If you are reading this, chances are you are doing so from your smartphone. You most likely found out about this blog through one of Beacon?s social media platforms or via our monthly newsletter. This should all point to the impact technology can have on a marketer?s ability to reach a larger audience.

Marketers have been able to reach a large audience for quite some time, so the idea of technology and marketing is nothing new. However marketing tools are becoming more ubiquitous; and much easier and cheaper to use. Additionally more and more tools are being developed to help us reach an even larger audience by faster, more efficient methods. As we begin to enter a new year, it is important to understand which tools are are your disposal and how you can leverage them to set your organization up for marketing success.

Five Marketing Technology Trends and How You Can Leverage Them

A great aspect about technology in marketing is it helps you market your business in a more effective and efficient manner. Here are some marketing trends you should keep an eye on and how you can leverage them:

1. Increase use of chatbots – You have probably interacted with a chatbot, even if you do not realize it. Chatbots are the popups you see in the corner of a website which ask you if you need help with anything. These are programmed to act as if a human is interacting with a visitor addressing the most common questions or concerns. These are an effective tool in marketing because you can interact with your target audience without devoting a live human. Implemented correctly, you will be able to give your target prospects a positive feel for working with your organization and increase the likelihood of them becoming customers.
2. Greater emphasis on data analysis – You interact with your audience in a variety of ways. Because of this you must understand what is and is not working. Doing this means gathering data and analyzing it. To make this work, you have to determine how you are going to collect the data, where you are going to store it, and schedule a time to periodically review it. Set baselines and goals so you have something to measure it against. Outline a course of action to take whenever something does not meet the standard you set forth.
3. Video or bust – According to Hubspot, 81% of businesses use video in their marketing efforts. The reason for this is quite simple: people love watching video. Advances in technology make video accessible from just about anywhere so there is really no reason NOT to include video as part of your marketing strategy. Begin as you would any other type of content. Understand who you are targeting and what information you feel they need. Most importantly, just get started.
4. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will become more prevalent – VR and AR are ways you can use technology to give your audience a more in-depth experience. You can use VR to transport a prospect to a different world where they can experience your product/service in action or you can use AR to add visual overlays to their current world, giving them a different feel. In either case this can be an exciting use of technology for a variety of businesses. To implement, research the technology first to determine if it is correct for your business. From there review your marketing strategy and determine how to best implement it.
5. No more dominant marketing platforms – As we alluded to above, there are more ways for you to interact with your target audience. As technology evolves more platforms will be developed to suit the various needs of different groups of people. This means your audience will be spread out across different platforms so you will not be able to solely focus on one platform such as Facebook or Google. You can still have those as your primary focus, but given the competition it will suit you to truly understand where your audience gets your info and develop a strategy which reaches them via multiple channels.

Advances in technology has had a huge impact in how marketers promote and grow their businesses. This impact is only going to become more pronounced as improvements to current tech are made and new technologies are develop. The way to find marketing success is by understanding these technologies and how you can leverage them for your business.