Top 5 Trends in Digital Marketing for 2018

“Good Marketing makes the company look smart. Great Marketing makes the customer feel smart.”-Joe Chernov

Digital is a way of life now. So, why should Marketing be any different? Now that 2017 is nearly over, it’s time to focus on the Digital Marketing trends we expect to see in 2018. Let’s get predicting, shall we?

1. Artificial Intelligence will take over

Love it or hate it, you just can’t ignore it. According to a recent survey, 57% of the marketers already use AI. As technology enhances by the day, the artificial brain would play the most significant role in Marketing. Chatbots creating content, AI-powered PPC advertising, personalized website experience, push notifications, AI churn predictors enhancing customer engagement, AI-driven customer insights to determine customer’s behavioral patterns and automated image recognition, are just some of the ways marketers make use of the artificial brain. Experts project that AI would grow by 53% in the next few years, beginning with 2018.

2. Social Media/Video Marketing will top the charts

Video is the next big thing in Content Marketing and it has shown a tremendous upward trend in the last 1 year. The Social Media trinity (Facebook & Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn) is constantly emphasizing and investing in improving its video capabilities, primarily because it’s directly proportional to higher engagement, customer retention and it leaves little to imagination and diminishes the grey areas that prospects despise. Social Media also helps identify the influencers, which in turn will help in formulating influencer marketing strategies, that will be essential in 2018.

3. Sales driven through Augmented Reality and Social Proofing will be a fad

Augmented Reality is picking up pace rapidly and it’s becoming evident by the day that it would be one of the biggest Digital Marketing trends of 2018. Augmentation will boost the visual impact of sales presentations since it aims to create a three-dimensional thinking. Prospects can not only see those presentations in front of them but also around them. This will allow sales teams to close deals faster. Social Proofing is just a sugary term for reviews. When people collectively review a product or service, the prospects get a kind of assurance that they can determine by the pattern of reviews by other users, be it positive or negative. In 2018, social proofing will continue to grow and make the customer feel more comfortable and assured.

4. The Evolution of Search will continue

Search Engine Marketing is going to go next-level in 2018. The only constant trend in the SEM industry is change and in order to maximize profits, it is essential to match pace with these changes. Voice Search has gained momentum swiftly. The introduction of Siri, Google Home and Amazon echo has spoilt us and it’s only going to get better and enhanced. Search Engines are using Machine Learning to make searches personalized to provide customer-centric content. Geo-Targeting is another fancy term for tailored location-based Marketing. It can be used through geo-tagging and local search ads which are displayed only to people in the applicable geographic area. iBeacon is another fascinating way of providing location-based information and services to iOS devices. iBeacon is Apple’s implementation of Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) wireless technology. Search, without a doubt, will evolve as it has over the years.

5. Customer Experience Marketing will hold supremacy

Brand Marketers are breathlessly working to build seamless customer experiences, no matter what the channel is. Customer-Centricity will be the biggest ingredient in strategic thinking in 2018. There’s a need to shift mindset from conversion to experience. Chloe Thomas, Founder of eCommerce Master Plan, says, “The biggest challenge is going to be shifting the team’s point of view from conversion to experience (which ultimately leads to conversion).” Customers would develop a perception of your business on basis of the sum of experiences they’ve had with you. As per a recent survey, 68% of marketers said that their business is increasingly focusing on customer experience in marketing.By now, it’s safe to say that if you devise your best Digital Marketing Strategy in 2018, you’re good to go! It’s going to be both, a paradise and a war-zone!

Need help with your Marketing Strategy? Contact us!