The futuristic, sci-fi worlds of films like Minority Report and Terminator where machines are inextricably tied to our lives is not far off. Hopefully, things will turn out a bit less dystopian than either of those films!
The Internet of Things (or IoT) comprises the objects around us that are connected to the internet. That means everything from your new car to your cellphone (and maybe even your refrigerator!).
As we move towards a future where inanimate objects are able to understand your language, recognize your face, and even predict your needs, your digital marketing strategies need to adapt.
The Genius Fridge
IoT devices are often called “smart” (e.g. “smartphone”) because their functionality is augmented by a constant stream of data to and from the internet.
Manufacturers want to improve our quality of life by making devices that can anticipate our needs before we even know what they are! For instance, smart refrigerators are able to keep track the items stored inside them and notify consumers when it’s time to restock.
Your Phone Is Learning
Modern smartphones all have predictive text functionality: algorithms that autocorrect your typos and suggest the next word in your sentence. Predictive text learns your writing habits (e.g. that your friend Kellie spells her name with an “ie”) and, over time, generates more accurate predictions based on the data that it’s collected.
Similarly, many users (of the almost five billion that use mobile devices) now use voice search to find what they’re looking for on the internet. Voice search is the future, period.
We predict that voice search will comprise over 50% of all search queries by 2020, and that’s just the start. Make sure that your business is taking steps to optimize your content and advertising strategies for voice queries!
The Ultimate Inbound Marketing Platform
Speaking of the future, just imagine what IoT integration on a large scale could mean for your business.
Here’s a hypothetical version of what this could look like: let’s say that one of your new leads has signed up for a mailing list for your business. As they drive to work the next day, they pass by an electronic billboard. The billboard retreives data sent from their car (which is connected to the cloud, where all of their personal data is stored) and then displays a unique advertisement (maybe even with a CTA and download link!) to that user (and only that user).
Sure, this seems pretty far-fetched given today’s technology and regulations limiting the breadth of digital invasion into our private lives. Still, one can easily imagine a day not so long in the future where this might be reality! As IoT devices become more prevalent, keep an eye out for opportunities to take advantage of this amazing inbound marketing platform.
In the meantime, make sure that your digital marketing strategy includes the possible integration of IoT technologies and that your website (and content creation process!) is mobile friendly and voice search optimized.