, businesses can customize the consumer experience. This not only reinforces the bond between company and consumer but also allows the business to learn more about its target audience.
Video strategy
Your online marketing campaign might contain a plethora of initiatives, like social media, blog posts and website ad spots. But if it doesn’t include video, you may be missing an important element in your messaging.
Consumers turn to videos for easily digestible yet highly informative content. They’re more likely to watch a video in its entirety, as opposed to reading a full blog post or article, according to data collected by Hubspot. Nearly half of respondents to Hubspot’s survey stated they spend at least one hour per day watching videos on Facebook or YouTube.
Business leaders are also using video to learn more about new trends and potential investments. Three-fourths of business executives told Forbes that they watch work-related videos on business websites on a weekly basis. More than half of senior executives said they share work-related videos with colleagues and that their peers share videos with them regularly.
Additionally, 42 percent of executives said they made a business-related purchase after watching a work-related video online. That number jumps to 51 percent when looking just at younger professionals, indicating that coming generations may value video even more than today’s leaders.
These three trends are changing the way leaders conduct business today. It’s important to have a solid understanding of these concepts and the many other ways business is evolving. Students graduating from Northeastern University’s Online MBA Program will learn all about these tactics through courses like Digital Marketing, Information Analysis and Brand and Advertising Management.
By learning about new business trends and staying up to date on the way business is changing, professionals may be more likely to find success in their careers.
Recommended Readings:
• Graduate Programs at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business
• Trends That Are Changing The Way Brands Market To Consumers (Infographic)
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