The year 2018 has come with a shift in digital marketing. New trends has entered the market and we need to pay attention to every change in the market. With need to become more visible and reach more customers, the digital marketing of tomorrow offers advancements in emerging technologies as customers demand a more integrated experience.
TOP DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS IN 2018
1. MORE INFLUENCER MARKETING
In influencer marketing focus is placed on influential people rather than the target market as a whole. It identifies the individuals that have influence over potential buyers and orients marketing activities around these influencers. We can see business invest more in a few selected social influencers, even more than TV celebs. We will see more of that across the market. The brands are now approaching few select individuals who drive results or move to organic grassroots promotion.
2. VIDEOS WILL RULE OVER TEXT
As our attention spans decrease, marketers are heavily relying more and more on creating video content to boost search engine rankings, increase engagement and website traffic rates. In 2018 it is more prevalent as the video is the most preferable and effective medium to provide information to the customers. There is sophisticated and professionally produced video content in 2018 not only by brands and businesses but also by small digital marketers.
3. MORE INTERACTIVE USER INTERFACE (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE)
In 2017 the rise of Amzon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant, Microsoft’s Cortana, chatbots and others have been seen. The same trend is continuing in 2018 as well. Conversation is the real user interface. It allows brands to interact with customers who want information in the more natural way. Artificial Intelligence like chatbots will play the crucial part in Marketing in 2018. Tools like Intercom and drift, marketers can use artificial intelligence powered live chat tools to communicate with customers. As this technology continues to improve, it is likely that more brands will use artificial intelligence live chat to better service website visitors.
4. LIVE VIDEOS
Informative videos will be on trend in 2018 but not just videos professional live video will also become bigger in 2018. Every social media platform is giving live video features and adding new features to their platforms. Live video is a great way to connect with our audience directly. Live videos will also play a major role in influencer marketing.
5. NATIVE ADVERTISING
We need to engage our audience by utilizing native language which will lead to develop a more involved relationship with our target market. As placements have become more and more standardized, even the most contextually-relevant ads struggle to engage the typical viewer. And poorly placed or non-contextual ads are flat out ignored. Unlike traditional banner advertising, Native advertising meets buyers where they are specifically seeking out information. Rather than simply aligning our ads with the editorial content.
Companies seeking to enhance market reach, brand relevance and improve overall engagement can benefit greatly by implementing native advertising into their digital marketing strategy.
6. VOICE MARKETING
As per Google, 20% of its mobile queries are voice searches, and that number is expected to grow as consumers getting used to Amazon’s Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. Digital Marketers need to prepare strategies by creating content that captures these types of searches.
7. INNOVATION IN CONTENT MARKETING
Content in 2018 needs to be more interactive and integrate with other UI features. With few formats evolving every day and the popularity of videos, content marketing is no longer about writing blog posts and listicles.
8. ADS WITH SPECIFIC PURPOSE
People have less attention span these days and getting served with so many ads on daily basis. Ads become more singularly purposed in nature, with a very specific goal and goal conversion place in mind, whether it be a mobile or desktop experience. Mobile ad platforms will show major growth in 2018, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.
9. BE MORE PERESONAL
Days of hard selling are gone. Impersonalized email blasts and ads are going to die in 2018. Becoming hyper-targeted and focusing on personalizing every interaction is becoming important. Personalized landing pages should be connected to everyone of our advertising campaigns.
10. UNDERSTANDING DATA
Digital Marketing is a data driven business and will continue to be in 2018. We use data to know where our consumers will be on every step of their purchasing path, learn what appeals to them, and design our marketing to touch them all along their journey.