Nothing could be truer when it comes to marketing trends.
These change on a yearly basis and if you are not up to speed on the latest tech and digital tools, you will lose more than just market share.
Here is a quick guide to the trends that will feature in 2018.
1. Twitter will not last and LinkedIn will rise as the new star
Over the last two years, most social media platforms have seen a steady growth. However, Twitter has not managed to achieve the same level of growth.
The platform has recently tried to change up their model but allowing more characters in a tweet but little change has been seen in user numbers since the upgrade.
If user numbers or new subscriptions are anything to go by then Twitter is steadily on the way out.
Instead of improving its advertising platform, Twitter increased their efforts on user acquisitions. This lead to marketers making more use of other social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
Have a look at this chart from Statista
In 2017 the LinkedIn advertising platform was upgraded and they introduced a new user interface.
These upgrades and improvements allow businesses and brands to explore more advertising opportunities.
Another rising star to look out for on the social media front is Instagram.
The platform has seen a phenomenal rise in users in 2017.
They reported that about 800 million people are active on the platform every month.
Digital marketing trends will certainly lean to using platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn more.
Most famous social media sites as of September 2017 via Statista
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will pave the way for new marketing experiences
Over the last two years, platforms have collected all sorts of information about their users. This has allowed marketers create custom advertising and messages for their market.
However, with the rise in AI, marketing initiatives are moving away from outreach marketing and more towards engaged marketing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will allow marketing to interact and engage with the target market and customers on a more personal level.
For example, AI in the form of Chabot’s is allowing marketers to engage with the customers 24/7 with a platform that learns how to mimic human interaction.
With the constant improvements with AI, more and more marketers are looking at using AI platforms to initiate live-chat with website traffic.
3. Influencers will have a major impact:
Influencer marketing has been around for a while but recently more brands are making use of this tool.
According to INC.com, 84% of marketers are planning on including influencer marketing in their digital marketing strategy and plan on launching at least one campaign this year.
In the past beauty and fashion brands have had amazing success with influencer marketing, now brands such as Amazon are also launching an influencer campaign.
4. New Advertising Format:
We all try to make creative video advertisements in order to reach our target audience on different channels with YouTube as the favorite one.
Today, most of the shoppers use ad blocking software which disappoints marketers.
According to optimal.com estimates, in the next five years, the number of US consumers who use ad- block technology will be more than double.
Google is working on a Chrome tool that mutes auto-play videos. With this tool, once the user mute’s a website, it won’t play sounds on videos automatically until unmuted resulting gives users more control.
In 2018, marketers will be encouraged to use advertising more as with new technology, Ads will be able to circumvent existing ad block technology.
Conclusion:
The digital marketing trends hold loads of potential for marketers who are willing to embrace technology and willing to include more digital in their marketing strategies.
Today, marketing is dependent more on data i.e. much more analytical and broad and entering new mediums and platforms but will continue to focus heavily on organic search, Artificial intelligence capabilities, and influencer marketing.
