The move towards 2018 also comes with a great shift in digital marketing. Since new trends are increasingly getting into the marketplace, your company needs to pay special attention or you may end up being left behind by technology. With the need to reach more customers and become visible, the digital marketing of tomorrow relies more on technology as customers’ demands become a more integrated experience. As we try to look at what the future has, it’s good to know that digital marketing is not constant. We not only depend on technology to get our information out but also to reach a wider audience. This means what worked well before may not work anymore. Here is how technology will change digital marketing in 2018.
- Social media is expected to be a publishing platform
Although we’ve been viewing social media in a specific way, in 2018, social media will start being recognized as an effective platform to have all the content so as to pass our message across. While blogs and other website resources are still important, users are currently looking for useful content while interacting online. The leading technique here is Facebook. For instance, there are instant articles which offer robust tools to make your content feature and create a good experience for your users. As more users shifts towards engaging through mobile, marketers are expected to embrace this trend.
- The collapse of the influencer market is expected
Although brands are pouring millions of cash into influencers now, they are either not seeing the results they could get from alternative marketing or not measuring the results. However, these markets may collapse as brands start focusing on few individuals who can drive results or move to grassroots kind of promotion. This is because most influencers drive awareness with very little ROI.
- There will be marketing automation
While this was the key in 2017, it’s expected to become even more critical in 2018. Averagely, almost 49% of businesses are applying marketing automation with over half of the firms having adapted to the technology. Apart from being vast the strength of marketing automation is likely to grow even more. The idea is that it enables us to use the data and change our insights into something worthwhile. Marketers will, therefore, segment their audience and make customized campaigns that can provide the right content to customers and boost their ROI.
While video may sound a little technical, video marketing is likely to take precedence in 2018. If you have a Facebook account, you can easily scroll past an article and watch a video. More so, YouTube is currently the second-ranked site after Google. By 2020, online videos are expected to make up more than 80% of consumer traffic. The increase in video usage has been identified by Instagram and Facebook. More so, this form of marketing will provide the best opportunities for businesses to stand out
- Machine learning and chatbot
Most customers are currently looking for more personal and simpler ways to connect with brands. Since creating chatbot without writing anything is very easy, they are expected to deliver in 2018. These techniques are amazing since they tend to move to where the customers and are effective enough to allow them to get features that they could not have gotten through their websites. A company’s products, details, and all other things can be gotten through chatbot and passed in a personal and conversational way. This will feature a lot in 2018.
Since Apple launched the Siri for iPhone Users, most people are now familiar with voice search. This technology is now the future of most digital markets hence companies are using it to ease the efforts of their audience when looking for anything online. In the coming year, voice search will alter the way communication and information are being processed. The rise in voice searches will enable marketers to create SEO optimized content for promoting their businesses.
A video wall is a series of screens that are individual tiles making a huge canvas for an image. Video walls are an incredibly powerful team in marketing. Not only do they make a huge impact, both literally and figuratively, but they also have a multitude of other benefits: they are cost-effective, which may seem strange, though, unlike traditional signage, you will not have to constantly replace them; they will not be used by many of your competitors; they are interactive, again unlike other forms of advertising; as well as this, they can spread your message to a large number of people at once. These benefits, as well as the fact that video walls seem to match with the tastes of digital savvy consumers, mean that we believe that they can give you a massive advantage in 2018.
Although it’s easy to think about the successes of the past year, it’s very important to keep an eye on how technology will impact on digital marketing in 2018. From publishing on social media to using voice searches and videos there are a lot of ways technology will change digital marketing. The best thing to do is to take advantage of these changes so as to realize huge returns on investments.
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Mia Clarke is part of the content and community team at Userful.com, experts in all things video wall and display solutions. When Mia is not spreading the word about video walls she is often found discovering the great outdoors, walking or cycling.