The top 10 ways to keep up with digital marketing trends

Are you a savvy marketing enthusiast who wants to be in the know about anything and everything digital? We’ve put together a top 10 list of ways to keep refreshed with all the latest digital trends and gossip. Have a read and if you are an opinionated digital native, let us know what you think.

1. Online marketing publications such as Marketing Week, Campaign, EConsultancy, Brand Republic and the Drum are the ‘go to’ industry standard if you’re looking for the latest news in digital marketing. You can find information on new jobs, the latest digital technologies and advice on how to improve your business or career.

2. Print Magazines are always useful to top up your knowledge whilst you’re on the move or travelling without access to power or Wi-Fi. Although it won’t be as up-to-date as the web, the content will be highly relevant and provide the latest information and stories you require old school! It’s always a great idea to buy a weekly or monthly subscription to your favourite magazine, or better still get it for free through work.

3. LinkedIn is a great tool providing the latest information on new jobs, a space to reach out and connect with other digital marketing experts as well as a large array of digital marketing groups. You can receive daily feeds from these communities which will be shown in your message inbox, or email if you require. It’s also a great place to find advice and recommendations from industry leaders through the LinkedIn Influencer programme.

4. Trade shows and event exhibitions are a great chance to network with other like-minded digital marketers. You’ll find out what the latest products are and have the opportunity to test them out. For instance, the Digital Marketing Show is taking place later this year in London and you will have the chance to find out about the latest trends, even participating in classes where you can update your skills in areas such as content marketing.

5. Look at your competition for ways to improve your own business offering or develop your own digital marketing expertise. It’s relatively cheap to do this and consists of doing a bit of marketing research. If you’re good at searching you might be able to source a report conducted by your competition which presents information and trends in your industry. 

6. Twitter is a particularly user-friendly and simple platform to use if you are looking to keep up to date. Follow industry leaders and you’ll receive daily updates from them with their thoughts and opinions on the latest trends in digital. Another useful social media channel is StumbleUpon, which is a tool to ‘stumble upon’ new websites on a certain topic or interest such as digital marketing.

7. Work colleagues are a rich source of up to date information and knowledge. Learn from your more experienced colleagues because they’re the ones who could have practical experience of digital marketing. In addition to making your skillset stronger, having healthy working relationships enhances your work flow opportunities and potential exposure to other people’s opinions on the latest trends in digital.  

8. Blogs are a great place to find expert opinion. If you’re looking for an answer if you’re facing confusion on a certain digital marketing topic, there might be a blog to help. Many people have some great blogs created with websites such as WordPress, Blogger, Medium and Tumblr.

9. Google Alerts is a brilliant tool that allows you to setup email updates to the latest, most relevant trends, which show up in Google results. Simply state what your topic of interest is whether it be social media, content writing or anything related digital and then filter by region, occurrence and result relevance. Google Alerts is a great tool to personalise your news updates.

10. Create new trends and product innovations yourself. Unique ideas will set the tone for the next generation of marketers by becoming the latest trend. This covers all budding entrepreneurs who could spark off new directions for the digital marketing world to go in. 

For predictions on digital marketing trends to expect in 2014, please check out our latest industry report.