RingJohns Marketing Trends for 2012

It is that time of year again – time to review the digital year that’s been and assess what we think will be big for the coming year. Clients ask, “How should we be spending our money in 2012?” It’s a question that comes up a lot. Of course, for each industry it varies but broadly speaking, we see trends emerge from our work throughout the year, and we would like to share our own thoughts on what we think will be important for marketing plans in 2012.

When the RingJohn team sat down to talk about this, one trend seemed to emerge outright amongst the others – namely, the world of Mobile. It’s nothing new, we have been attending (and giving) conferences and seminars within the online marketing industry for the past two to three years and the story has been much the same. What marks 2012 as the true year of Mobile, is the fact that other technology has caught up with everyone’s expectations. The explosion of mobile devices – phones, tablets and other gadgets and the wholesale adoption of that technology across the globe has powered this surge.

Gartner research says that as of the third quarter of 2011, over 115 million smartphones have been sold all over the World – that’s 26% of all sales of mobile devices for communication. Nielsen say that as of October 2011, 43% of those who own a mobile phone in the US have made it a smartphone and expect it to move in to the 50%+ mark in 2012.

Closer to home, ComScore say that just over 38% of mobile phone users in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain have a smartphone – thats a whopping 91.4 million people, and is moving the same way as in the US.

So as digital marketers, it makes sense for us to be where everyone else is online. We have seen client mobile site traffic in certain industries jump by over 300% within a very short space of time – without specific ad optimisation for mobile, without a mobile-specific site and without any plan for growing mobile traffic (and ultimately, mobile leads and sales). Needless to say, expanding on what could be a hugely profitable sector for clients is top of the list for 2012.

Here’s a few thoughts from the team here on what we expect to see in 2012:

Our MD John Ring says…
The power of mobile cannot be overstated – and figuring out how each client and industry can use this to their advantage will be key. The further integration of Google’s social element (through Google+) and search will also be an important part of 2012. The increased importance of personalised search via Google Plus Your World will make it a more serious part of most SEO plans from now on.

Our PPC Manager Ryan wants to explore the +1 in search…
We have seen +1 recommendation functionality in Google search ads, and more recently, their introduction into display ads on the Google display network. Personalised search will influence the ads which friends are likely to see in any given set of search results. This move is an effort to make ads more relevant and to increase their effectiveness – in a similar way to the “Like” button works on Facebook. We are all more likely to buy a product if our friends have recommended it, right?

Our Search Engine Optimisation Manager (Google Rankings Expert) Stephen sees fresh content and search intention becoming more and more important…
We have seen, first hand, how recent updates in the Google search algorithm have started affecting results on Google.ie and .co.uk. Sites that were ranking top of page one for generic/broad search terms (i.e. “french manicures”) six weeks ago are now appearing much further down the page. Compare that with the location-based variation of those phrases (i.e. “french manicures Dublin”) and we see a much better search ranking. So? Google is looking at the phrases and determining what it thinks the user “wants” to see based on the term itself. Do they want to buy, find a local company or are they searching for information? Based on what Google thinks the searcher’s intention is, we see different results. How much/less this effects existing rankings remains to be seen – but this, and other Google updates are likely to be a big story for 2012.

Our Social Manager Lynsey is excited about the “Second Screen” for 2012…
I love TV – there , I’ve said it. And I watch a lot. In the evening, there’s nothing I like better than to curl up with my hubby and watch a great documentary on Channel 4 or BBC Four. But this year, we have been joined by two more little bundles of joy on our sofa. One runs on Android and the other – Apple OS. “What WAS that guy in? Was he the baddie with the moustache in Taggart?” we might be heard asking. Out come our shiny little friends and within a few seconds we have our answer (they usually do turn out to be baddies from Taggart). We are not alone either, Nielsen report that 86% of internet users use a mobile device of some sort (a smartphone, a tablet etc.) while they watch the telly. This is going to get even bigger for 2012. Watch and see how TV channels are now creating web content to go hand-in-hand with TV programmes for added “stickiness” (did you watch the Million Pound drop on Channel 4 recently, where they had the game running online which allowed users to play along with the show?) More of this to come in 2012!

Our Marketing Executive and Man Friday Andrew is looking forward to the launch of the iPad 3 later this year…
I don’t leave home without my iPad, and I see more and more consumers getting one (or a tablet of some sort) in 2012. My tip for 2012 is the progression of apps, QR codes and the next generation of mobile/tablet centric gadgets and doo-da’s. Social gaming is becoming an increasingly lucrative area in the US and perhaps 2012 will bring a bit more of that, this side of the pond!

Want to talk to us about how we can help your business sell more online in 2012? Just contact us.