When it comes to marketing trends, unfortunately there is no magic wand that tells us exactly which technology or channel will be the most used within the next few years.
The key is to observe consumers. As consumers change the way they behave, companies and marketing teams must adapt to them. Personalization, content marketing and the use of multiple channels are some examples of how to respond to an audience that is constantly evolving.
8 Marketing Trends for 2018
1. Omnichannel and Multi-Format Content Marketing
Content Marketing remains one of the keys to turning visits into customers. But now, written content alone is not enough. Consumers are looking for information in different formats and on different channels at the same time. In 2018, we will see content teams become more diverse, integrating designers and experts in radio, video, social media and different formats.
The data speaks for itself: according to the Demand Gen Report study, 47% of consumers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before starting a purchase process.
We must invest in a multi-format, multichannel strategy where the same content is presented across a variety of channels and formats in order to respond to consumers' needs.
2. Personalization
Let's call it like it is: mass marketing is dead - long live personalization!
We already know that content marketing will be one of the main focuses of marketing strategies in 2018, and this must be aligned with something very important: a personalized experience for each type of customer.
Companies must leave static content behind and start investing in dynamic pages that can respond to customers' different characteristics thanks to smart content.
3. SEO Across All Your Formats
Aligning your SEO strategy with your content strategy is the best investment you can make for 2018. Most likely, your web team and your blogging team are already optimizing your content for SEO, but now we need to go further: you have to make sure you optimize content in all its formats: video, images, social media, audio, etc. The key is to invest in SEO before creating new content. That way, you make sure to increase your chances of conversion.
4. Short Videos
In a culture led by mobile devices, video is one of the most consumed formats. In 2017, 90% of all user-shared content on social media was in video format. Now the challenge is to capture the audience's attention in the first 3 seconds.
One of Facebook's creative leaders mentioned during Social Media Week in London that not making short videos is no longer an option. Brands that are not using video as part of their social media strategy must start now. And remember, the videos should be short, work without sound and grab attention in the first 3 seconds.
5. Livestreaming Is Growing in Relevance
While we already know that video will be consumers' preferred format in 2018, when it comes to social media, livestreaming seems to be taking center stage. According to Facebook, users spend 3 times more time watching live videos than videos that are no longer live. They also comment 10 times more than on a prerecorded video.
Many marketing teams are already investing in video creation, but only 14% have started to invest seriously in live video. Live videos are a great opportunity to increase interaction with your users, give your brand a more human face and integrate new formats into your strategy.
6. Internal Process Automation
If you work in marketing, you are surely already using some kind of automation software to schedule your social media posts, send emails or follow up with your prospects. Now the key is to use automation tools to optimize your internal marketing and sales processes.
Every company should have a CRM that lets it identify opportunities, generate automatic email templates, schedule meetings with customers in one click, etc. If teams are spending time on manual activities, they are doing something wrong, since there are tools to automate almost everything.
7. Artificial Intelligence
For many, the words artificial intelligence may sound like something out of a science fiction movie. Most likely, they are already using it in their daily lives. If you have asked Siri about the weather, or to read you your calendar, you are already an artificial intelligence user. In marketing, using behavioral data to optimize the layout of your website or your chatbot is also artificial intelligence. While artificial intelligence may still be considered something “new,” within the next 12 months you will see it integrated into most of the tools we use every day.
8. Chatbots
Chatbots are a very good example of how automation will have a big impact on the way business is done in 2018. These AI-powered “virtual assistants” can give customers real-time answers at any time. After Facebook Messenger opened its API, many companies started testing these tools. The challenge is to achieve a user experience that is even better than typical customer service and to automate repetitive tasks so customer service teams can focus on adding value.
2017 was one of the most active years in terms of new technologies, trends and formats in the marketing industry. 2018 will be no different, so we recommend that you be prepared and invest in the key areas so you can get ahead of these trends instead of trying to catch up later.
Source: HubSpot Blog
