Every good marketing manager knows that in this era; staying the course and using traditional forms of marketing is a sure recipe for disaster. So much is changing in the digital marketing world. Which means managers must remain informed of new trends and be nimble enough to take advantage of them.

Navneet Kaushal, who blogs for ClickZ, identified five trends in digital marketing for 2014 that managers ought to seriously consider in their upcoming marketing plans

Location Marketing

If there’s one dominating trend to pinpoint in 2014, it almost surely is location-based marketing. This makes use of GPS technology to deliver multimedia content tailored to the geographical location; then straight to the potential customer’s mobile device. This helps to cater more specifically to users’ needs; and both marketers and consumers are expecting more of this in 2014. Already there are social apps including Foursquare that provide vital consumer data.

91 percent of adult mobile phone owners have their devices within arm’s reach 24/7; and location-based marketing could exploit this massively. Furthermore, Google is working on perfecting tools such as Google Wallet; which will enable people to buy with their credit card right from their smartphone. The NFC (near field communication) technology in Google Wallet, which allows users to make secure payments, will gain popularity. Businesses are sure to capitalize on this.

Social Media Diversification

It’s no longer only Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Though these are the most popular, networks such as Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram are on the surge too. While 93% of marketers have claimed that social media is an integral part of their marketing in 2013; the number of visitors to these social networks will increase further next year. This means more and more marketers are capitalizing on this and will focus more on in 2014. They will seek to establish a significant presence for themselves in the aforementioned networks to build their brand and connect with potential customers.

Paid advertising will also increase, particularly on Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Social signals have proved to be important for search rankings and building reputation; so it’s only a matter of time before businesses think of not only Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google+; but also Instagram, Pinterest and smaller networks such as these that are each carving a unique niche for themselves.

Content Relevancy

There are many content discovery apps available, including Flipboard. Flipboard helps users to tweak the feeds by merchants and businesses according to their contexts and interests. Data is filtered and customized information platforms are curated by users according to their needs. This is set to become another important trend in 2014 and provide potential customers with greater engagement with the business. Marketers can increase the relevancy of their marketing since users can arrange the posted content according to what suits them.

More Video Marketing

Videos can convey a message 10x more powerfully than text content, though persuasive content is in a much higher league. Video marketing is already popular but it will get more so in 2014. Vine is a service that allows marketers six seconds of time; within which they need to market their product through a video. Vine is growing massively in popularity among marketers next year. You’ve got YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter to capitalize on and Instagram and Snapchat also have video options in their app. Videos are also increasingly being watched on mobile devices and that’s a potent competition, able to instantly alter user behavior.

Remarketing or Ad Re-targeting

Marketers looking to convert web traffic are turning to remarketing. First time visitors to business websites mostly do not become customers. Estimates show that first visits only result in 2 percent of the conversions. Retargeting is therefore emerging as a very essential element of digital marketing. Remarketing basically helps marketers target potential customers who visited their site but failed to convert. It helps them display their products or services on websites they may potentially visit. AdRoll is a remarketing service and its popularity is proved by the fact that it has received the accolade of being one of the fastest growing businesses in the world. Marketers could also begin using Google Remarketing. This is a great way to attract potential buyers. They will retarget the visits that do not convert.

There you go! These are the most probable trends 2014 will witness in digital marketing, but by no means the only ones. This is a dynamic field and new trends will keep developing for the foreseeable future.