10 Digital Marketing Trends for 2013

This blog posting is one of my favorite series, I’ve been posting a list of 10 digital marketing trends in ’11 and ’12.

So what’s expected to happen in 2013?

Brazil has the FIFA Confederations Cup in preparation for the ’14 World Cup, the US has a fiscal cliff to climb and together with the EU an imbalance on revenues and expenses to address.  The NFL has some skulls to crack to fix their concussions problems, those employed in the US will hire the unemployed in foreign lands (read more outsourcing), more foreigners will purchase US land, buildings, businesses and IP, and of course, VP Biden is the newly assigned czar on gun control.

IMHO, 2013 will follow Amara’s Law: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”

So here they are: The top 10 digital marketing trends of 2013.

10. Gamification – “All Play and no Work makes Jack a rich boy!”

9.  Cloud computing enables scalability to allow for new experiences in video games

8.  Digital Content across devices enables personalization that follows users across platforms

7.  TV is old.  It’s still king of the screens, but it’s content that folks want anytime, anywhere on all four screens. 

6.  The Smartphone begins its attack on plastic in mobile payments.

5.  Tag Management becomes a competitive imperative

4.  Users prefer mobile devices when reading magazines and shopping

3.  Social Media Mainstream and Niches continue to grow, especially in Emerging Markets except China

2.  Big Data will lead to consumer insights and smarter experiences at the speed of light

1.   The glory goes to the man in the arena and not their bankers and consultants.  

10.  Gamification – “All Play and no Work makes Jack a rich boy!”

So have you seen websites that try to encourage your behavior by offering you a little badge for doing something?  Foursquare gives you a badge when you check into the same place three times for example.  Dashlane offers badges when you save passwords in their password and credit card maintenance software, and Fitocracy makes working out with your friends a competitive game.  Users can Level Up by improving their bench press and earning a badge, post it to facebook and let the world know about their development.

As Daniel Pink will tell you in his book, Drive, human nature is best motivated by a sense of purpose, autonomy and self-mastery.  These types of immediate rewards for accomplishing small tasks might seem like it’s meant for grade school kids, but the data doesn’t lie.  Gamification increases engagement, helps users spend more time on site, and

that drives ad revenue and subscriptions since folks tend to develop a sense of being invested based on the recognition and the bragging they’ve done on social networks.

We’ve come a long way from that LinkedIn profile bar that showed 90%complete.

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Exciting growth in e-commerce throughout Latin America

In our communications, there have been a  few times that we have delved into the potential of Latin America in the digital world and why companies like LCG have set their sights on a market that has over 500 Million in population and its richness in resources and people.  Let’s take a look at the data about the behavior in this area and what are the expectations concerning E-commerce.

Here are some figures: According to the Latin American Institute of Electronic Commerce, the region has exceeded 32 billion euros in electronic trading, showing a fast growth trend continued in 2012.  But there’s more, an article published by the Mexican multimedia “The Economist. Mx “and dated 21 November 2012, predicts that by 2013 Latin America will see a growth around 28.5%. read more

The Internet in Brazil: Growth and Opportunity

Brazil’s sustained economic growth continues to be an example for economies in Latin America and throughout the world.  The Brazilian Ministry of Finance’s 2012 projections are once again very encouraging, predicting an estimated growth rate of approximately 4.5%.

These indicators have impacted internet consumption habits throughout Brazil.  In recent years, internet usage at all levels of society has increased steadily, reaching a high of 75 million users today.  In 2011, the number of mobile internet users nearly doubled.  And 99.8% of all new internet plan subscriptions were for mobile phones, tablets, and 3G modems. 

This kind of growth doesn’t happen by chance.  In fact, the UN believes that expanded use of the internet is a key factor in reducing poverty and promoting economic growth.  This could be because the internet plays a fundamental role in modernizing traditional economic activities.  And Brazil as a nation is definitely in line with development and innovation.

The way that development and innovation plays out in reality is this: A broader range of high quality services is created to meet the population’s needs.  More research is conducted within the country’s borders, more businesses are established, more jobs are generated, and the number of people with access to banks increases.  Consequently, Brazilians have greater access to buying and selling mobile phones, resulting in both the creation of new media and the expansion of existing forms of communication. 

Ultimately, it seems that Brazil is currently walking the path already taken by other nations with developed economies.  The country’s vision is oriented towards adopting, improving, and transforming the way work is done, business is conducted, and personal interactions take place.  All this allows Brazil to successfully face the challenges of being an information-driven society in the 21^st century.