10 Things Marketers Need to Know in 2013 [Sitecore]

BY: 

Dave Forde
December 19, 2012

Web content management provider Sitecore, revealed their list of tips that markers need to know as they prepare for the coming new year.

The Top 10 Things Marketers Need to Know in 2013

1. Talk to your CIO and CTO – 2013 will be the year that marketing’s budget approaches or passes IT’s budget as the importance of driving the customer experience across the entire customer lifecycle becomes critical. Analytics and customer data that includes all interaction points will provide increases in conversion and sales revenue.

2. Automate the mundaneBig data for marketing purposes will begin to move into the actionable stage. Already one-third of all big data is marketing related, coming from browsers, transactional systems, ad networks, tagging, ecommerce, social data, devices, apps, and more. To succeed, marketers need to automate the process.

3. Support channel partners – 91% of national brands say they plan to spend more/the same on local marketing in 2013 than in 2012, with mobile marketing, local blogs, and online customer reviews as their top 3 digital priorities for the coming year. Create consistent, localized content and campaigns Hepful-Tipsacross all digital markets.

4. Cater to the small screen – By 2013, there will be 1 billion smartphone users globally and by the end of 2013, the global smartphone and tablet installed base will exceed the PC installed base. Companies will spend more than $3.3 billion in 2013 on marketing in the mobile channel. Know how your web content and campaigns will display on devices.

5. Be more relevant and immediate – Marketing will become more personalized with customized content and tailored experiences to meet growing customer expectations. 80% of consumers surveyed were willing to provide personal data if it yielded a better experience for them. Develop personas and use analytics to get real time profiles of your customers.

6. Get pinning – Pinterest will become a critical component of social media marketing plans thanks to its dramatic rise to become the third biggest social network in the U.S. This becomes another interaction point for marketers to use content to drive engagement.

7. Use video to improve SEO – Videos are 53 times more likely than text pages to appear on the first page of search results and YouTube is the second-largest search engine on the web and attracts 157 million unique viewers per month. Estimates are that 90% of all web traffic will be driven by video by the end of 2013. Video does not have to be expensive and/or labor intensive to be successful.

8. Don’t kill your email campaigns – Email is still the most utilized channel by marketers and consumers and will continue to grow. Test, optimize, and improve your campaign results with analytics.

9. Stop using clickstream metrics – Customer and engagement analytics will continue to grow in importance, as 51% of companies use it to drive customer satisfaction. Engagement analytics tools can accurately predict behavior and whether your website and campaigns engage customers.

10. Think more global – 56% of U.S. based CMOs and VPs plan to add 2 to 5 more languages for their websites. Automating the process of localizing and translating web content and marketing campaigns can yield higher conversion rates and support regional sales.

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Dave Forde


Dave “The Connector” Forde has been involved in the marketing, public relations and technology industry across Canada for over 20 years in various sales and marketing roles, he launched The Connected One network of business sites which connects buyers to the right sellers. Profectio and PR In Canada covers news about the marketing and public relations industry each day helping professionals advance their career and businesses. He also serves as an advisor to a number of businesses across the country. Find Dave on LinkedIn and Twitter.


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