2016 has already proven an especially transformative year for the world of online marketing – and there’s still plenty of it yet to go. Several new technologies have begun to influence the ways in which we consume content online – and a few older ones have begun to reach their full potential. Let’s examine some of the most significant ecommerce marketing trends for 2016 – and anticipate how things might change in the future.

Video is better

If the old adage is true, and a picture really does convey a thousand words, then a twenty-second online video at twenty-four frames per second is roughly as content-rich as the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.

While this might be overstating the case somewhat, it’s undeniable that 2016 has witnessed an enormous increase in video sharing. More than ever, users have access to the bandwidth they need to stream high-quality video, and so it’s little wonder that video-sharing pages on sites like Twitter and Facebook are fast outstripping their text-based counterparts.

This isn’t to say that still images and text should be entirely done away with, as there are still tasks to which they’re more suited. But if you’re looking to get your product or message out there, then video should be a key part of your strategy.

Voice searching

Voice-searching has been around for decades, but it’s only in the last few years that it’s gotten to a point that it’s actually useful. Just a few years ago, voice searching was awkward, and few people bothered with it. After all, if there’s a risk you might inadvertently produce unwanted results, then it’s better to use the keypad.

All that is changing, thanks to improvements in voice recognition. This has considerable implications for producers of written content, as people tend to speak differently than they type. Thus, a conversational tone is more likely to resonate well with search engines than a formal one, and the ‘rich’ answers that voice assistants like Siri and Cortana can provide are more useful.

Local results

Google has, in recent updates, focussed its attention on tailoring local content. After all, if you’re searching for a hairdresser, a takeaway, a plumber or an electrician, then you’ll want one that’s nearby. This means that writing ‘near me’ into a google request is becoming unnecessary. Businesses looking to attract local custom, then, should tailor their content accordingly.

Device changes

The final entry here isn’t a sudden recent change, but rather the latest leg of a long and steady march. The desktop computer, while it’s still around, is no longer the primary means through which we consume our information online. More than ever, it’s on smartphones and tablet devices that we browse the internet and social media – and retailers who wish to stay relevant should ensure that their sites are designed to work on the plethora of such devices available. Competent web design agencies, like Sentient Digital, will be able to provide experiences that translate well across all available devices.