Digital Marketing Trends To See This Year

The marketing landscape is constantly changing due to emerging technologies and it can be hard to keep up with the latest trends. However, to stay competitive you need to be ahead of the curve so that you can take advantage of new marketing opportunities.

The aim of marketing is to acquire the maximum number of new leads while spending the least amount of money. It’s a tough nut to crack, but focusing on new trends can perhaps be the salvation when you’re struggling to make a dent in your marketplace. Here are a few trends to keep in mind.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence has taken big steps forward in recent years, and that trend is going to continue in 2018. In particular, AI will be used to drive customer conversions by interpreting the behavior of the lead. Predicting what the customer wants to buy next, and when, is key to driving conversions.

Furthermore, AI can help deliver a personalized marketing journey. Through SMS, push notifications, email marketing and content recommendations, AI can make suggestions that match customer interests. It achieves this personalization by implementing mass-scale automated A/B testing to determine the best way of doing things. The algorithm updates itself to improve the personalization of future marketing.

Live Video

According to research from Livestream and New York Magazine, 80% of those surveyed shared they would rather watch a live video from a brand than read a blog post. Therefore, live video feeds will continue to explode in the coming year. Nowadays, all the top social media platforms allow live feeds to deliver content.

What will set you apart is how creative you get with live video. Posting one for the sake of it isn’t going to generate buzz around your services and products. Try to give valuable information or a perspective that viewers cannot get elsewhere. For instance, if you’re promoting a rock concert, give a behind-the-scenes look via the live feed.

Voice Search

It’s estimated that by 2020, over 50% of search queries will be voice-based. As the voice recognition algorithm improves, the popularity will rise and potentially take over text-based queries.

When optimizing for voice search, it is important to note that the majority of search results are provided by featured snippets. Therefore, you need to optimize your content to achieve as many featured snippets as possible. One way to do this is to ensure the targeted content appears directly below a subheading that asks the question. Also, a limited number of words should be used — around 45. The featured snippet takes up a relatively large amount of screen real estate on the search results page, which means click-through to your website is going to rise. As reported by Ben GoodSell, a traffic increase of 677% is possible.

Micro-Influencers

As social media is gaining popularity, the average Joe is increasing the size of their following. Businesses can take advantage of cost-effective influencer marketing to raise brand awareness.

Instagram is one of the hottest places to practice the art of marketing via influencers. It’s a billion-dollar industry, and the platform reaches up to 500 million people on a daily basis. Gary Vaynerchuk stands by the notion that Facebook Ads and Instagram influencers are two of the most cost-effective methods of marketing today.

Privacy Protection

A selling point in your marketing message might have to be privacy protection because of how widespread the problem is becoming. In 2017, 143 million Americans were affected by the Equifax breach, one of the biggest breaches of this kind in recent years, and it doesn’t help that the breach in question is a consumer credit reporting agency.

To ensure your marketing message can induce a sense of trust, here are some key ways to increase credibility:

? Make sure your contact information is up to date

? Prominently display all security badges

? Make sure pages load quickly

? Secure your checkout process

? Share customer testimonials and reviews

Conclusion

Marketing has never been so exciting with new possibilities emerging on a yearly basis, and 2018 will be no different. The trick is to move on new trends by acting fast and implementing strategies with confidence.

While the strategies outlined in this article are all likely to tilt the odds of success for many businesses, other methods should be explored. Keep an eye out for new, unforeseen marketing opportunities to get the jump on your competition. Be proactive about formulating new marketing strategies, and 2018 will offer a wealth of new opportunities.