ONLINE MARKETING TRENDS IN 2018 (AND HOW TO TAKE THE MOST OUT OF THEM)

Marketing has always been a shifting and evolving landscape and increasingly technology is leading the way when it comes to reaching consumers. It’s important to stay ahead of trends and take advantage of new marketing opportunities as they emerge. As we look forward to 2018, here are some emerging marketing trends to consider putting into action.

1. TRAFFIC IS DRIVEN THROUGH MOBILE

Are you reading this on a mobile device? As the statistics reveal how people are browsing and interacting through smartphones, it makes sense that these people are the major source of any traffic. If you are thinking to have a nice decent traffic on your website, just make sure to make it mobile friendly. People are lazier than ever and they don’t have time to open up their laptop and wait until the windows boot to let them do their desired task. People want everything on the go without delay.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA ARE PUBLISHING OUTLETS

Social Media platforms are increasingly exploring options for users to move beyond simply sharing content by allowing them to publish their own content. Over the last year LinkedIn has been growing in popularity as a publishing outlet, with many companies using the platform to boost their B2B marketing via influential articles. Instagram's linking feature that allows users to swipe to read articles or make a purchase has been extremely successful, and we can expect companies to incorporate more Instagram Stories into their marketing strategies in 2018. As our mobile devices become more powerful and social apps better integrate with Augmented Reality, it's no longer a secret that Facebook is looking to lead the way towards an exciting new realm of interactions. For example, using your location, brands could trigger sponsored AR content, which can only be accessed at that spot, at that time. Pokémon Go was the pioneer with this idea, and we can expect that Facebook will soon be integrating this tech into its platforms. While the effectiveness of marketing on Twitter has declined, we’ll probably see Twitter try to revamp in the new year. Keep your eyes open because we’re sure they will come up with some new and interesting ways to stay relevant.

1. DATA-DRIVEN MARKETING IS THE BRAIN OF THE OPERATION

Data-driven marketing is a powerful tool, but how that data translates to the customer journey will be paramount in digital marketing success in 2018. Strive first to use data to know where your consumers will be on every step of their purchasing path, learn what appeals to them, and design your marketing to touch them all along their journey.

1. VIDEO MARKETING GETS SPECIAL PLACE IN THE CONTENT STRATEGY

Video is becoming the most popular and influential form of digital content for businesses today and if done right, it can have a very positive impact on your business. Every social media platform is jumping into live video and adding new features monthly to their platforms. Live video is a great way to connect with your audience, as the average reach of Live posts throughout social media increased to more than double.

1. PERSONALIZATION IS EVERYTHING

Impersonalized email blasts and ads are going the way of the fax machine. Becoming hyper-targeted and focusing on personalizing every interaction is becoming increasingly important. Personalized landing pages should be connected to every one of your advertising campaigns. Attention is a currency, and building a personalized connection with prospects will be critical for digital marketing in 2018.

1. NEW REALM: AUGMENTED REALITY (AR)

AR has been simmering away on the back burner for a couple of years now, and the medium is expected to go mainstream in 2018. You may not have the budget or know-how to ride the crest of the AR wave, but the trend should serve as an indication that investing in online content, and more importantly - visual online content, is a smart move. Creating interactive graphics and video on a website now will serve as a starting point for future exploration into augmented reality marketing opportunities.

1. CONTENT MARKETING TRANSFORMATIONS

With new formats evolving every day and the popularity of video, content marketing is no longer only about writing blog posts. Voice search will alter a lot of content strategies to aim more for featured snippets or present interactive tutorials that can be spoken to people as they complete mundane or complex tasks.

1. DIFFERENT APPROACH TO INFLUENCER MARKETING

2018 will see marketers working more with micro-influencers. These are influencers with an audience of 1,000-100,000 people (as opposed to macro-influencers with an audience of around 10 million followers). Micro influencers are 4x more likely to get a comment on a post than macro-influencers and have loyal followings within specific niches.

TAKEAWAY

2018 is going to be an interesting year where technological advancements will continue to speed up. The development of new technologies has birthed more creative possibilities for brands to engage and interact with their customers. However, it's important not to simply jump on the bandwagon of the next big thing but to consider your options strategically and with your target audience in mind (rather than being product or service-centric). Which of these trends can you integrate into your small business marketing strategy? Experiment with some of these elements, and test how it works. It could lead to the spark your brand needs to stand out. To help you start, download our FREE guide on how to get your business online and in front of your customers HERE.