Leadership

Is it already that time again? The digital world is waiting for us digital marketing experts to predict the big industry trends of 2017. As a digital consultant, it’s my job to stay on top of the hot and popular topic in all aspects including SEO, Web Design, Social Media, and Advertising (just to name a few).

Predictions from a Digital Consultant

So, I’m here to tell you all the things your company should be focusing their efforts on as you prepare your budgets for the upcoming year.

Keep in the mind, the digital world is ALWAYS changing. Honestly, no know really knows what’s going to change and what’s going to stick around.

That said, keeping an eye on trends and data helps, and can position you for your best year yet.

That’s why we work in the digital marketing industry, though, right? It surely never leaves us bored.

Prediction 1: Mobile Prevails

Mobile is only going to continue to gain more popularity. Although most of the industry is pre-occupied with software and application development, we will see a shift towards more content focused messaging.

Look at Snapchat’s use of content marketing with their news feature implemented right into their app. That’s content people actually want to read and it’s going to continue to get more tailored and affective as users operate on mobile every day.

Prediction 2: Messaging

Snapchat, Facebook, Whats App, We Chat — these sound familiar, right? That’s because they have taken off extremely fast right beside our social channels that we use every day.

There is something fascinating and convenient about using messaging apps through our media channels.

As users continue to adapt to this, media channels will fight to get their content and advertising seen. This may be a uphill battle with users, however.

Prediction 3: Cross-Device Marketing

It’s exactly what it sounds like. The 2015 technology device usage numbers say it best, 92% of U.S. adults own a cellphone, 73% own a desktop or laptop, 68% own a smartphone, and 45% own a tablet. That’s a lot of devices being used and keep in mind, these numbers are growing.

The new trend is that people are using these devices simultaneously. Digital consultants now have to be aware of tracking these users on every device they are using.

Data alignment across these devices and recognizing what actions a user is taking is going to crucial.

Prediction 4: Videos

Videos are catching the attention of our consumers and we really can’t blame them. 4 times as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it.

More effort should be put into making compelling and relevant video content rather than textual content. Your company should be putting a video making strategy as a top priority.

Videos have more of an opportunity than any other content to go viral. Use that as motivation.

Prediction 5: Artificial Intelligence

No longer are humans responsible for every marketing task. Computers are taking over that role for us. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is popping up everywhere and it’s only going to grow into unthinkable places.

The fact that Artificial Intelligence is performed by computer and algorithm rather than human makes it even more appealing.

We could see this is all different fields but some AI examples include; product recommendation, speech recognition, ad targeting, chat bots, and more.

Prediction 6: Increased Emphasis on Content

Like current times, we will continue to see content marketing at the top of the game. In current years, we have seen content marketing take big leaps and come a long way.

Since most companies have updated and are writing the content, the focus will turn to refining their strategy. This will be through focusing on writing shorter content vs. longer content, frequency, and distribution.

Ultimately, figuring out what users want to see and read is going to drive everything.

Prediction 7: Experiential Marketing

Giving the user the opportunity to interact with your product or service face-to-face is becoming increasingly popular — also known as experiential marketing.

This type of marketing accounts for interactive, even 3D design efforts. Since we are connected to everything through our smart phones, brands will take advantage of these two things to bring us the ultimate experience.

Experiential Marketing works. 72% percent of consumers say they positively view brands that provide great experiences and this is what digital consultants will work towards in 2017.

Prediction 8: In-Store Marketing

Just as it sounds, the act of marketing to the consumer inside the actual store is a growing field. With the addition of smart phones being on us 24-7, digital consultants now have the ability to send us promotions while we are in the store. Pretty crazy, right?

It will not only affect the shopper’s mindset, but this marketing allows companies to track the user’s behavior.

Working alongside Artificial Intelligence, in-store marketing will send personalized promotions and alerts through messaging.

Prediction 9: Changing the Infrastructure

A huge part to all of this new emerging digital technology is that you need to have employees that know how to use it. You also need to have employees that can create and compete with technologies like this.

This is where company reorganizations and infrastructure will come into play. Web designers, UX designers, and Application Developers are all going to be very abundant in the job market.

Companies need these types of employees that have the skills to market to their consumers through the data and technologies in the market place.

Prediction 10: Analytics & ROI

All of these new technologies and ways of marketing are being introduced yet many companies don’t even analyze their results to see if the work being put in is paying off.

Increased emphasis on analytics and measuring ROI is needed. Especially in big areas like social media and content marketing.

Companies need these tools to first tell how their content marketing is doing and then to figure out their budget going forward.

See you in 2017

From studying current market trends and analyzing the success of campaigns in 2016, this is what’s expected to come in 2017.

Good news for you: digital consultants are here to help. We will be with you every step of the way this upcoming year in finding out what this innovative industry will bring next.

Stay tuned.

As a follow up to my recent post about why Fitness is about discipline and not motivation, I wanted to share one of my favorite videos that gets me going..

TCU Baseball called discipline “The Grind” in 2012. The beginning of the video perfectly describes why discipline is so important when it comes to fitness.

Rise and shine. It’s 6 a.m. and your hand can’t make it to the alarm clock before the voices in your head start telling you it’s too early, too dark, and too cold to get out of bed.

Aching muscles lie still in rebellion, pretending not to hear your brain commanding them to move.

A legion of voices are shouting their unanimous permission for you to hit the snooze button and go back to dreamland.

This is exactly the way we all feel when we hear the alarm go off  in the morning – especially if it’s earlier than absolutely necessary. The easy thing is to do what we have always done: sleep in as late as possible while still making it to work on time.

But you didn’t ask their opinion.

The voice you’ve chosen to listen to is one of defiance. A voice that’s says there was a reason you set that alarm in the first place. So sit up, put your feet on the floor, and don’t look back because we’ve got work to do.

Welcome to The Grind.

Living “The Grind” is about discipline. Fitness is about discipline.

When I started to think about getting in shape I would ask people for their thoughts. Every single person told me that the key is motivation. And once you have that you are guaranteed to be successful. I quickly came to realize that motivation is important and that it comes in many different forms:

• Motivation gets you mentally prepared and ready to get into fitness
• Motivation gets you pumped up about getting in shape
• Motivation is the first step of doing anything

I felt a switch flip inside me that led to my current journey of fitness. And while I felt extremely motivated I couldn’t buy myself anything for that. Being motivated is a great feeling and made me want to change my life for the better.

Motivation is not enough

But, over the course of my journey I’ve come to realize that motivation alone is not enough: Fitness is about discipline. Only discipline will actually change your behavior and lead to real results.

Motivation might get you to the gym for week, or two. But, it’s discipline – consistent discipline – that will get you to the gym or working out day after day.

I’m proud to share that for the last year I’ve gotten up at or before 6 a.m. to workout at least three to four times a week. This discipline is what has lead to great fitness results for me.

Defining discipline and motivation

The definition of the two words gives insight into the relationship between motivation and discipline.

mo·ti·va·tion
noun
the general desire or willingness of someone to do something

The words to focus on here are “desire” a willingness”. Having those makes you want to do something, but does not mean that you are actually going to do it.

dis·ci·pline
verb
train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.

On the other hand, the phrase to focus in on for discipline is “to do something”.

While motivation gives you desire to do something, discipline actually gets you to do it.

And. I’ll even take it a step further. While discipline is good, consistent discipline is great. You need to realize that the journey to fitness is a long and winding road that never ends.

Conclusion

Want to get into fitness? Then, find your own personal reason to get motivated. Then once you are motivated, ensure success by developing consistent discipline.

Let me start off with a story about a bad manager. This story is what really got me thinking about how to be a great manager. I’ve had quite a few managers in my career. Due to the nature of the advertising and marketing world it is very common to switch jobs and thus managers every few years.  Most of the time during the interview process you can gauge what kind of manager your boss will be. But, what you never expect from a manager is indifference.

Coming back to my experience with a bad manager, during the first few months in this job my manager provided feedback to my questions and met with me on a fairly regular basis. However, increasingly our interactions would start to revolve around fires within the organization, emergencies surrounding the organization, or to point out what I was doing wrong. The few times during my tenure that we met in person, he focused on his agenda while multitasking at the same time. I had no opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas, get feedback necessary to move forward on projects, and he never once asked me a question. 

His overt lack of interest and investment in me destroyed my engagement in the company. While my performance was high (I did ace my 90 day review after all), I needed input, feedback, recognition, and counsel. I longed to be connected and part of a team.

All this got me thinking: What kind of manager had I been in the past? What kind of manager did I want to be? What type of manager did I want my future managers to be? The one thing I knew is that I wanted to have  and be a great manager. Someone who treats people with respect, coaches and mentors employees, and sees them as real human beings with meaningful lives and valuable experiences that extended beyond the business, but could contribute to the business. [Read more…] about How to be a great manager