4 Marketing Areas to Focus on to Make Your Digital Transformation a Success

Over the last few years, you have likely increased your spend on digital media and other digital capabilities. But digital is moving at the speed of light, and what was most effective and efficient two or three years ago is not going to be the best strategy for your company today.

As you look ahead to how much to allocate to your 2016 marketing budget, here are 4 areas where digital marketing experts suggest increasing your marketing spend to facilitate your digital transformation.

1. Mobile. With mobile devices becoming a primary media source for many consumers, mobile marketing is now in center focus. Smartphone and tablet users are expected to approach 7 billion by 2020, according to Gartner. The wearable electronics market for personal fitness alone will reach $5 billion by the end of 2016.

As you work with your chief marketing officer to ensure that marketing efforts are in line with long-term corporate goals, be sure that all the digital content your company creates is optimized for mobile. According to Silverpop.com, “If your digital content isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing chances to reach your customers when and where they’re most likely to buy.”

2. Content. Content is used as a marketing tool by 95% of B2B marketers and 82% of B2C marketers, according to Kapost.com research quoted in Forbes. Seventy-eight percent believe custom content is the future of digital marketing and Forbes predicts that the need for good content will not slow down. It will continue to evolve into a variety of forms, disrupting traditional marketing methods.

To fully engage with your audience, increase your focus on audio and video content. Keeping up with the ways your audience relates to and processes information can help you keep them more engaged, said Forbes.

3. Social Media. Marketing through social media is essential in today’s connected world. If your company doesn’t have a solid presence in the major social outlets—Facebook, SnapChat, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.—then you are already way behind your competition. Social media is no longer an option, it is a price of entry with the younger generation.

What’s key, according to Business2Community, is to know your current and prospective customers, including how and where they can be reached. For instance, millennials prefer Instagram to Facebook. To maximize your social media spend, both B2B and B2C marketers should consider targeting audiences using multiple campaigns.

4. Data Analytics. How marketers integrate and analyze their customer data will determine their level of marketing and sales success. Have siloed and disparate data is a critical detriment to all companies’ ability to meet and exceed customer needs today.

By 2017, 69% of marketers expect data to drive most of their decisions, based on research from Gartner. “Leaders in data-driven marketing report far higher levels of customer engagement and market growth than their laggard counterparts,” adds the CMO Council.

Regardless of the size of your company, the vast amount of data available at your fingertips can be used to improve your digital marketing. “Customers typically can’t articulate what they want,” noted Forbes, “but through data analysis, you can serve up exactly what they are looking for.”