With a 2,500% growth in smart speaker usage since 2018, and an overwhelming number of consumers tuning into digital audio streaming platforms (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes podcasts, etc.), consumers are turning towards an increasingly screenless mode of media consumption.

Over the past 10 years, marketers have been hyper-focused on finding ways to convince and convert over digital mediums. But, for most marketers, digital campaigns are a largely visual affair. Facebook alone has over 6 million registered advertisers vying for consumer's eyes. But what if it's not only their eyes that you should be after?

As consumers turn towards screenless experiences, marketers that leverage digital audio in novel ways will separate themselves from the pack. And the power of digital audio ads isn't arriving in the future; that power is already here.

Are your display, video, and audio ads struggling to make an impact? Are you targeting the right consumers and getting the conversions you want? Is your digital media strategy drowning in a sea of competitors? Cox Media Group is here to help.

Traditional marketing methods like billboards, print ads and TV/radio commercials were used long before digital marketing, but local marketers may struggle with tying traditional marketing spend to customer acquisition. Digital channels like online ads or social media provide convenient and intuitive dashboards with all the information you need to know.

But when you combine the insight of data with the appeal of print and broadcast media, the result can be greater than the sum of their parts.

That's why so many businesses today are using traditional forms of marketing in conjunction with organic, paid and social channels. According to Borrell's 2018 Local Advertiser Survey, most companies are planning to increase spend across the board.

The value of advertising on Amazon is a lot like the value of paying to upgrade your visibility through premium placements on Google and other search platforms.

While Amazon might function as a threat to local retailers everywhere, Fast Company argued that's not enough to stop those local businesses from advertising through the retail giant.

Here are four reasons why retailers are turning to the platform to use its marketing tools.

When you have the chance to interact with customers across a variety of channels, knowing that each has their own unique value and effectiveness, opting for one or even just a few isn't going to deliver the ideal results.

A multichannel integrated marketing strategy is certainly a start, but no matter how many channels you manage at any given time, you're bound to face limitations if these channels don't communicate with one another. Consumers are fluid in their digital behaviors, and brands need a marketing strategy designed to keep up with these various behaviors.

An omnichannel approach can offer a more consistent user experience, whether you're interacting on desktop, mobile, connected TV or in-person.

While some marketers are very focused on conversion rates as the ultimate measure of success for a given campaign, there's something else worth keeping an eye on: purchase intent. This predictive statistic helps give marketers a sense of how effective their marketing message is and can help them identify not just if a message is being received, but how it's being received as well. For instance, high reach might show that consumers are seeing your ads, but if purchase probability is low, consumers are simply scrolling past your campaign. However, if you find yourself in a situation where purchase intent is high while other statistics remain low, you can use the power of integrated marketing to help close the gap between your metrics. Here's how:

The most popular kid on the block these days is native advertising. And for good reason. These days, due to oversaturation, a lot of ads get the cold shoulder. So how can you reach today's savvy consumer? The answer is native advertising.

In a nutshell, native ads are designed to emulate the editorial content on a trusted media site. This allows you to capitalize on your host's reputation, offer more helpful and engaging content, and build trust with potential customers. Adding native into your mix can be very rewarding, but it requires a new kind of strategy.

Google's launch of the Google My Business (GMB) API last year reiterated how important local search is to its algorithms, and it gave businesses a new way to organize and present their brands and locations on Google search and Google Maps. Take a look at what it can do for your SEO strategy.

Greater Importance on Local SEO

These days, a directory listing is much more than an address and phone number — it helps you to increase your overall visibility. You can provide maps, directions, opening hours, business descriptions, website and social links, ratings and reviews that allow consumers to engage with your business. According to Mashable, Google is used for more than 100 billion searches each month, and more than half of those searches are performed on mobile devices. GMB's API's emphasis on local directory listings can help get your GMB listing rank even higher in mobile search than your own website's listing. For local businesses, appearing on a Google map is key, especially on mobile, as it gives the user immediate access to all the information they need — and it's all easily loaded into Google Maps or a GPS app. Adding this to your overall SEO strategy will go a long way toward building awareness and increasing your visibility.

Though it feels like the 2016 election began back in 2012, the "official" election season is finally upon us, which means voters are being inundated with ads across the Web and television, and even on billboards during their morning commute. Whether you're buying media for political campaigns or a marketer who'll be affected by the onslaught of ads in the digital political marketing landscape, here's how you can cut through all the noise and make an impact this political season.

Digital marketing trends can be difficult to forecast day to day, let alone for an entire year. New platforms and companies are driven by the changing preferences of the continuing influx of new users. The risk of jumping onto what may be just a passing fad, however, is offset by the knowledge that failing to adapt your marketing tactics is never the strategy for customer retention. These five digital marketing trends will continue to dominate in 2016 and will be an important part of any marketing portfolio.

1. Content Marketing

Back in the day, brands merely posted a few coupons and engaged with any random audience, and then their content would practically share itself. Consumers today are savvier and more discerning than ever. Creating content with a focus on SEO (rather than actual human readers) can cause content fatigue, which makes it tough to attract, let alone convert, potential customers. Particularly when you consider the trends to follow, brands that will break through will be the ones that continue to find relevant ways to talk to their customers. KFC has done this with clever, viral videos, but it also works for smaller brands, like Intelligentsia Coffee.