Content Will Remain King

Google has emphasized the importance of great content, as evident in their Panda algorithm. After all, content makes it easy for new and existing customers to decide if the products and service of a business is right for their needs. By constantly delivering quality and valuable information, a brand is able to directly engage with buyers. So if you think that content will be dethroned in 2016, you’re going to be in for a rude awakening. Content is still a factor in SEO, and Google unleashed a Panda refresh this summer. So, yes, content isn’t going anywhere.

There is, however, the type of content that businesses produce will change. Many people argue that today’s readers don’t like reading lengthy articles. Instead, they want the answers to their question clear, concise and straight to the point. So, if you choose to blog for your audience, you may need to opt out of your traditional writing style. We recommend that you structure your content as bullet points or “Top 10” lists instead of standard block text.

Videos & Images

Continuing on the subject of content, videos and images are going to become more prominent. Facebook recently introduced new tools to help bring your videos to life, and it is now easier to create a YouTube account now that Google changed their terms and agreements.

Your audience would probably prefer to see a beautiful image or watch an entertaining video than read boring text. So we recommend that you consider utilizing these elements when developing content. Perhaps you could create a How-to video that educates your audience about your product. Or maybe you’re planning a blog post that has a lot of statistics. It might be easier for your audience to understand the data if it was arranged into an Infographic.

The Mobile Experience

Over the last decade, mobile usage has increased drastically. In 2015, it was reported that mobile search finally surpassed desktop search. This digital trend isn’t going to fade away because mobile smart phones and iPads are becoming more easily available. In fact, mobile usage will only continue to increase.

Your brand cannot ignore this, so it is imperative that your website is mobile responsive so that you are not losing out on business because users can’t navigate around your homepage without having problems on their smartphones or tablets.

Brand Humanization

This isn’t necessary a new trend, many brands have been doing for years. However, humanizing your brand is becoming more important, if not already necessary. Brands all over the world are competing for your attention. Which brand does a buyer usually choose? The brand that they are familiar with and trust.

By humanizing your brand, you help establish this familiarity and trust because you are telling your audience your story. Through storytelling, you are letting your audience know that there are people behind the brand image, which will result in increased sales. After all, people by from people, right?

Still not convinced you should humanize your brand? If so, we recommend your read our blog post about the subject.

Instagram

The image-sharing platform has seen a lot of changes in 2015. A new advertisement feature was introduced, and photos were no longer restricted to a box-shape. Due to so many changes, it is smart to assume that more will be on the way.

One feature that marketers have all agreed Instagram lacks is not being able to include clickable links within the picture’s caption. If someone were to include a link to their – lets say website – the link only appears as normal text. With the new advertising capabilities, users will be able to click on links and find out more information about the product or company.

Facebook’s News Feed

Unless you’ve been paying attention, it’s easy to lose track of the amount of changes that Facebook went though this year. The social media giant were pushing people’s buttons with their newly introduced call-to-action buttons such as the Buy Now, Donate Now and the announcement of the Dislike Button.

On top of that, many changes to the news feed algorithm were introduced. Facebook tried showing you content based on the time you spent looking at updates, as well as personalizing your news feed tailored to your desires.

Since the news feed is paramount to the user experience on Facebook, we think it is safe to assume that Facebook will introduce even more changes to the news feed algorithm in the attempt to improve Facebook user experience.

If this is the case, it will be even more difficult for a brand’s Facebook page to gain awareness and organic reach. As a result, you may need to rethink your social media approach, and how you plan to appeal to your audience.