Top 8 Ecommerce Marketing Trends for 2015

The Less You “Sell,” The More You Make

The more information we’re bombarded with on a daily basis, via the Internet, TV, even our smartphones and tablets, the better we have to become at sifting through the junk to find what speaks to us most honestly.

Therefore, the more often a company tries to push a sale and the less time they spend showing passion for both their product and customers, the less likely that potential consumers will spend with that business. Below are a few ways that new technology will change how companies can find champions and customers alike, while avoiding wasted ad dollars and pushy sales.

1. Screen Shifting

According to Forbes, as we increase the number of screens we use each day, for example, we can watch a movie while texting from our phones and tweeting from our laptops all at the same time, so will marketers adapt their advertising for each screen. Advertisements for wearable technology, such as Google Glass or the Smartwatch, will need to become more customized for smaller screens and heads up display (HUD).

2. Streamlined Shopping

In 2015 more people will be doing their online shopping on their phones and more retail locations will be using online/offline POS systems. Marketers will be attempting to take advantage of the swiping and tapping motions we all know so well, while making an in-store transaction may no longer require a cash register, much less a keyboard.

3. Marrying Copywriting & Coding

Being able to write, and write well and in many tones, will be a key factor in the success of digital marketing for 2015. The best writers will need to understand interaction design and responsive content development to create messaging that resonates across different platforms and screen dimenesions. Conversely developers will need to include content developers earlier and work more closely with the content marketing side.

4. Mobile Marketing Attribution

Marketers will begin to find that they can gain more credit and attribution from an ad that is clicked via a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device. According to Tom Webster, Vice President of Edison Research,  potential customers no longer have to run back home and look up an advertised product, they can simply tap on the ad on their phones. More marketers will start to realize that using mobile as a hub for ads will give them an edge.

5. Multi-Dimensional Sharing Networks

 We will see a drop in usage for sites that only allow its users to share certain files. For example, Twitter may see a decline in popularity because it is merely a supplement to a more in-depth online personality as opposed to Google+ which lets its users group chat, post thoughts, images, documents, and much more. Social media platforms will become more competitive in creating the most comprehensive, integrated, and aesthetically pleasing format for its users to present themselves to the online world.

6. Corporations Getting Personal

In an effort to seem like your best friend or someone you know close to home, marketing campaigns will incorporate more and more home-video-like advertising. Copy will start to seem a little less professional, and a lot more in-your-face honest. Transparency, or the illusion of transparency, as well as simplicity, will become major facets of major marketing strategies.

 7. The Golden Age of Storytelling

 Related to the above, marketing, public relations, and advertising categories will  continue to converge as the main agenda becomes getting future customers to be moved by the message. Anyone with talent for storytelling in diverse or emerging formats, whether it’s through comics, street art or filming, will have a highly valued role in the marketing field.

8. Finer Content Targeting for Niche Audiences

As Facebook and tools like Google Analytics provide more powerful audience insight such as gender and age, marketers will be challenged to apply that new granular demographic data. Lee Odden of Top Rank Online Marketing and Pam Didner, Intel’s Global MKT Strategist, predict that in 2015 marketing teams will have to take a step back and completely reevaluate their target audiences and figure out how to speak to reach specific users in more meaningful ways.

Owen Andrew – Guest Contributor Owen Andrew is a writer with a strong passion for emerging technology and social media strategies to help enhance ones brand. He’s a contributor to the Dunkel Bros blog and he enjoys drinking his morning cup of black coffee, while attempting the newspaper’s crossword puzzle.

Photo by: DK