Nowadays, selfies are very popular. But, the question is how selfies are relevant in promoting a business? Selfies has unlocked opportunities for brands to promote themselves online. They are highly effective at driving likes, shares, and comments. Brands can make use of this trend to increase awareness of their products and services. Noelle Federico (Business manager and CFO of Dreamstime LLC) writes in her article link about some tips to make the most out of selfies: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2015/26755/selfies-for-smbs-marketing-strategies-not-just-for-teens-and-celebrities

According to a recent report from Liveclicker and the Relevancy Group, it was found that consumer’s complaint with mobile email is that they get too many messages. Other complaints with emails received on smartphones include the following: 32% people don’t like messages because they are too small to read and interact with; 26% find it difficult to see full websites on devices after clicking through; and 21% people find messages are often jumbled/not well-formatted for phones. Read more at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/26784/what-consumers-dislike-about-mobile-email

Enterprise Mobility is gaining popularity nowadays. Apps for finance, lifestyle, games, news, fitness, social networks, messaging and much more are in demand. Companies are developing or buying apps. Businesses are mobilizing their most important business applications to adjust to the large mobile workforce. By expanding a company’s management system onto a mobile application, businesses will not only improve employee productiveness, but also able to send data from their on-site to the head office. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/grow-software-solutions/why-are-mobile-applications-especially-useful-for-sales-teams-65170

Travel display ad is expected to grow by $29M dollars between 2013 and 2015 in the US. A new study conducted by PhoCusWright shows that the travel advertising landscape is shifting. Frederic Gonzalo (Owner/Partner, Gonzo Marketing), writes in his article link about the trends in travel advertising for the year 2015: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/travel-advertising-trends-2015-infographic-0

CRM is installed to manage relations with customers. But, CRM can reduce the load on owners and managers by automating day-to-day jobs. CRM system helps to keep track of conversations with customers. A good CRM system includes tools for scheduling emails and sending them automatically and also helps to personalize your relationships with your customers. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/relieve-headaches-with-crm-automation-65154

There is no cross-sell up-sell module in a CRM package as cross-selling and up-selling depend on the salesperson's relationship with the customer. But, CRM is important in cross-selling and up-selling as it increases your knowledge of the customer and helps you suggest them the right products.  Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crossselling-upselling-and-crm-65152

2015 will see stronger narratives driven by approaches like cross-device sequential storytelling and interactivity where user will play a more active role in influencing content. Delivering relevant content is becoming less dependent on Personally Identifiable Information.  In 2015 the value exchange will be less about who the user is and more about where they are and what they’re doing. This year will also witness a shift in interactions with personal technologies. Retailers are already implementing changes necessary to provide additional context and technologies like Augmented Reality are helping. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/evolution-in-2015/1374

According to eMarketer in the next 3 years, mobile phone penetration will rise from 61.1% to 69.4%. 2015 will be the year of more personalized customer interactions. Marketers will leverage more on accurate measurement tools and will embrace mobile expansion around the world. Matthew Idema (Product Marketing Director, Ads, Facebook), writes in his article link about some of the trends in digital marketing that will be popular in 2015: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/2015-digital-marketing-predictions/1373

According to the Online Domain Maturity Report, it was highlighted that the online domain is one of the most important technological assets. Nowadays, all businesses are shifting to cloud technology as it improves business by providing accurate data and is easily accessible. Further by using cloud services, growing complexities of marketing can be more easily managed and supervised under one umbrella, i.e. in a centralized management service. Lisa Joy Rosner (CMO at Neustar), in her article writes about the benefits of cloud-based management services that marketing professionals should consider. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/articles/nine-benefits-of-using-cloud-based-services-in-digital-marketing/1375

Brand publishing is the new content marketing. It's more authentic. It is more transparent. In 2015, brands will become publishers. Irfan Ahmad (Blogger, social media savvy and infographic designer, Digital Information World) writes about Social Media Marketing Trends in 2015. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/2015-social-media-marketing-trends-you-cannot-miss-infographic

According to a survey of CMOs, it was found that 2/3 of projects fail to use existing marketing analytics and only half of CMOs think that marketing analytics have contributed to their company’s performance. The most common reason for failure in this area is the introduction of any new initiative. Tom Claridge (strategy director at Fabric Worldwide), writes in his article about some tips on how to improve the Application of Marketing Data in any organization.  Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-data/5-tips-to-improve-the-application-of-marketing-data-in-your-organisation/1346

In2014 we have seen that marketers have started to make use of emerging technologies like 3D advertising. David Barker (SVP and Managing Director, EMEA Advertising Solutions for Amobee), writes in his article about the latest trends of Digital Advertising & Marketing Technology in 2015. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/5-predictions-for-digital-advertising-marketing-technology-in-2015/1350

In 2015 we will see the emergence of digital services like e-money accounts which is linked with debit and prepaid cards. It will be alternative to traditional banking throughout the world. It will emerge as a broader set of online and mobile payment options. Mobile payments and bio-metrics are also set to develop in 2015. According to a WorldPay survey, it was found that 49 per cent of European consumers would most like to see bio-metric payments emerge as a payment technology alternative. Businesses should ensure that they can offer the widest range of options and keep up with the market trends which in turn will help them to grow. Read more at:  http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/trends-in-the-payments-industry-for-2015/1351

Companies spend months preparing for the holiday rush. They undertake ad campaigns, data collection initiatives, and mobile commerce site optimization.  Jay Calavas (chief evangelist at Tealium) writes in his article about five ways that marketers can make the most of extended holiday  i.e. from 26^th December to end of January. Read more at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/26728/the-holiday-longtail-five-ways-to-extend-your-holiday-marketing-into-2015-for-greater-results

Gartner had predicted that digital marketing budgets will grow by 17 percent in 2015. Next year in digital marketing, it is predicted that there will be an increase in personalized product advertisement and increase in digital content, in addition to an increase in social media advertising. This procedure will increase semantic search. There will also be an increase in structured data which will impact search and digital marketing. Content will become more important than the website. Audience segmentation will become more important and digital marketing, social media and CRM will make the business of drilling down into who your customers are (and minute detail about their personalities) much easier. Visual storytelling, which has been a key digital marketing tactic, will continue to be a key approach for marketers looking to drive customers through decision making process. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/what-will-digital-marketing-look-like-in-2015/1336

Companies are trying their best to transform the online customer experience. Brands are utilizing self-service tools to deliver website optimization. Marketing teams are building new optimization campaigns with the help of AB & MVT testing techniques. Website optimization has become important nowadays. Today brands are optimizing content, offers and user experiences to drive the performance of their online businesses. The self-service optimization model enables organizations to board upon simpler campaigns and grow budget and team over time. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/articles/self-service-optimisation-keeping-it-strategic/1337

Social media has become an integral part of any business. It allows a business to promote and market its own brand and is a key element in assisting consumers in their decision making process. Social media pages increase recognition and companies can advertise to potential customers and clients by posting relevant content.  It was found that 71% of all internet users are now active on social media sites.  Companies nowadays are developing content marketing strategies, sharing blogs, infographics, and whitepapers. Customers and clients also interact directly with businesses via social media. It helps businesses to build customer loyalty and strengthen their brand image. Katie Alyward and Chloe Hutchinson-Brown (Northstar Research Partners) in their article link writes about the ways to track the reputation of any business and performance on social media sites:  http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/social-media-marketing/the-importance-of-social-media-within-a-business/1274

Nowadays apps have become an important in everyone’s life.  New generation apps is changing how we consume media, do business and how we behave. App economy is growing at a fast pace in the mobile value chain. In 2012 the global app economy accounted for 18% of the combined app services and handset market and it is forecasted that by 2016 this contribution will rise to 33 per cent of the combined market, equivalent to half of the handset market, and the app economy is predicted to be worth $143 billion by 2016. Paulo Rosado (CEO of OutSystems), writes about the rise of app economy in his article link: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-apps/rise-of-the-app-economy/1334

In any business social media is essential. Study has shown that on average a majority of companies don’t know how to measure their social media ROI. Businesses must have a clearly defined goal of what they would like to achieve from social media marketing and should update posts, tweets and pins relevant to their business goal. Right tools must be used for tracking social media. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/social-media-marketing/how-to-track-your-social-media-success/1331

 Messaging apps are changing the social media landscape. They are more than SMS. They might replace email, voice calls. Messaging apps brings together a defined group of people to address a question, issue or topic. Messaging apps allows us to behave naturally. In 2015 it is predicted that there will be an increasing volume of discussions in these micro-communities as more people will use apps such as WhatsApp. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/why-messaging-apps-will-change-social-media-landscape-2015-0