A Look Ahead to 2014…
The New Year always brings with it some trepidation, mainly due to brewing uncertainty over what 2014 will hold for the B2B world. In addition, whenever someone makes a prediction about what’s going to be big in B2B in the next year, it usually falls into one of three categories: It will come true, it won’t or it’s just a recycled prediction from prior years.
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With that in mind, it goes without saying to take predictions with a healthy grain of salt—you’ll be much better off emotionally. Still, predictions are fun because they can prepare you for a taste of what’s to come in the New Year.
Here are some of the biggest predictions for 2014 for marketing and the user experience.
Marketing
Marketing predictions may or may not come true. Will these specific predictions come true?
Mobile will arrive. Mobile has been here for, like, the last few years already. Though mobile traffic is still in the minority by far—only 15% of the world’s Internet traffic is mobile—it’s steadily growing. Your B2B company should be on top of this trend.
Customers will dictate your business relationship
his has also already happened. When have customers never been in control? The customer’s always right, after all.
Social-media engagement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Strike up a healthy balance with lead generation, message broadcasting and, yes, social-media engagement.
SEO will never die. Just ignore all those relentless predictions, year after year, that SEO will die. SEO will continue to be highly relevant in 2014.
Visual content creation will get bigger. This has already been growing for a few years. Visual content can be anything from slideshows and infographics to screenshots and even basic stock photos.
Marketing will grow closer to publishing than ever nigeria whatsapp number data 5 million before. While marketing will still be distinct from publishing, your B2B company’s marketing side will incorporate more of a publishing mindset.
CMOs will continue to believe in social media. CMOs already have embraced social media, with a staggering 90% of executives admitting that social media is vital for brand awareness and reputation. This’ll only get stronger in 2014.
Reduce friction and increase conversions
Increase friction, and lessen conversions. Here’s what you can expect in the way of some of the top user-experience predictions for 2014.
More Well-rounded Content Strategists. Content where do you feel comfortable? strategists will also begin to specialize in user-experience design and the extension of user agb directory experience and business goals into branded content.
Improved Targeting for Gestures. There will be fewer numbers of gesture combinations on the same part of the screen.
Skeuohaptic Response Advances. 2D interfaces will be made to feel more tangible through attempts to offer feedback via emulated reactions.
Navigation Icon Overuse. The navigation icon (the tiny, three-line icon) will be increasingly popular. This will lead to more websites hiding or minimizing navigation overall.
People and Shyness on Social Media. Social media users will get more tactful and not share every aspect of their personal lives on social-media sites. The slew of phone hacking and personal-information breaches that dominated the news this year will make people think twice.
Serendipity With Actual Meaning. 2014 will feature a movement toward digital experiences that pleasantly surprise users by providing spontaneous and random discovery.