• by Blaine Mathieu , January 18, 2010

As savvy marketers look to meet the needs of an increasingly mobile and social customer, the marketers that will be successful are those that adapt their strategies to align with shifting online trends. The adoption of new online marketing techniques will also be paramount to keeping a competitive edge and ensuring ROI. At Lyris, we have identified five trends likely to impact online marketing ROI in 2010.

1. Email as the anchor

The Web remains the epicenter to reach the most valuable customers, and email will continue to be the trusted and proven marketing anchor for all Web-based marketing channels. Email marketing is used by over 90% of marketers, and despite its 'less sexy' appeal, with its low cost, and targeted reach, it is the perfect channel to base other online marketing initiatives on. In addition, 80.4 percent of marketers agree that email is the strongest-performing online marketing tool in their organizations.

2. Beyond "Web analytics" to online marketing analytics

Today's information overload means that consumers have a shorter attention span than ever before, and data about consumer behavior is critical to help brands increase sales. In addition, marketers need to prove ROI to the C-Suite in order to maintain marketing momentum. More powerful and integrated analytics in 2010 will enrich and enable detailed data reporting, offering new opportunities for marketers to show results and demonstrate market share.

3. Blend email with social

Social media is now the number one activity on the Web and plays an integral role in a large majority of buying decisions. When social is integrated with emails marketing the two powerful channels are even more effective and can enhance engagement, grow customer opt-in lists and build trust. Altimeter Group analyst and social media thought leader Jeremiah Owyang also contributed his perspective on why email marketers can no longer avoid integrating social tools that you can check out here.

4. The year of mobile

As many marketers are aware, mobile is already here -- according to ABI Research, mobile marketing revenues are expected to reach $24 billion by 2013. Mobile marketing reaches target audiences and drives the urgency of initiatives in real-time while extending marketing reach, building customer retention and loyalty, and building a strong, interested and opt-in customer base. Mobile's low execution cost means maximized campaign effectiveness. One of Reno's most popular hotel and casinos, Eldorado Hotel Casino and Silver Legacy Casino, has already broken the ice with mobile SMS campaigns and proven mobile can increase prospect conversion and revenues. As smartphone adoption continues mobile offers an exciting opportunity and an email-marketing program is an excellent launch point.

5. Integrated, online marketing -- tools not the issue

In learning to embrace new media channels, marketers will begin to integrate multiple touchpoints and initiatives to increase their chances of success. In addition, we can expect the lines between channels to continue to blur. This will extend messages to wider, more targeted audiences and engage them more meaningfully, on their timetable and in the medium they prefer. This integration and orchestration of online channels is what we refer to as tri-messaging. Tri-messaging is not a fad, but instead is an integrated marketing best practice for 2010 that facilitates conversations, commerce and loyalty that can be managed, measured and monetized.

To learn more about our predications for 2010, check out this interactive video.