Going forward, we don’t want you to be caught using marketing strategies that are so last year. The professionals that we are, we just can’t let that happen. Which is why we’ve done copious research online and styled the trends in marketing that will give you a head start in 2018. Take some notes, then come see us when you’re ready to discuss the marketing style guide that’s right for you.
Social Media Ins and Outs
Many digital marketers are predicting that Instagram will eclipse Facebook’s popularity next year. In 2017, about 800 million people used Instagram each month, which is good news for ad brand engagement, with Instagram’s ideal advertising controls. LinkedIn, too, has seen an increase in B2B marketing, thanks to healthy improvements to the user interface and platform as a whole. Twitter use, on the other hand, has grown stagnant. Which may prove to be a real struggle in the near future. In 2017, the social platform focused more on garnering more users than on making improvements to their ad platform. Social media users overall are more apt to trust a micro-influencer’s post (between 1,000 and 100,000 followers) than a macro-influencer’s (10 million-plus followers) because 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations over ads – and 32% of Internet users make use of ad blocker.
Keeping an Eye on AI (Artificial Intelligence)
AI isn’t just a marketing tool for the future, it’s here, it’s working – and it’s predicted to be an even bigger asset for website messaging in 2018. The customer service technology makes it possible for businesses to offer AI-based live chat tools to communicate with/market to customers. The downer? An AI marketing strategy is expensive. But the results could be worth the investment: researchers anticipate AI use to grow by 53% in the next two years, with 85% of online interactions to be with chat bots by 2020.
Getting Personal
Although AI is making its presence in marketing, don’t dismiss the power of the human touch. Customers still want personalization to be integrated into their buying experience. This means targeted, direct personalized email campaigns, social media posts, specific ad content and responsive design.
And … Action!
There’s no question that video content, fueled by social media, has exploded in online marketing at a rapid rate. YouTube has actually pulled ahead of Google in the go-to search engine for Internet users. In 2018, look for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat to improve their live streaming feed quality and add more interactive features that will increase video streaming, which was already 75% of all Internet traffic in 2017. Mobile video ads, as opposed to videos viewed on laptops, are expected to increase by 49% in 2018. And explainer videos – short, simple videos that explain your product or service – are also coming into the picture in a big way. Visitors to a website are four times more likely to watch a video than read text on a page.
The Final Word
Never fear, written content should still have a say in your 2018 marketing campaign. By creating your own blog on your website, your customers can read and connect with you – even interact –on what matters to you most, such as company news and updates, impactful customer testimonials, and relevant trends in the industry. They may even stick around for a while.
Give us a call now or any time in 2018 if you’d like to discuss how to apply these top marketing trends to your company’s ad campaign at 843.222.0605.
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