Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

In the quest to drive traffic to their sites, retailers are adding content. Various types of content serve to “boost search engine rankings, build customer trust and loyalty, keep customers coming back and drive new consumers to an e-commerce site,” writes Katie Deatsch for Internet Retailer. How does an online vendor optimize the amount and type of content? Presenters at the recent Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago had some answers.

As more media companies shift their resource to the Web, the battle for dominance in online video is growing. Businesses ranging from traditional broadcast networks to newspaper and magazine publishers to pure-play Internet companies are posting online video streams. Brightcove and TubeMogul are two companies who have begun to analyze the state of the online video industry. The findings in their most recent report can help industry players and watchers figure out which trends are taking hold.

Technology marketers are sensing that the economy is improving. But B2B operators, who have traditionally used tradeshows and conferences to find new leads, may not yet be spending on travel again. So how can these operators obtain good leads – the top marketing priority for 68% of operators? Nearly 4 in 10 respondents to a Unisfair survey said that virtual events may become a source of new leads.

Like operators in many other industries, insurance companies are feeling economic pain. And they are looking for better ways to market and deliver their services. In large part, insurance companies across the globe are planning to move more operations online.

More than one recent study has shown how B2B marketers lag behind their B2C counterparts in the social media arena. A new study by White Horse indicates that while 28% of B2C operators have looked to outside experts for help in this arena, only 10% of B2B operators have done so. Similarly, the number of B2B operators who have taken no steps to engage with social media stands at 18%. Only 14% of B2C operators have completely ignored social media to date.

Social networks are growing more popular and, as a result, government organizations are considering passing new laws to protect consumer information. This development could negatively affect marketers trying to reach these consumers. How much will restrictive legislation change the nature of online advertising? Two academic researchers recently published their findings on this topic after they studied the changes in privacy laws made in the European Union.