We give you the low-down on the 7 biggest digital trends for 2014. We also provide you with advice on how you can use these trends to improve your overall marketing performance. What’s inside? • The Content Boom • Diversity of social media • The power of image-centric content • Mobile ready content • Social SEO • The value of video • Big bad data

1. 2014 Digital
Marketing Trends
The low-down on the 7 biggest digital trends
jbh.co.uk/ebooks

2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jane Hunt
Director of Strategy at JBH
Jane has many years experience in the marketing industry working on digital projects for B2B and B2C brands.
Recently, she has been involved in creating an alternative CV social media campaign for REED, produced content for
a health food app for Buyagift.co.uk and has worked with a leading defence company to improve the performance of
their digital marketing activity.
“To put together this eBook I have handpicked the digital trends I believe will be most influential to
marketers and customers in 2014. I’ve also provided case studies so you can see how these trends
work in practice and offer my top tips to help you get started.
I hope you enjoy the eBook and I would love to hear about your digital predictions, campaigns and
success stories. Also, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like us to help your company implement
these latest trends! Just email me at jane@jbh.co.uk”
jbh_jane
Jane Hunt
jbh.co.uk/ebooks

3. #1 The Content Boom
Content marketing was huge in 2013, but it’s set to be even bigger in 2014. Content marketing has been around
for years but it’s having a massive resurgence, as brands are creating, curating and promoting engaging and
valuable content for their customers.
Content can be used to build brand awareness, improve brand affinity with customers, demonstrate expertise
and generate leads! Content can range from blogs, e-newsletters, eBooks, articles, tips and guides, videos and
infographics. Many marketers are already using content as part of their inbound marketing strategy – to bring
traffic to their website or blog. This activity will grow in 2014 and marketers will become savvier at measuring
the ROI of content as part of an inbound marketing strategy. What’s more you don’t need to buy expensive
applications to measure performance.
Smartinsights.com(1) have a really useful matrix (RACE) that can help you work out what you want to measure,
select key performance indicators and set commercial measurements.
Another free resource is Google Analytics(2), which now links content marketing activity with sales conversions, so
brands can see what effect their content has on the buying process. Just calculate what monetary value you want
to attribute to content and set your ‘goals’ accordingly.
As many marketers use content to develop their social reach, content measurement should be linked to social
media optimisation(3). By reviewing content engagement and sharing activity across social media and other
digital channels, marketers can ascertain which channels and content combinations work best at driving sales
conversions.
If you want to ensure your content is reaching the right recipients you can use Predictive Models(3) or Predictive
Analytics(4) which generate customer insights to show you which recipients to include and exclude. The models
use historical data and behaviour patterns to predict how customers will behave.
Things to consider:
1.
Which keyword phrases related to content
generate the best outcomes?
2.
What type of content is most engaging to your
audience and gets the most shares?
3.
Which social networks drive the most traffic to
your website?
JBH’s Top Tip
In need of content ideas? Do a keyword search on
Google Trends(5) to find out what words relevant
to your market/products/customers are currently
receiving the most hits.
jbh.co.uk/ebooks

4. #2 Diversity of Social Media
With so many social platforms available now, brands really need to use the right platform to reach their chosen target market. While
the big three social networks remain central to many brands social media strategies, more niche social networks like Vine and
Snapchat are generating much interest from marketers. As a result, we believe brands in 2014 will diversify their social efforts and
become more creative with their marketing as a result.
My predictions for social trends in 2014:
Vine
Short videos are a hot marketing trend to look out for in 2014.
Use of YouTube and Instagram continue to be popular but
Vine seems to be stealing the show! With its 6-second video
capabilities many brands are experimenting with the platform
to engage younger target audiences. Asos demonstrated the
joy of receiving an ASOS box full of goodies, while Bacardi got creative with dancing
Rum bottles and Dove proved how adaptable their bottles are as bowling pins!(1)
Google+
With over 540 million users Google+ is now the second biggest
social network in the world after facebook.(2) Google has
again linked its social network with its search engine algorithm
through Google Authorship or Author Rank, encouraging writers
or online content producers to become recognised within
search for the quality of their content. To do this professionals
and brands (with multiple content writers) can link their content to their Google+
page increasing their visibility in search. Whether Google+ will become mainstream
for consumers, remains to be seen, but it’s certainly going to be beneficial to brands
who are already promoting quality content via social networks.(3)
Snapchat
The big instant craze in 2013 is set to become even bigger in
2014. Snapchat enables users to send instant texts, pics and
videos that are automatically erased after a specific amount of
time (between 1-10 seconds). Snapchat users now share over
400 million snaps per day (in total), surpassing the 350 million
photos shared each day on facebook!(4) The Co-operative Electrical became the first
UK retailer to use Snapchat, when they targeted students with a code offering £30
off laptops, encouraging them to ‘friend’ The Co-operative Electrical on Snapchat and
take advantage of offers. The code self-destructed after 5-10 seconds.
Diversity for reaching audiences presents more choice, but it also requires more
knowledge. Marketers need to really research their target audiences and use profile
data to identify which social network will reach that audience most effectively. What’s
more, these trends prove marketing doesn’t have to break the bank, creativity goes
along way.
jbh.co.uk/ebooks

5. #3 The Power of image-centric content
What do Snapchat, Vine, facebook, Instagram and Pinterest
all have in common? Images!
Page views for articles with
and without images
Whether static or moving, images are proving to be hot right now and should be a key tool in your content
marketing activity.
Have you noticed you’re more likely to read tweets with a pic attached? Images increase engagement – they
attract readers, make blog posts more inviting, increase twitter engagement, make presentations more readable,
increase shareability and can even boost your search ranking.
How to use images to support your content marketing activity:
1. reate images for your blog posts – this demonstrates that your content is bespoke.
C
2.
Break up text with images interweaved into your blog post or news articles to hold the readers attention.
3.
Use the facebook photo-sharing feature instead of the status update to promote your content, as it gives
photos more space. It’s well worth posting as much visual content as possible as it gains a higher status in the
timeline and news feed than text-based updates!
4.
Why not turn your text-based content into Slideshares and promote via social media.
5.
The use of images in your digital marketing can also boost your SEO efforts. Just add images to a post and add
a title, alt and meta tags. Simple.
94%
more total views for
articles that have images(4)

6. #4 Mobile friendly content
Due to high growth in smartphone ownership, marketers
need to ensure all content is mobile friendly in 2014.
Either by creating a separate mobile site and website, or,
by designing your website to be responsive to the media
device it’s viewed on.
Did you know...
Brands need to ensure all their content is mobile friendly. Here’s our checklist for mobile friendly content:
1. How does your website look on a smartphone?
2. Is your website easy to read and navigate?
3. Is your blog easily readable on a smartphone?
4. Can you read other content easily like infographics, guides, eBooks etc.?
5. Are your share buttons big enough and located centrally to your content?
JBH’s Top Tips
1.
Optimise your website for smartphones – prioritise what you want your customers to see and adapt the
functionality for mobile with larger text, bigger buttons and clearly signposted navigation.
70%
of the UK population
have a smartphone(1)
2. ptimise emails for mobiles – make the copy shorter, larger and easier to scroll and add some images to
O
keep your readers engaged in your content.
jbh.co.uk/ebooks

7. #5 Social SEO
Once again Google is linking Google+ with SEO.
To do this they’re making content an even more important tool in search – as part
of Google’s Author Rank or Authorship. Google wants to link search with digital
signatures of authors, enabling writers/online authors to “link their content to their
Google+ profile via rich snippets. These rich snippets enable Google to credit the
authors with the content.”(2) This brings a more human, personal approach to the
creation of content and helps authors build recognition for their expertise. According
to Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google:
“Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will
be ranked higher than content without such verification, which will
result in most users naturally clicking on the top (verified) results.
The true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be irrelevance.” (1)
So what does this mean for brands? How can brands build credibility as authors
of valuable content and improve their website search ranking? Well, without going
into the coding specifics, companies can use a publisher tag (for multiple authors)
rather than an author tag (only one author), which will connect their content with their
Google+ page. However, Google only wants relevant well-written articles. No product
pages, no listings etc., just articles that demonstrate company expertise and thought
leadership.
Google Author Rank and Authorship are expected to be dominant trends in SEO
and content marketing in 2014. So if you work for a company that’s already writing
and disseminating great content and has a Google+ page, make sure your company
is recognised by Google, otherwise your company search results will suffer as a
consequence.
Have you linked your blog to your Google+ profile?
Google “Rel=Author” to get started.
jbh.co.uk/ebooks

8. #6 The value of video
2013 saw the rise of video marketing via Snapchat, Vine and Instagram, but we predict 2014 will see brands using short-form videos
even more. The 3 platforms offer brands the opportunity to reach and engage with younger audiences and build brand loyalty. Not
only is short-form video a great tool for engagement due to its length, it’s also a relatively cheap and simple media to use, and the
simpler the message the better!
A few examples of some simple yet effective videos: Gap - Click to view | Burberry - Click to view | Oreo - Click to view
App features and tips for use:
Vine (owned by twitter) allows users to make and share
6-second short looping videos with sound. Vine was the 4th
most downloaded free app on the Apple iStore in 2013!
Video Tips:
• Keep it simple as you only have 6 seconds to impress
• Plan your video frame-by-frame
• Use stop motion to add animation and make your subject
come to life
Snapchat – Create and share up to 6-second videos that
disappear shortly after being viewed. Snapchat was the 6th
most downloaded free app on the Apple iStore in 2013.
Video Tips:
• To create a video hold down the camera button
• Experiment with 3 new filters – sepia, vintage and black
and white
Instagram is a mobile platform (owned by Facebook) which
enables users to take up to 15 seconds of footage. You can also
select your favourite scene to use as a cover image.
Video Tips:
• Keep clips short at 2-2.5 seconds each
• For a cinematic effect try the 13 filters created with film
professionals
• For a silent movie keep your finger over the microphone
• Use free video editing apps like Splice (iOS) or WeVideo
(iOS, Android)
Tips for video marketing success:
1. Create simple videos with a clear brand message
2. Relate themes to customer interests and relevant trends
3. Make your content seasonal E.g. Halloween, summer holidays, weather etc.
4.
Don’t just create 1 vine, create a series on a particular theme - a product,
promotion, feature or brand news
5. Reward fans for sharing your video content
jbh.co.uk/ebooks

9. #7 Big data gets personal
Big data has been much talked about but how will the trend develop in 2014?
Leading research suggests that big data will help drive improved personalisation.
In 2013 marketers were talking about the abundance of data available and the
problems associated with collecting and analysing big data to create useful customer
insights. While it is still an issue that many brands face, there are companies and
systems available that can help marketers save time and money, leaving them free to
use the insights provided to improve the performance of their marketing activity.
One of the biggest benefits of insights gained from big data is the ability to create a
more personalised, tailored experience for the customer. This can go far beyond just
using the customers name in communications, it’s about really understanding their
interests, their lifestyle, their needs, their buying habits and motivations to improve
customer service, tailor products and promotions accordingly and make a connection
with the customer that will build brand trust and loyalty.
Case study: Pets at Home
One of the best brands that I have
experienced for personalised marketing
(first hand) is Pets at Home. To register
for their VIP (Very Important Pets) Club
loyalty scheme, they request details
about you and your pets (their name, breed, birthday). They
use this info to send you a welcome pack and regular tailored
communications featuring your pet’s names with relevant
news and promotions, creating increased engagement and
a greater connection with the brand as a customer. The
emotional connection goes even further, as the VIP Club
enables customers to earn points that benefit their chosen
animal charity. By working with customers’ chosen animal
charities, the club has achieved two million additional social
media alerts.
Results show that the scheme has improved customer
engagement, with VIP customer engagement 7% higher than
non-VIP customers. VIP customers are also spending on
average 20% more than non-VIP members per transaction. The
VIP Club will continue to generate customer insights to further
improve personalisation to differentiate their brand, increase
engagement and sales and ultimately build brand loyalty.

10. We are JBH, a creative marketing
agency that specialise in helping
brands attract and influence
their customers.
Looking for a creative marketing agency?
We have 21 years combined experience
in marketing, design and digital. Find out
what we can do for you, visit www.jbh.co.uk
or talk to us now +44 (0)1604 211227

11. Sources
Page 3. #1 The Content Boom
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2. Google Analytics: http://www.google.com/analytics/
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Page 6. #4 Mobile friendly content
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Page 4. #2 Diversity of Social Media
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Page 8. #6 The value of video
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Page 9. #7 Big data gets personal
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