Now that 2016 is well under way, it’s about that time we start looking at digital marketing trends. Which ones have become key components in the digital marketing industry so far, and which ones will likely be important factors for the rest of the year?

Let’s take a quick look at the top digital marketing trends for 2016:

1. Video is becoming more important for all forms of advertising and marketing.
Visual content has become very important in recent years; the rise of social media sites like Instagram and YouTube only prove this point. Internet users actually only read about 25% of what’s written on any given page, so it makes sense that they prefer visual content over written content. Already, content videos generate well over 50 billion views per month.

2. Social advertising is a thing now, and it’s only going to get bigger.
This is sort of like internet advertising in the form of sponsored content, but with social media marketing thrown into the mix. Social advertising has become huge on platforms like Twitter and Instagram where bloggers reign supreme. Social media advertising is still new in the industry of online advertising but it has become one of the frontrunners for long-term relevance.

3. Automated marketing tools are more useable and helpful.
Marketing automation is one of the newest digital marketing trends on this list, and it’s also one of the most useful. The correct automation tools will save you time so that you can focus on creating great content for a search engine marketing campaign rather than on distributing your content.

4. Time-sensitive content is just as important — if not more important — than evergreen content.
This is a digital marketing trend that seems to follow the success of social media marketing, and it’s definitely not a trend that marketing experts would have predicted a couple years ago. When you think about popular social media sites — Twitter, Vine, and SnapChat being the most popular among younger consumers — it’s easy to see that “right now marketing” is effective because consumers prefer to engage with content that is timely and relevant. A perfectly-timed Tweet can sometimes be far more effective than weeks of advertising.

5. Mobile web is dominating the desktop.
This trend, on the other hand, is pretty predictable and has been building up for a few years. It’s estimated that four out of five smartphone users have made at least one purchase on their phone, and many mobile device users are choosing to make purchases through mobile apps as well.

So now that you’ve heard our side of the story, which digital marketing trends do you think will continue to be the most important for the rest of 2016? Be sure to share your thoughts!