Online Marketing Predictions for 2012

Location Apps Find Their Place

This is one that’s been talked about for years but is now starting to become a reality. Foursquare has become more popular, as have many other location based apps. According to Ad Age, more online adults became familiar with location apps (from 16% in 2010 to 30% in 2011). Location apps will become more wide spread with customers looking to take advantage of loyalty rewards and special offers used by marketers to drive foot traffic to stores.

Gone in a Flash

Adobe Flash animation, once a must have on every home page, will become obsolete as older versions of Internet Explorer (IE8 & IE7) begin to fade. With growing adoption of the iPad tablet, which does not support Flash, many publishers will opt for HTML5 to deliver interactive content for the web and mobile devices.

Social CMS Websites

New content management tools and software will continue to gain in popularity as website owners look to get more out of their investment. Tools that help companies integrate their social media presence with their website will continue to grow. Companies that use these tools will look to leverage Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels to grow their brand. Tools like PHP Fox and Social Engine will help site owners grow loyalty and improve customer service.

SEO Content Strategy Trumps Tactics

A mid-2011 report from SEMPO and Econsultancy notes a decline in SEO spending and an increase in Social Media spending during the same period. With social media taking more of the investment pie, online marketers will need to set a SEO strategy that focuses on social media. With much of social media results coming from good content, marketers will need to continue to place more emphasis on generating quality content people want to share on Twitter and Facebook. Simply adding keywords to pages and building a handful of links will fail to get results.

Mobile App Marketing Takes Off

To have real staying power in search engines and social media, content will require links, tweets, likes, etc. Content like info graphics and videos will still have an impact, but marketers will need to find ways to make the content more engaging. As more content viewing shifts from websites to apps, marketers will look to take advantage of mobile/tablet apps to gain the most exposure. Fisher-Price is doing a great job with their mobile app marketing efforts to support their products.

What are some of the online marketing trends you see in 2012 that will have the biggest impact?