1. What 2017 Holds for Inbound Marketing
The last decade hasseenthe evolutionof inboundmarketing.Today,businessesneedtobe more
savvy,specificandcreative thaneverbefore tograbcustomer’sattention.
Rewindthe clock tenyearsand prospectshada choice of maybe fouror five differentvendorsto
pickfrom,for any productor service.Today,it’smore like fourteenorfifteen –an amount
consistentacrossall commercial sectors.That’squite anincrease incompetition.
Consumerchoice hasbecome brandrecognition’sbiggestchallenge.Butjustassupplyhasincreased
exponentially,demand ISN’Tgreaterthanever.Infact,it’sremainedrelativelyunchangedina
decade. Thismeansthatunderstandingbuyerbehaviourismore critical thaneverbefore.
Whenobservingbuyerprospectivebehaviour,there’sonlyone conclusiontobe drawn – we’re on
the cusp of heralding the second phase of inboundmarketingevolution.
Here’swhatthismeansfor yourbusiness,andyour2017 marketingplan.
Google isThe Answer
Rich Text Boxes
In 2007, Google helpedbuyersfindthe answerstoanyqueriesbyreturningsearchresultswithlinks
to the answers they sought. Today,Google directlyrespondstoanyqueriesinarich textbox. No
longerare buyerspresented withalistof linksasresources,justthe answertotheirquery.
Now,statisticsdovary,but between 20– 35% of Google SERPsperformedtodayreturnwithaquick
answerbox,populatedinthe SERPitself. These answerboxescanbe understoodinasplitsecond,
makingthemhighly-appealingtowebsitebrowsers.
The contentthat your businesscreatesshouldbe able tobe pulledinto Google’squickanswerbox.
Thisallowsyouto educate buyersdirectlyonthe SERP,immediatelyengagingthem. Checkoutthis
article forinformationonhowtodo this.
Google Adwords
Earlierthisyear,Google introduced changestoitslayout.Priortothis,Google Adwordspaidsearch
resultstookupapproximatelyhalf the page.The new layoutshiftedAdwordsresultsfromthe right-
handcolumn,where they typically wentunnoticed,tocentre stage,makingup the entire space
above the page foldon desktopandmobile devices.
Your inboundmarketingbudgetshouldalwaysfactorinpaidadvertising.Whilstadsaren’t
traditionallyassociatedwithinboundmarketing,qualitycontentcanbe promotedwhenfound
organically.Anditcan be amplifiedwithapaidsearchbudget.
Whilstwe’re onthe topicof social media,Facebook’sLeadAdsallowsbuyerstocomplete aform
directoryintheirnewsfeeds. Addedin2015, thisfeature letsuser’ssign-upforleadgenerating
offersandcontentwithoutleavingFacebook.The featurewascreatedspecificallytosimplify mobile
sign-up,makingitaseasyas possible formobileuserstofill outformswithoutthe frustrationof the
pinchand zoomwhentypingdetailsintoformfields.

2. The greatertransparencyof an ad campaign’seffectivenessmeanswe are now seeingwhatissure
to become more andmore prominent in2017 and beyond – Pay PerLead,not PayPer Click.
Adsare beinggivenincreasingprominence insearchengine results,offeringenhancedclarityand
more affordable costperleadratios.Thiswill influence how prospectivecustomersfindyour
businessin2017.
The Evolutionof Content
The typesof contentwe consume hasevolved.Tenyearsago,itwas all aboutthe powerof the
writtenword.Today,contentisvisual –it’svideos,imagesandinfographics.Movinginto2017,
expecttosee videocontentandsocial mediasharingbegintotake centre stage.
Look at the popularityof appssuchas Snapchat,andhow businessesare usinglivestreamingto
share content.Inboundmarketingcampaignsthatgetthe mosttractionare the ones that utilise
short videocontenttoportraya powerful message.
The explosionof mobile deviceshasfuelledthissurge invideocontent. Contentmarketersneedto
be searchingfora videoproducer,notablogger.Asmuch as 50% of the contentyouproduce in
2017 shouldbe video content,whethercreatedorsharedorjustsharedon social media.
It’sNot JustAboutYourWebsite
Social mediahasevolvedfromaplatformtopromote your businesstoa contentplatforminitself.
Buyersaren’tjustsneakingthe oddfewminutesadayto change theirstatusor browse whatother
people are saying,they’re spendingmuchof theirtime gluedtoFacebook,Twitter,andother
prominentsocial mediaplatforms.
Facebookhasa monopolyonthe contentwe consume.Instagram, MessengerandWhatsAppare all
ownedbyFacebook.Everysingle dayconsumers happilyexplore,chatandshare contentwithother
users.If you’re notengagingwiththe platforms,you’re notengagingwithpotential customers.
Buyer Psychologyin 2017
Tenyears ago,your website was aresource.Today,it’sthe ultimate salespitch.Buyerswantan
experience, takingthe decisiontomake a purchase onthe website directly,orbycontactingyou
whenthey wantto.
Website evolutionhasresultedinconsumersexpectinganautomated, personalisedservice that’s
convenientlytailoredtotheirneeds. Thison-demand,buyingexperience issettocontinue into
2017, andyour inboundmarketingactivitiesshouldreflectthis.
Simple additions,suchasan instantchatfeature withsalesorsupport staff can make the difference
betweenbrowsersinvestingtime onyourwebsite,orreturningtoGoogle’ssearchindex.Content
that deliversanengaging,helpful andmemorable service,allowingconsumerstohelpthemselves
will have the edge overcontentthatdoesn’t.Thisiswhylive webchatshave proventobe so
popular.

3. The Takeaway
Commercial successdependsonvalue,experience andinnovation.Thishasneverbeentrueraswe
move into2017. Your InboundMarketing2.0 strategyshouldkeepthesefourkeypointsinmind:
VisualContent– create and share diverse content.Rampupyourvideocontentproduction,using
social mediatoshare contentthat adds value.
Be Social – rememberthatpeople buyfrompeople theylike.Engage yourcustomersonSnapchat,
Instagram,WhatsAppandMessengerandgive thema reasonto believe inyou.
ChangeYourContentCollaboration –combine contentwithpaidmarketing.Repurpose successful
contentand share iton multiple channels,whilstboostingitsinfluence witha dedicated budget.
RememberYour Customer’sBehaviours –make sure that you give yourcustomersthe abilitytobuy
whentheylike –withoutthe needforanypersonal interaction.
Red-Fernisafull-service digital designstudiowithover8years’experience.Perfectlypositionedto
grow yourbusiness,we have ourfingersonthe pulse of all thingsdigital.
To findoutmore aboutus, visit: http://www.red-fern.co.uk/ today.