DYK The Top 6 Marketing Trends for 2013?

In 2013, we saw a lot of progress made in the marketing world and there were a few things that really peaked the interest  of marketers. Some of the moves made in marketing this year have been really good and some were questionable. In this blog, we will look at the top 6 marketing moves made in 2013 and perhaps why they were good moves, according to this Los Angeles Creative Marketing firm.

1. The first major trend in 2013 was *drum roll* SOCIAL MEDIA. What, that was not a surprise? No, of course it was not a surprise that social media made a huge dent in the marketing world. But does it make it any less of an important and awesome trend? Well of course not. Social media marketing has forced its way into the hearts of everyone, everywhere but especially for companies that love their marketing. Social media has enabled so much more engagement and quick updates with consumers than was ever capable before social media. Before social media made its impact, marketing was much more one-way; companies would talk to the consumers but the consumers could not talk back to the companies. Now, with things like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms, the conversation between company and consumer is, well, a conversation. Both sides of the equation have voices to be heard and can be heard. 
2. The second major trend for marketing in 2013 was *drum roll* MOBILITY. How many apps are there in the App Store or Google Play store? Thousands? Millions? Bottom line is that there are a lot of apps out there for you to view on your smartphone and/or tablet. The web and information is no longer confined to that computation machine you have stored in your basement but is accessible anywhere! If you want to update your status, just pull out your smartphone and type it up; we no longer have to wait to see that you are eating Chinese food, we can see it as it happens. WOOT WOOT. Outside of apps, companies have gone ahead and made mobile websites; sites that are like their traditional site but more mobile-friendly so you can easily navigate the site on such small screen. This has greatly impacted the internet marketing world. 
3. A third major trend in marketing this year was *drum roll* REAL TIME BUYING. This year, we saw the emergence of real time buying. What is this? Real time buying is the mixture of location services, social media, and mobility. What this means is that when you are nearing a store while walking downtown, if you have your location services turned on for a store's app, it will know you are near one of the store's locations and then pop up with some sort of buying incentive, like a coupon. WHOA, cool huh? 
4. A fourth trend in marketing for 2013 was the QR code, sorry, no drum roll. QR codes have been around for a year or two but they did not truly catch on until this year. They seem to have been slow to catch the eye of marketers and companies; perhaps because smartphones were still getting popular and not enough people could use QR codes yet. What is great about QR codes is that they are able to link a website or something else to the code and not have to take up much space. A lot of companies use these on things like mailers or small signs so they can just put the title of whatever they are promoting and then have the QR code with the rest of the information. 
5. A fifth trend for 2013 was GOING GREEN. As more and more people are becoming aware of the problems with weather patterns, the O-zone, etc. they are demanding that companies respect nature and become more eco-friendly. 
6. A sixth trend for 2013 was MEASURING METRICS. This year, a lot of companies hopped on the train of being able to know every click, every movement of consumers both on the web and off. Many companies realized that the ability to know all the little things can help marketing efforts because marketing reports are much more detailed and thus, allow for better forecasting. 

Marketing is an ever changing business and it is very, very exciting. The trends Integraphix saw happen this year got us excited for the future of marketing. Hopefully learning about these trends excites you too and gave you knowledge.