Jeremy Goldman is the Founder and CEO of New York’s Firebrand Group. His views have been featured in publications such as Mashable, Wall Street Journal, Smart Money, ReadWriteWeb, The Next Web, The Star-Ledger, and Internet Retailer Magazine, and his campaigns have been featured in Gawker and Ads of the World. He’s a renowned author on the topics of marketing and social media, and we’re so lucky to have him featured as a part of our 2016 Marketing Predictions.
Goldman had three overarching predictions for this coming year, and a lot more to say on the topics of influencer marketing and overall marketing trends. Here’s what he had to say.
- More brands will flock to Facebook video marketing.
- We’ll see a shift away from “content is free” brand marketing.
- Brands will begin to understand what social media is for: conversation and not driving short-term sales.
What role do you see Influencer Marketing playing in brand marketing strategies in 2016?
Influencer marketing is going to be big again in 2016. However, the big difference is that marketers will get to be more sophisticated with respect to tracking ROI on influencer efforts. Instead of having a giant swath of mid-tier influencers that charge a large amount to partner with brands, you’re going to start to see a clear top-tier level of talent, followed by a large amount of “wannabes” that won’t be able to make a living off of being an “Influencer.” Which is completely fine.
What is the most widespread mistake you’ve seen brand marketers make in 2015 that you hope they learn from in 2016?
Surprisingly, I’ve seen less major gaffes in 2015 vs. previous years. Instead, I have seen more muted, subtle mistakes, such as a “follow the leader” mentality with respect to marketing. Too many brands are following “best practices” from the year before, which means your customers have seen those tactics and are likely already tired of them. Don’t copy the market leader; be the market leader.
What word do you hope is officially banned from marketing vernacular in 2016?
While I don’t need it to be banned wholesale, I think engagement needs to be used roughly 80% less in the typical marketing conversation. It’s not that aspects of engagement are important; it’s just such a broad term that it’s not that useful. If I punch you, that’s engagement. If I hug you, that’s engagement. Don’t measure your engagement; measure the amount of times your brand gets punched, or hugged. Metaphorically. Obviously.
What marketing events are you most looking forward to in 2016?
There are almost too many to mention! INBOUND by HubSpot looks to be great in late 2016, but before that we’ve gotC2 in Montreal, Social Media Strategies Summit in Las Vegas, Social Fresh in Orlando, Collision in New Orleans. Plus,Web Summit is leaving Dublin for Lisbon, which looks to be another huge event. I can’t wait for 2016 to begin.