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The Great Pixel Land Rush of 2015 (And 5 More Digital Marketing Predictions)

2015 has arrived and our predictions are in.
I’ll go ahead and kick it off…

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Ryan Deiss

CEO & Founder, Digital Marketer
Prepare for the Great Pixel Land Rush of 2015.
The pixel. You know… those little snippets of code advertisers place on their web pages that allow them to follow you around the web with relevant ads?
Soon all display advertising will be retargeted advertising and the pixel will become even more valuable than the click itself.
As larger advertisers continue to buy up ad inventory (and create their own retargeting audiences) those that fail to “pixel” their site visitors won’t be able to afford to advertise.
At Digital Marketer, we’ve already begun preparations for the “pixel land rush.” We buy traffic today just to place a pixel. Sure … we’re monitoring click costs, cost per lead and all the rest but we’re paying closer and closer attention to a new metric: CPP.
Cost Per Pixel.
Because dropping that little pixel allows us to follow up with “our people” with relevant offers.
The land rush is on folks. Don’t get left behind. Retargeting is the future of traffic and 2015 will be the year of the pixel.

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Molly Pittman

Vice President, Digital Marketer

The Year of YouTube.
In 2014, marketers RUSHED to Facebook as their primary paid traffic platform. (So did we!) Facebook has over 1.3 billion users, infinite targeting options, it’s easy to use, and there’s a ton of real estate available. It’s still a platform where you can have MASSIVE success.
As more marketers have plunged into Facebook advertising, costs have risen. If you’re willing and able to spend more to acquire a customer than your competitor, that’s no problem. Facebook is still a viable traffic source.
But, as marketers we must realize that we can’t put all of our traffic eggs into one basket. It’s time to diversify. You can’t rely on one or two traffic sources. What would happen if your Facebook account was shut down tomorrow?
Youtube will be the traffic platform of 2015. It doesn’t have to be in lieu of Facebook (or your favorite traffic source), but in addition to. The real estate available on Youtube is incredible and Google is more than willing to aid you with helpful customer service.
Not to mention, the organic traffic possibilities with Youtube as a way to distribute your content and retarget visitors based off their specific interests (just like Facebook).
Look for a ton of testing data and Youtube information from Digital Marketer this year as we look to acquire as many customers as possible!

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russ_pic_150pxRuss Henneberry

Editorial Director, Digital Marketer
2015 will be the year of paid content. In early 2014 Mark Schaefer of Businesses Grow laid out an argument that Content Marketing may not be a sustainable marketing strategy — particularly for small businesses.
He calls it The Content Shock.
In a nutshell, Mark argues that the amount of content (supply) being produced on the web is quickly outpacing our ability to consume (demand) it.
Mark predicts that “the eventual winners are the content creators with the deepest pockets.”
I agree with Mark. The Content Shock is coming.
But it isn’t here yet. And you don’t need deep pockets… yet.
While there is no arguing the volume of content produced today, high quality content is still a rarity. If you’re creating average content — stop. Spend more time creating quality content than creating volumes of fair-to-middlin’ noise.
Then, learn to promote your content using both paid and free methods. The days of quickly and reliably building new audiences through purely organic means are behind us. Adding paid promotion to high quality content is like throwing gasoline on a fire.
Lastly, place a high priority on moving casual visitors to your website into subscribers and leads. Once you have their email address, it’s much easier (and cheaper) to cut through the clutter with future content and promotions.
In 2015, you’ll need better content and a budget to head off the eventual Content Shock.

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lindsay_pic_150Lindsay Marder

Managing Editor, Digital Marketer

It’s been said before and it’ll be said many, many times again…but this time, we mean it.

2015 is the year of the eBook.

With Amazon’s breakout $10/monthly unlimited reading program, authors are finding it easier and easier to target their markets and reach a broader audience. The best part? This isn’t restricted to seasoned veteran authors. Content is being digested in easily consumable pieces; short and to the point. (Sounds like a great tripwire, doesn’t it?)

So consider this, an eBook is no longer an eBook–it’s a bundle of your greatest content delivered wirelessly (via computer, tablet, mobile, or handheld reader) and is no longer meant to consume your reader in the story… it’s meant to establish your credibility. Self-publishing has allowed the ease of creating a ‘book’ to become second nature. Authors, entrepreneurs, the ambitious inventors can now pack their ideas into one document, load it online, and voila–a book available on a variety of platforms. Combine that with a good traffic strategy and you’ll be driving people to download your eBook in no time.

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john_pic_150pxJohn Grimshaw

Marketing Coordinator, Digital Marketer
If you want a taste of how email will change in 2015, take a look at Google Inbox. The chronological ticker of communiques is going out the window and email is getting smart. In order to distinguish themselves, email services will be rethinking the inbox. Older providers like Hotmail and Yahoo are looking to rebrand themselves to keep up with Gmail and attract new audiences. By the end of 2015, we will see our email accounts behave more like a hybrid productivity machine: part calendar, part social networking tool, and all user-empowering.
This is all great news for anyone who uses email, but heralds a huge shift in the way email marketers need to think about their audience. Your email list will be more empowered than ever to control the way your messages are organized, presented and prioritized (or not).
In order to stay relevant, companies will need to make their subscribers own their experience. The most successful companies will ask their audience how, when and where they want their emails, and more importantly, they will listen.
Finding a way to enable user-driven segmentation is going to be critical to your 2015 email strategy. By encouraging your list to opt in and own their subscription and promotion experience, you will not only be able to avoid being swept into the spam folder, but can forge a stronger relationship with your audience.

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Justin Rondeau

Conversion Optimization Manager, Digital Marketer

Tech Prioritization + Smart Marketers = Competitive Advantage
Okay this equation sounds, well, like a ‘duh’ statement – but hear me out. Marketing technology solutions have hit critical mass. Think about it, we have testing technologies, eye tracking tools, keyword performance tech, social dashboards, analytics platforms, CRMs, personalization platforms, landing page creation tools, just to name a few. The number of technologies at our disposal is mind numbing, and if we don’t start prioritizing these tools at our business we will produce a whole lot of nothing.
A perfect example is with testing technologies. We have all pretty much heard ‘If you don’t test you’re stupid’ at some point during 2014. Well, what about those companies who don’t have the traffic to test? The real stupid thing is wasting money and resources on a technology that will provide no insights for their organization.
As for part two of my equation, smart marketers, this is all a matter of education. It has become almost embarrassing to call myself a digital marketer, particularly a conversion enthusiast, due to the incredible market saturation I’ve witnessed in 2014. The problem with these ‘experts’ is that they are not experts. Education is the name of the game in 2015. Understand how to market your core offers, what technologies will get the job done, and learn as much as you can about them.
tl:dr
1. ‘Tech Prioritization’: Don’t pick techs because you’re supposed to use them, but because they benefit your company.
2. ‘Smart Marketers’: Technology only takes us so far; we need to make education a priority to develop truly great campaigns.
That’s our predictions, folks…
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Ryan Deiss

Ryan Deiss

Ryan Deiss is the Founder and CEO of DigitalMarketer.com and Founder and Managing Partner of NativeCommerce.com, a digital media and ecommerce group that owns dozens of properties. Ryan has been called one of the world’s leading digital marketers by Shark Tank star, Daymond John. A best selling author, founder of multiple companies collectively employing hundreds around the globe, and one of the most dynamic speakers on marketing in the United States today, he is undeniably a recognized expert on the digital era. Connect with Ryan on Twitter.

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