Is your business following the best or worse trends this year?

In this month’s publication of the Minnesota Business magazine, author Rebecca Hoge provides some important marketing guidance by highlighting the best and worst marketing trends of 2012. We thought our readers would find this article interesting.

BEST TRENDS

Broad Brand Presence – Don’t rely on one-channel marketing approaches. Create a coherent brand by being present across web, social media, mobile, tablet, etc.

Brand-Focused Social Media and Blogging – Not only is social media an important marketing channel, it provides an arena for customer service and interaction. According to Hubspot Marketing Software, 57 percent of companies using blogs reported that they acquired customer leads directly from their blog.

Customer Recommendation – Customers’ voices are getting louder as social media is becoming increasingly popular. A simple Facebook “Like” by a user is a subtle but effective recommendation to the user’s social network. To better reach your audience, encourage the use of customer recommendation in social media.

Use of Infographics and Video – People continue consuming information in different ways. Using a variety of presentation methods – such as infographics and video – helps ensure that you reach across your entire audience.

Quick Response Codes (QRS) – Though their success potential was doubted at first, QR codes have maintained their popularity. The barcode-like code allows users to instantly connect with digital content and creates and easy way to advertising special offers and email opt-ins.

WORST TRENDS

Brochure-Style Websites – Preaching information in a dull fashion won’t keep a user’s attention. Revamping a site that encourages user interaction and involvement will help maintain interest in your audience.

Forgetting the Traditional Marketing – Just because social media and mobile use have taken over the communications world, it doesn’t mean people have stopped relying on the traditional methods of print and television for information. Forbes recently reported that baby boomers still account for 40 percent of the total consumer demand.

Considering Gaming Part of the Past – Gamification is predicted to become a $2.8 billion industry by 2016, according to M2 Research. Use game design techniques to engage your audience and to diversify your marketing methods.

Website Neglect – Outdated information, bad formatting or grammatical errors would never be acceptable in print material, and they shouldn’t be on the web either. Don’t overlook the need to update your site on a regular basis to maintain credibility.

Getting Wrapped Up in New Marketing Trends – With so many new opportunities in marketing today, it’s easy to try hopping on board with all of them and lose sight of your end goal. Decide what trends work best for your brand and perfect them until your end goal is reached.