Epiphany Marketing's Strategic Marketing Blog

You’re reading Top Marketing Trends for 2011 from Epiphany Marketing’s Strategic Marketing blog. Subscribe: Email | Facebook | RSS.

Today we’re beginning a series on the stuff you need to be paying attention to as we head into 2011.

“What?! We’re in the middle of the holiday season… Christmas is still weeks away!”

Yeah… I know. And you’re probably not quite too late to begin thinking about what your 2011 strategy looks like, but you can’t afford to wait any further.

Begin at the Very Beginning

So… speaking of strategy, you do have one of those right? You know… a written plan that will produce growth in your business. One that identifies:

• precisely the person(s) to whom you are focusing your message
• your identity (or that of your products and services), and
• the message itself

…along with specific steps you’re going to take to attract those people, get their attention, and plug them into your sales process.

If not, this is where you must start. Otherwise, you’re going to be overwhelmed by all the stuff you could be doing. Strategy is as much about knowing what not to do as it is about knowing what to do.

2010: Monumental Shifts

And speaking of what you could be doing… looking back on 2010, I can’t recall a year ever in which so much has changed in marketing.

• Google rankings mean more and less than they used to… on the one hand, more businesses have shed their offline advertising and marketing expenses and are looking to online search to help bring in new customers. But on the other hand, the online mix must now be much more robust than ever — engaging customers (present and future) in a conversation through social media outlets
• Mobile devices continue to change the rules… and are now inventing new ones. Text messaging, Twitter, mobile browsers, maps and navigation, social media apps on the go… all of these affect how your buyers receive your messages, and this year has brought some amazing changes to this space with new devices, maturing platforms (particularly Android and iOS), and high adoption rates. People spend more time “connected” on the go than even I ever dreamed… and it’s going to increase.
• Local businesses have an amazing (and dizzying) array of options to reach out to customers with geo-location services like Foursquare, Google Places, Facebook places, and Gowalla. Which ones are effective? Which ones are a waste of time? Consumers are using location-based services from mobile devices in record numbers. Are you missing out on the opportunity?

These are just a few of the major shifts we’re watching from 2010. How do they affect your business in 2011? What else should you be paying attention to? We’ll be tackling these questions and showing off some pretty nifty stuff over our next few posts.

Stay tuned!

We’ve already tackled the question about YouTube for Marketers recently, and I’ve been a big believer in it for a number of years. In fact, business owners and entrepreneurs in our 21st-Century Strategic Marketing Program have heard me beat the drum of not just YouTube, but also social media outlets (including Facebook and Twitter) since the program’s inception in early 2008.

Clients are now asking about social media more than ever before, particularly as we help them develop comprehensive marketing and communications strategies that they in turn get busy implementing. In my opinion, the number of businesses who should not be using social media is rapidly diminishing. If you own a small business, if you are a salesperson, or if you in any way are responsible (or rewarded) for bringing customers or revenue into the company you work for, then you need to have a social media strategy.

No one has said it better than the creator of this video:

For help developing your 21st Century Marketing Strategy, or to find out more about our low cost, high ROI training programs, contact us today. You’ll be glad you did.

Free Webinar: How To Dominate Your Marketplace Using Social Media

UPDATE: Join us for a free webinar Thursday, September 10th at 9PM Eastern.

Guerrilla Social Media Strategies for the Small Business and Sales Professional

Trying to make sense of Twitter? Befuddled by Facebook? Not sure where to start?

In this informative 90-minute webinar, David G. Johnson will be talking about how to decide which social networks make the most sense for your business, how to get started, and how to ensure that your precious time and resources aren’t wasted.

Whether you’re an experienced social networker or not even sure whether to stick your toe in the waters, you can’t afford to miss this valuable educational event!

In addition to lots of great instruction, there will be a Q&A session at the end which allow you to get your questions answered by the expert!

Space is limited.
Reserve your spot here.
David G. Johnson is the founder of Epiphany Marketing, LLC and has been helping businesspeople just like you establish highly profitable, cost-effective marketing strategies that leverage technology for the past 11 years.