5 digital marketing trends for 2018
In the middle of 2017 we are witnessing a technological revolution never seen before, we are in the digital era, where the total amount of online information doubles every year.
In the middle of 2017 we are witnessing a technological revolution never seen before, we are in the digital era, where the total amount of online information doubles every year. Therefore, it is vital to keep up with recent technological trends and be aware of the latest news. In the marketing industry it is no different, and as such, we present five major trends to have in consideration for 2018:
1. Big Data
As was said in the introduction to the article, the amount of information available online doubles each year. As you can imagine, there are an increasing demand of professionals who deal with all this information and transform it in "intelligence" for their organisations. The main function of these professionals is to identify patterns and new business opportunities in their industries, in order to generate and maximize the profit of the organisation.
There are programs available that make this job easier, such as QlikSense or even the old SPSS. With the increase in the number of online users and the amount of information produced, it is expected that in 2018 there will still be a big demand in these professionals.
2. Video, Video and more Video
If 2017 has already brought us an increase in content produced by video, 2018 predicts to be the year where the video will actually outpace all other content types. Video has slowly taken over social networks as a major form of content production and all signs show that this trend will only increase. Whether they're live streaming or not, users are more captivated with video than other forms of content as it is more interactive and has greater production potential and, therefore, captivates more user attention.
Platforms like Periscope or Facebook Live make communication easier between the brands and consumers, where the capacity to create more appealing and differentiating content is only limited by the imagination.
3. Content Marketing
Content is king. This phrase may seem a euphemism, but no, it is the purer of truths. At a time where content isn’t lacking on search engines, this is still the best way for organisations to get a good ranking on the search engines in with they’re present. Not all the content produced is going to be good, however, there will always be room for unique, valuable and appealing content.
If your company still has no strategy regarding content production, we have bad news for you. But it's not just with the ranking in search engines that content creation can do wonders for an organisation. Content creation, among other things, increases the credibility of the organisation and the number of sales it does, improving its image and the potential of the business.
4. Migration to Mobile
This is no longer a new thing. For years, we have been talking about complete mobile migration, and despite still being a bit of a long way from that, the fact is, nowadays a big part of the population uses their mobile phones to perform their searches instead of the desktop.
Coupled with the fact that Google in November of last year released a statement indicating that it would launch a new model of site indexing on its new mobile-oriented search engine, it makes it the top priority for brands to have a responsive website, adapted to the good practices of mobile so as not to run the risk of being penalised by Google in its ranking.
5. One-to-One Marketing
This is perhaps the big news on this list. Not because it is something that was never heard, but precisely because it was something that should no longer be new. One-to-one marketing is consistently regarded as one of the great solutions to customer acquisition.
Who doesn’t remember the Coca-Cola campaign started in New Zealand in 2011, nicknamed "Share a Coke"? It was a campaign aimed at the millennial generation where each bottle contained the first name of a random person and that motivated consumers to share that bottle with their friends who had that same name. At the time, it was a huge success, arriving in Europe just a little later. This is just an example of what can be done by customising the products/services offered.
One of the key points to have in mind is that nowadays the consumers want unique and customised products according to their likings and personality, so the solution is to offer something unique and differentiated, "spoiling" them with products and services adapted to their personal requirements.
These are only 5 trends, but there are certainly many more. The only question is: all this evolution is making it harder to be on par with all the new things, and if we don’t have the time to update our knowledge how can we be able to take advantage of all the potential at our disposal?
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