7 Digital Branding Strategies That Are Extremely Popular In 2017

Each year, there are always new digital branding strategies that begin to gain traction.The most successful business owners and marketers are the ones who are constantly adapting to emerging trends, instead of sticking to one method forever.

Each year, competition between businesses becomes tight and sometimes can go beyond what they can imagine. There is always a way to better strategy each year. Where there is technology, strategies also evolve.

Here are 7 digital branding strategies that are extremely popular in 2017.

1. Social Media Advertising

If you haven’t jumped on the social media train yet, 2017 is the year to do it. Companies are becoming more and more profitable with social media advertising. In fact, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have been extremely successful for even my own businesses when it came to paid advertising.

The ad platforms are becoming extremely advanced in being able to target a specific audience allowing companies to be more profitable than ever. If you are offering a product or service, find a way to get your business visible on social media platforms. Utilize their advertising networks and see if you can generate a ROI for your company.

2. Video Marketing

For 2016, content was considered the “King,” but for 2017 it has been dethroned by video. Video marketing ended up becoming an extremely popularized trend towards the end of 2016. From the beginning of 2017, businesses have been able to market and brand themselves effectively with the use of video.

Consumers are becoming less and less likely to read something, but far more likely to watch something. As long as the videos are engaging, users will not only connect with it but they are even more likely to share it with friends and family. Whether you’re looking to grow your businesses reach or simply trying to engrave your brand amongst your existing customers, video is the way to go!

3. Viral Marketing

While viral marketing has technically been a strategy for years now, it has seen quite a bit of improvement in the last few years. With viral marketing, your goal is to find a way to get your consumers and loyal advocates to share your brand with others. You basically have to ask yourself, what can I do that will motivate my customers to talk about my business with others?

That isn’t always an easy question to answer. It really takes a lot to have a successful viral marketing campaign. However in 2017, using giveaways, sweepstakes and incentivizing the entire process can garner some really positive results. If you can find a ‘viral’ way to convince people to share your business in exchange for something free, you’ll get quite a lot of buzz.

4. Mobile Marketing

Mobile too has been an emerging and growing market for the last few years now. Mobile advertising has not only shown to convert better than web in the last year, but the reach on mobile is nearing web. One solid way to brand your business is to simply create a mobile application that users can keep & use on their smartphone.

Today, a huge percentage of the population has mobile phones, and they are convenient to use in looking for a brand they want to explore. A lot of companies have adopted mobile responsive web design and email templates to reach out to their customers. Mobile has a significant impact on search marketing in addition to desktops, laptops and tablet devices.

5. Influencer Marketing

Perhaps this might be the strategy that has always been and will always be trending. Today’s consumer is more likely to trust an influencer than the brand itself sending the message. Consumers tend to think of influencers as unbiased experts with knowledge to share.

Often, they become loyal to the brand, especially if they can see that their favorite influencer is also loyal to a specific brand. In 2017, it is best for a brand to invest time and resources to identify and align with the right influencers, who not only believes in their brand, but can communicate that message to the right audience.

6. Wearable Technology

The wearables space ended up becoming the big thing that saw a ton of growth in 2017. With that in mind, imagine being able to get your brand so close to people that it’s actually inside of what they’re wearing. From smartphones to fitness bracelets, wearables are becoming extremely popular.

For brands, the ultimate goal is to find creative ways to get their marketing in front of users of wearable technology. Maybe even better than smartphone advertising, wearable technologies might be something that consumers cannot escape. Find a creative way to get yourself integrated within wearable technology in 2017!

7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This strategy should always be on top of every digital marketing strategy of a company, especially for 2017. No matter what technologies have evolved in the digital world, search engine use has NOT seen a decline. In 2017, Google went heavy on updates and announced about the mobile index and Accelerated Mobile Index.

The future of internet search has also changed from the traditional keyword discovery to voice search. The voice assistants from Amazon, Microsoft and Google Home are gaining mainstream popularity and talking to a piece of technology is evidently the future of task functionality. Regardless, search engine optimization continues to convert astoundingly well for businesses even in 2017.

Conclusion

Adapting to the latest trends in digital marketing is vital to seeing continued success with any business. In this post, I shared with you 7 digital branding strategies that are extremely popular in 2017.