Search has gradually become more and more important to us over the years; ‘Google it’ is now the response to any question we do not have the answer for. Over the past decade we’ve seen major technological corporations launch products and software to assist us when we need it, at the touch of a button or, more recently, a quick ‘ok Google’, ‘hey Siri’ or for Echo, Amazon’s latest venture, ‘Alexa’.
Moving into the future search will become even more intuitive experience. Many believe that search will soon be so advanced that search will connect with devices used for chat purposes such as Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp and will intuitively be able to offer you advice based on your conversations. For example, if you were to speak with your partner and ask whether they’d like to order a takeaway for dinner, search would automatically bring up JustEat, allowing you to order food there and then.
What does that mean for your organisation?
We’re constantly updating our technology so it better searves our client and our search function is no different. While auto-search may not have explicit benefits for those in the not-for-profit, associations or charity sector any time soon, it serves a good example of what web users are coming to expect from their technology. In 2017 and beyond, you’ll need to present your tech-savvy site users with a website they will want to return to and an organisation they will want to be a part of. To do that you need a state of the art search function that gives them information fast.
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Ask the experts - Abdi, Account Manager
What do you think we'll see in 2017?
- More use of Virtual and Augmented Reality in Marketing: Companies looking to differentiate their marketing campaigns will look to use platforms not widely used at the moment for marketing. With the success of Pokemon Go and the wider availability of Virtual and Augmented Reality sets more companies will be running marketing campaigns that are ‘virtual’ but placed into the real world. Users would have to use phones or VR sets to interact with the campaigns.