FWM top 10 digital trends for 2016

FWM Top 10 Digital Trends
FOR 2016

The UK Digital Health
Revolution is About to Start
2015 will see the start of the UK healthcare revolution, with technology being used for monitoring, organising,
provision of timely information, and to ultimately save lives.
In future, NHS patients could have their long term illnesses/ conditions monitored remotely through high-tech
clothing and wearables which will link directly to their medical records. We could see the real start of remote
‘doctors surgeries’ where patients can connect with their GPs online and patients suffering from chronic
conditions could be constantly monitored remotely through wearable skin sensors or smartphone apps with data
uploaded directly to health records. This digital revolution could free up expensive resources and allow mass
health care monitoring and timely effective access to the professionals, saving the NHS billions over the next few
years.
For hospitals, finding ways to save money and speed up time dedicated to different tasks is more precious than
ever before. A Disney MagicBand for hospitals would be fairly inexpensive and could help organise and manage
patients, files and medical staff in a more systematic way. Hospitals are starting to use existing technologies to
their advantage and this is only going to increase the demand for new ideas to be implemented.
Whilst fitness wearables can be useful for personal health and can be used medically, data-based wearables can
span much more than recording steps and flights of stairs taken. One of the recent winners of Unicef’s ‘Wearables
for Good’ Design Challenge shows how the data recorded in health apps could be used by health officials to
monitor child immunisation.
In the 20th century medical advances were massive, from vaccines for tuberculosis and meningitis to the
eradication of smallpox. In the 21st century, ’Big Data’ will become your doctor and significantly improve the
medical sector. The next big breakthrough in medical science is here.
Read the full article here.

Game Changing
Marketing Automation
2015 saw Marketing Automation really come into its own with companies beginning to make full use of ‘big data’,
whether that was using data to aid with content automation, email scheduling, or social media. 2016 will see this
trend continue to grow.
Marketing Automation has many advantages for businesses, including time saving, efficiency, CRM integration,
data collection, multichannel management, consistency and personalisation to name a few. In 2016 Marketing
Automation will be the best way for brands to ensure they are building strong relationships with customers and
new clients and enhancing trust in their brand, whilst also keeping pace with competitor tactics. Maximising
marketing automation will be key in 2016 to keep the sales pipeline flowing.
Getting clear on which content within the marketing automation process converts also serves as a powerful
benchmark, helping marketing teams flow with changing customer behaviours. Hence why conversion rate
optimisation (CRO) is featured highly on many more digital trends lists for 2016. CRO is something that can easily
be overlooked, however is crucial to turning marketing spend into a great ROI. In 2016 the use of CRO will
become more sophisticated; this will include a greater use of event tracking and user analytics/data. All of this
information will be crunched by web managers and SEO companies to understand how to get users to convert
quicker. The use of CRO is also likely to increase the number of different conversion types and different stages
along the sales process.
Attention to detail when it comes to CRO in 2016 will be key. PDF downloads, time spent on page or time spent
reading informational pages, blog visits – these are all things that you should pay attention to even if they don’t
directly lead to a sale. Each part of the funnel requires a different tactic, and a different success metric.

The Rise of Mobile
Payments
2015 was a big year for mobile payments especially with the launch of Apple Pay in July in the UK. Adoption
rates have been reasonably low, although not all UK banks have launched their services yet. We predict that
mobile payments and services will go off the ground in 2016.
We’re also seeing the growth of new innovative banks like the digital-only Atom Bank and new types of ‘digital
wallet’ services emerging, such as Venmo, which use social media for payments. Black Friday 2015 saw most
consumers choosing to shop online with over £1 billion spent online this year, and Amazon saw its biggest ever
day’s shopping with over 6 million items being purchased. No doubt this mobile shopping trend will continue into
the new year, making 2016 the year that mobile payments really kick off.
A recent report from Synchrony Financial found that millennials, who have different shopping habits from their
baby boomer parents, are much more likely to use their mobile phones for shopping and to get mobile
discounts. 62% of millennials respond to marketing offers sent to their mobile devices compared to only 39% of
boomers. Tech-savvy millennials have tremendous purchasing power, and expect businesses to satisfy their
appetite for digital experiences across channels.
We are also entering the “internet of me”, with more shoppers looking for products or services that are
specifically tailored to them. Marketers will have only a short amount of time to impress a visitor until they make
a purchase decision. If businesses provide personalised offers, product experiences or easy payment options,
then they stand more chance of capturing the attention of a shopper.
Mobile payments play a huge role in the customer buying journey and are a crucial part of making everyday life
shopping easy and accessible. Over the next year, innovative payment technology will shake the business
world and now is the perfect time to start adapting to the revolution.

Interactive content, such as apps, assessments, calculators, configurators and quizzes, generate conversions
moderately or very well 70% of the time, compared to just 36% for passive content.
Interactive content will be an essential part of marketing strategies next year. Content on a brand’s website and
on social media channels needs to be extremely visual and appealing to the consumer as this is essential for
sharing purposes. People are craving good quality content that has a unique angle as they get bored of repetitive
content that is only there for link building.
Branded interactive content performs a number of key functions that makes it an utterly indispensable element of
your brand site’s make-up. It is extremely valuable for SEO purposes and brands like Coca-Cola and Heineken,
who created an interactive video page that allows users to “create their own Heineken story”, are already reaping
the benefits of engaging interactive content.
Although valued by consumers, interactive content requires planning and research and an investment of time as
well as budget. However, when you consider that the search engine’s core service is to provide the best content
based on the user’s search query; then it’s no surprise to find that interactive pieces rank much higher. When
creating interactive content, it is essential to have clear goals in order to measure how successfully that content
has performed.
Interactive content should be considered by marketers who are looking to build evergreen content that stands the
test of time and is engaging for users not only in the short-term, but in the long-term too. Interactive content has a
ripple effect and continues to generate buzz long after it goes live. So for that reason, brand exposure, brand
reputation, user engagement, customer retention and long-term impact will be the success metrics for interactive
content over the next year.
Interactive Content
Interactive content, such as apps, assessments, calculators, configurators and quizzes, generate conversions
moderately or very well 70% of the time, compared to just 36% for passive content.
Interactive content will be an essential part of marketing strategies next year. Content on a brand’s website and
on social media channels needs to be extremely visual and appealing to the consumer as this is essential for
sharing purposes. People are craving good quality content that has a unique angle as they get bored of repetitive
content that is only there for link building.
Branded interactive content performs a number of key functions that makes it an utterly indispensable element of
your brand site’s make-up. It is extremely valuable for SEO purposes and brands like Coca-Cola and Heineken,
who created an interactive video page that allows users to “create their own Heineken story”, are already reaping
the benefits of engaging interactive content.
Although valued by consumers, interactive content requires planning and research and an investment of time as
well as budget. However, when you consider that the search engine’s core service is to provide the best content
based on the user’s search query; then it’s no surprise to find that interactive pieces rank much higher. When
creating interactive content, it is essential to have clear goals in order to measure how successfully that content
has performed.
Interactive content should be considered by marketers who are looking to build evergreen content that stands the
test of time and is engaging for users not only in the short-term, but in the long-term too. Interactive content has a
ripple effect and continues to generate buzz long after it goes live. So for that reason, brand exposure, brand
reputation, user engagement, customer retention and long-term impact will be the success metrics for interactive
content over the next year.
Interactive Content

Transforming the
Purchasing Process
With consumer habits and purchasing journeys becoming ever more complex, retailers need to stay ahead of the
game to capture consumers’ attention. The average buyer is 57% through the purchase decision process before
their first interaction with a sales representative or channel. Plus, companies only have 12% of their customers’
mindshare through the buying experience. As a result, customers tend to fall through the funnel undetected and
without a defined journey. Over the next year businesses should take this into account.
Customers now have an extensive amount of online and offline options for researching and buying new products
and services, all at their fingertips 24/7. Because of this, digital channels are essential when it comes to
promotions, increasing marketing share and meaningful interactions with potentials consumers. By 2016, the web
will influence more than half of all retail transactions, representing a potential sales opportunity of almost $2
trillion.
To survive, companies must not only be the strongest and the most intelligent, but they also must adapt to
change. Due to shortened consumer attention spans, it is extremely important to catch consumers at the right
place at the right time.
Second screening plays a part here. With more users on mobile, the time it takes for a consumer to see an advert
and then search has never been shorter. Even more emphasis should be put towards mobile optimisation in the
upcoming year as it is an essential part in the consumer purchasing channel.
For years, the traditional consumer purchasing funnel has been used as a visual representation of leading the
target audience to the final sale. However, thanks to the internet and social networks, the sales process has
accelerated to the point where the traditional funnel is no longer enough. Over the next year, businesses will have
to adapt to the purchasing process transformation, consider their goals and how they are achieved and measured.

Beyond Search and Into
Social
Our prediction for 2016 is that social platforms will go beyond community building and brand
promotion, and become search engines in their own right, where users will browse, share and
purchase on a single social platform. The advertising platforms will surpass that of Google’s,
with targeting options based on interest and engagement.
Social sharing platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram are capitalising on their phenomenal
growth over the past years through ad monetisation. Similar to Twitter’s promoted tweets and
Facebook’s promoted posts, Pinterest is offering promoted pins based on a CPC bidding
model. Brands can reach their target audience based on interests using target keywords to bid
during those key moments, to promote the brand and drive traffic to the site.
Brands and retailers have been leveraging the one-to-one relationship they continue to build
with the consumer through social platforms to promote the brand and drive traffic to the site. As
these social media platforms continue to grow at a remarkable rate and with the data and
targeting options that they offer, it makes advertising on social media extremely lucrative.
The extremely high engagement rates along with the continuous development of the targeting
functionality, mean these platforms have the potential to compete with the big search engines in
paid search. We may even see some of them develop into search engines in their own right,
where users can search and purchase on the same platform.

Social Media Channels
Adapt
2015 was marked with many developments in the world of social media and we predict many more updates
coming our way in 2016.
Live-streaming and live social will become even more important with new players like Meerkat, Periscope and
Snapchat providing real-time social interactions. With Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus VR, it’ll be interesting to
see how the social media giant will integrate this into its platform.
Storytelling and long-form content sharing is another major trend for 2016. Facebook’s instant articles are a
feature to watch out for, with the brand looking to position itself in the world of online publishing. This comes as
no surprise, given LinkedIn’s success with its Pulse articles. Twitter’s Project Lightning, which launched as
‘moments’, shows people the best of what’s happening on Twitter in an instant, enabling users to quickly browse
the biggest stories on Twitter without having to follow any accounts or search for hashtags. Snapchat expanding
its Live Stories feature is a move in a similar direction, allowing the platform to get more user generated content
into each story.
E-commerce via social will play a major role in 2016 with Twitter, Pinterest ad Facebook introducing ‘Buy’
buttons, we should expect to see other apps following suit. Developments in social advertising, such as
Pinterest’s promoted pins, will also play a major role in driving sales via social media.
Social media marketing will not be slowing down in 2016, and will be ever more integrated with other areas of
digital marketing, particularly Search.

Connected Cars and
Their Impact on Search
2016 is going to witness many auto manufacturers launching cars with connected car
solutions such as Android Auto, Apple Car Play, and Windows for Car. These solutions
aim to bring mobile device functionalities to all vehicles, accessible to the driver and other
passengers. This will give rise to the importance of connected car apps and thereby
many voice enabled searches, and since the speaking language is different from typing,
a whole new type of long tail search will emerge. A recent Telefonica report suggests that
by 2020, over 90% of cars on the roads will be connected.
The connected car systems would provide a stepping stone to driverless cars in the
future as people always want to be connected. The data gathered from the car would be
assisting the consumer through the journey of fulfilling their needs with connected car
solutions helping both Apple and Google to establish and expand their current ecosystem
and create more accurate targeting opportunities.
Voice enabled actions would be the primary way to access information while driving with
devices like Navdy already proving popular. Innovation in tech changes consumer
behaviour, especially when it comes to mobile consumers. The consumer journey now
has hundreds of real-time, intent-driven micro-moments. The micro-moments consist of
countless interactions that take ‘intent’, ‘context’ and ‘immediacy’ into account.
Connected cars and search will play a huge role in the digital arena in the upcoming year.
Businesses should take into account the advanced search ecosystem, adapt to the ever-
changing user behaviour, and tackle rising search challenges.

Internet of Things
Devices
We predict that in 2016 we will see the emergence of the “Internet of Things” making a transition into an
established and expected technology. As part of the move to “Devices”, we will see IoT technology aim to deliver
a solution to one or two clear use cases which appeal to the mass market.
An increasing number of studies suggest backlit displays are harmful to health meaning that IoT device
manufacturers must consider using other ways to communicate with their users. In many cases removing the
screen simplifies HCI by removing a complex non tactile option with a streamlined simple and tactile option. This
alone means the manufacturer must invest in developing the user experience from the project inception over the
next year to raise the usage of IoT.
To make simplified IoT devices as relevant as possible, collection of data from outside the immediate vicinity may
be required. In 2016 we will start to see improved IoT networks within cities. For example, we have already seen
substantial investments within the UK. Manchester has recently been awarded £10 million as part of a UK
government scheme to establish a leading IoT Demonstrator City.
The CityVerve Project aims to test better services using the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. It includes plans
for talkative bus stops and a network of sensors in parks and along commuter routes to encourage people to do
more physical activity. This will improve the quality of life for city dwellers by enhancing urban planning, making
infrastructure more efficient, and enabling better use of city resources. The lifeblood of this system is data, which
will create new opportunities for marketers and brands to create a bridge between offline and online activities in
2016.

Getting in the Micro
Moment
Micro Moments and Moment Marketing are set to dominate 2016, and the foreseeable future.
They’ll shape how brands interact with consumers, what consumers expect of brands, and the
whole power dynamic between the two, with control moving from brands to consumers.
With a world of information at their fingertips, consumers’ expectation for immediate and
relevant information has become increasingly strong: they want what they want, when they
want it and are not prepared to look around for it. Consumers have become more confident that
they can make well-informed choices whenever the needs arise, making it crucial for brands to
be there in the moments when consumers are actively looking to learn, discover, find, and buy.
In 2016, brands will have to work harder, and change the way they go about their marketing.
Spending vast amounts of budget on major activations and sponsorships still has its place, but
not at the expense of a strong brand site that works hard to provide consumers with the
information they’re looking for.
Nothing is guaranteed in the world of digital marketing; the industry moves too quickly, and
consumers are too fickle for that to be the case. But it’s undoubted that demands for ease and
speed are higher than ever. By paying attention to those needs and wants, and focusing on an
online platform that can meet them, brands stand the best chance of tapping into them at the
critical time and winning back some of the power in a commercial landscape that’s shifted in the
consumer’s favour. As ever in business, the customer is always right, and in 2016 it’s time to
make sure that’s as true online as it is in store.

Thank You
HELLO@FASTWEBMEDIA.COM
@FASTWEBMEDIA
WWW.FASTWEBMEDIA.COM

FWM top 10 digital trends for 2016

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