All you need to know about digital marketing in 2018

 2018-01-23

As we face 2018 head on, we need to look at how our businesses will change and how the way we market these businesses is going to change.

Here at Pioneering Programmers, we’ve compiled a list of trend set to explode in digital marketing throughout 2018.

1. Professional Live Video and Video Marketing:

Video is look set to continue to develop throughout 2018 with every social media site set to add live video features to their platforms. Live video is an excellent way to connect with your customers and the ability to do just that is set to grow. Marketing Videos are fast becoming the most influential form of digital content and if done right, they can have a hugely positive impact on your business. Marketers are relying more and more on creating video content to boost search engine rankings and increase engagement.

2. Augmented Reality Integrated Through Social Media:

As our mobile devices do more, social apps will become increasingly integrated with AR and brands will use AR to engage with consumers. For example, your location could trigger sponsored AR which can only be accessed at that particular spot. It’s no secret that Pokémon Go was the pioneer for this; however social media giants are set to follow suit this year.

3. Targeted Ads:

People’s attention spans for ads are not great so if something is advertised that they are not interested in, no attention will be paid. Adverts are set to become very specific with specific conversions in mind. Advertising on social media is also set to see a significant rise throughout the year with targeted ads especially appealing to the small to mid-sized businesses.

4. Digital Incorporated into Offline Experience:

Many people believe that digital will no longer stand alone as a separate discipline. Could 2018 become the year when it is integrated into day-to-day real life experiences? It has started with sports where the online experience starts before the event and carries on into the game. It is expected for this to become the norm for many other industries throughout the year.

5. Real Understanding of the Customer Journey:

While data-driven marketing is very powerful, the way that such data is translated into the customer journey is what will be the most important factor to digital marketing success in 2018. It will be vital to use data to know where your customers are on every step of the purchasing journey. It is what will help businesses get to know what appeals to their customers and therefore they will be able to design their marketing strategy accordingly.

6. Conversational Interaction and Voice Marketing:

Such as that experienced with Amazon's Alexa, Google's Assistant, Apple’s Siri and Microsoft's Cortana will continue to make their mark on daily lives. Conversation is extremely natural and will allow businesses to naturally interact with clients. Google says that 20% of its mobile queries are voice searches and that number is only going to increase. It is important for businesses to be prepared by offering content that is user friendly and attracted to voice searches.

7. Personalization:

Along every stage of the sales process is the new key. People no longer want impersonal emails or junk messages. They want to be targeted and interacted with personally. Personalized landing pages are becoming increasingly popular and attention has shifted to being the main focus rather than something to be avoided. Building a personal connection is going to be vital throughout 2018.

Ultimately, digital marketing is set to see some dramatic changes throughout 2018. New formats are regularly evolving and platforms that can offer videos and conversational interaction are the ones that are really going to excel. Content marketing is growing to include snippets, presentations, interactive tutorials and videos. Content is set to become much more interactive and needs to start to integrate with other interfaces.