As 2009 begins to draw to a close marketers are starting to look ahead to 2010. So what will 2010 bring for Australian digital? With a big gap between the have and the have not’s – this article identifies the key tactics that will be leveraged by the market leaders;

Mobile Strategy Maturity & Integration;
2009 was definitely the year of mobile internet take up by Australians – with 1 in every 5 Australian consumers now accessing the web via their mobile. In 2009 many digital leaders understood the need for a mobile site, however in 2010 organisations will look to leverage the channel in a more sophisticated manner. Mobile analytics will mature, offering a new depth of insight for marketers to support decision making and assist organisations to build upon their core mobile site offering. Organisations will also look to leverage mobile as a tool to bring the online and offline space closer together. In addition organisations will also look to re-purpose mobile infrastructure to provide the true value of mobile internet for users on the move.

Augmented Reality Trialled by a select few in 2009, such as Queensland University of Technology and Nissan, augmented reality will be big in 2010. This trend has not gone un-noted with some new start up agencies entering the market in anticipation of the rise in demand. Apart from the value as a stand-alone tactic, augmented reality will also supplement tired marketing tactics and possibly bring offline marketers into the world of online as it offers strong integration opportunities.

Vertical Search
2010 will see continual investment in the area of vertical search by search engines. Overseas both Google and Bing have begun pouring significant investment into vertical search and the true extent of their plans will become more evident. If they succeed, this will spell the beginning of the end for many product aggregator sites in key categories such as finance, careers, travel and others. In addition however vertical search will increase the importance for marketers to offer content to support consumer decision making across the product purchase process to ensure their brand is ranking for the new filter options search engines will offer for key segments.

Social Search
With search engines losing eye-balls to social media, we will see Search Engines build upon integration efforts with social networks to provide users with a richer / real time experience. In addition social tools such as Google’s side wiki will play a prominent role in the search algorithm as will “real authority” gained through social sites.

Engagement – It Will Be Big
The Government has done it (for Brand Australia), Telstra has started it and Kraft fudged it. A few Australian brands have toyed with concepts to co-create the brand experience with consumers however such activity will increase significantly in 2010. Tactics such as crowd-sourcing will be key, as will spending time in the community on social platforms to gather feedback from consumers and participate in meaningful conversations.

Content Marketing Will Grow
Blackmores in Australia is doing it well, and the real estate sector are starting to jump on it but many digital trend setters in Australia are yet to develop a strong content marketing strategy. With new mechanisms for consumers to seek out knowledge, marketing is moving toward inbound or demand marketing and brands who become publishers providing true value will begin to prosper.

How do you see the digital market evolving in 2010? Share your thoughts below

© Digital Marketing Lab Blog

Written By: Teresa Sperti