4 Keys to Creating a Winning Marketing Strategy in 2017

Are you thinking about your social media strategy for next year? Your competition likely is – and if you want to stay ahead of the curve, you should too.

Developing a marketing plan for the new year is the perfect way to decide where you want your business to go in the future – and how you'll get there.

Of course, since digital marketing is constantly evolving, it can seem difficult to determine where you should invest your resources. New trends replace old. Some platforms surprise digital marketers and emerge as dominant competitors, while others fall to the wayside. It can all seem a little overwhelming.

Not to fear: here we've compiled some of the key tips to building a successful marketing strategy in 2017.

Content Dominates Ads

The dominance of content marketing over traditional advertising is already an established trend in digital marketing – and it will only grow in 2017.

The reason? Put simply, audiences don't have much trust in ads.

They're far more likely to engage with, share and trust content that's useful and informative – and that gives them value for their time, rather than simply repeating a brand's message, as advertising does. So, an emphasis on content marketing will continue to be essential to your marketing plan in 2017.

The good news? It's far more cost-effective than buying ads. And with many platforms offering an array of analytics tools to help you determine what works – and what doesn't – you'll find it easier to ascribe an accurate dollar value to your content.

Retaining Audiences

You likely spend time thinking of how to grow your audience.

But what about retaining them?

Marketers are quickly realizing that simply expanding your reader/viewership doesn't drive engagement – and doesn't drive conversion as high as possible.

Instead, you need to shift your focus to creating a content strategy focused on retaining your current audience. This means measuring daily or weekly active users and considering how you can foster a more engaging experience for users – one that keeps them coming back for more.

Ultimately, it comes down to optimal conversion: the more engaged your audience is, and the more frequently they view your content, the higher the propensity for them to become your future customers – which is what you're after, of course.

Multi-Channel Marketing

Developing a cohesive strategy to market your business across multiple platforms will only become more important in 2017, as the sheer number of platforms users interact on grows and users seek out uniform messaging across them. As SAS.com points out, "Multichannel marketing is important for the simple reason that you must be where your customers are. And they are everywhere."

Indeed, the days of developing content strategy for specific platforms with no eye to consistency across other mediums is behind us – to maintain relevance in this coming year, start thinking about how you can tailor your message to various platforms (think Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and develop something that resonates with your audience.

Today's social media users are constantly flipping back and forth between apps: scrolling through Instagram posts, then reading tweets and checking their Snapchat, for example.

That cross-platform exposure needs to be top-of-mind when it comes to developing your marketing strategy for the new year.

That's not to say that you need to pursue every social platform out there. But spend time determining where your target audience is – and then focus your efforts there.

Mobile First

If you aren't thinking of mobile as a crucial part of your marketing strategy, you're falling behind. Not convinced? Here's a few sobering statistics from Social Media Today:

• People check their phones 150 times every day
• Nearly half of shoppers say they would buy more through their mobile device if it was easier
• A third of them do a majority of their research on their phone

And, finally: 80 percent of users' social media time is spent on mobile devices.

Developing a mobile-first marketing strategy is no longer some lofty idea for the future – it's absolutely essential for you to adopt one.

Have any predictions for top social media trends for 2017? Let us know in the comments below!

To view the original article, visit the CityBlast blog.