For several years now, it’s been my firm belief that businesses that thrive are those that adapt their marketing strategies to data from marketing trends.
I have spent the holidays reading a lot on digital and social media marketing trends to prepare myself to help my clients beat their competitors in 2018.
I have said it time and again that brands need to keep reinventing themselves and keep learning and implementing what they learn asap.
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Concerning digital marketing and social media marketing, you cannot stay in your comfort zone. Otherwise, you risk becoming stale and worthless.
So I have listed my choice of digital and social media marketing trends to watch in 2018.
Increasing Use of Messaging Platforms by Brands
2018 will see increasing use in platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp by brands. Customers want fast replies to their questions and queries. This demand for instant responses has put a lot of pressure on brands to use messaging platforms as customer service and support tools to meet the needs of their customers.
As the year progresses, we will see how wise brands make use of these platforms. Read this article on how to use these platforms for marketing.
Shift Towards Micro-Influencers
What was the result of that ‘social media influencer’ you hired to mention your brand on their social media?
Were you impressed or disappointed with the result? In 2018 there will be a shift from phoney ‘celebrity influencers’ towards ‘micro-influencers’. So this 2018 brands will be focusing more on the micro-influencers in their niche. Read this article for tips on how to avoid scams by so-called social media influencers.
Brands Adopting Creative Means to Avoid Brand Fatigue
There will be an increase in advertising by brands who want to engage with their target audience on social.
With this continued reliance on advertising to reach their audience, there will be an increase in brand fatigue.
Many fans are going to get fed up with these adverts. So brands need to find creative means to avoid these brand fatigue.
These are exciting times for marketers. You have to advertise, but you need to make sure your adverts don’t suck, or your fans will tune out.
Trust between brands and their consumers has been on the decline for some time now. So in 2018 brands that are genuine on social will earn the trust of their target audience. Click To TweetMore Emphasis on Live Streaming
Does the thought of live streaming scare you? Well, in 2018, there will be a lot greater emphasis on live streaming to engage with brands.
Customers want to see as it happens, and they want to experience it in real-time via their different devices. Is your brand prepared to deliver?
Greater Emphasis on Transparency on Social
For some time now, there’s been a growing demand for transparency on social media. In 2018, we were going to see consumers want to engage further with brands that are genuine about their activities on social.
Trust between brands and their consumers has been on the decline for some time now. So in 2018, brands that are genuine on social will earn the trust of their target audience.
Re-Establishing consumer trust through greater transparency on social is vital to the survival of your brand in 2018 and beyond.
Twitter Alternatives
Is your brand active on Twitter? Unfortunately, Twitter has been stagnant for a couple of years now while comparable platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and so on have grown.
So if Twitter does not do something drastic soon, then it is time for brands to start looking for alternatives to Twitter.
Voice Search to Influence SEO
Alexa, Siri, Cortana, and so on all rely on voice search. In 2018 voice search will continue to influence search engine optimisation.
Brands need to keep this in mind and focus on tweaking their SEO to cater to consumers using voice search. If you have been relying on ancient myths about SEO, now is the time to stop. Read this article on myths about SEO that you should stop believing.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Marketing Applications
In 2018, we will see a lot greater use of AI in marketing applications and content marketing. Artificial Intelligence will influence the following areas.
- Email Marketing: With the use of AI, marketers will be capable of deciding the appropriate message to send to the proper persons at the right time.
- Website Personalisation: Brands will be using AI to study the activities of visitors on their website to offer visitors with relevant content at every step of the customer journey.
- Social Media Tools: We are also going to see higher adoption of AI in social media tools to enable a brand to find influencers, trending topics, and hashtags on social media.
Closing Thoughts
These are some significant trends to watch in 2018. There are lots more, but for the sake of time and space, we cannot cover all the patterns now.
So which of the trends in digital marketing or social media marketing are you interested in this 2018?
If you do not have the time, skills and resources for it, contact us to outsource your digital and social media marketing to us. You will be happy you did.
