Digital Marketing Trends for 2018

…But first, a big WELCOME to Jamie, the newest member of the First Internet family! Here’s his first (of many) blogs, great to have you on board, take it away…

OK, here goes nothing!

With the online world forever expanding and new technologies being developed, new trends are being introduced every year, and 2018 will be no different. Let’s take a look at what we can expect from the digital marketing world in 2018…

• Chatbots

With the holiday season in full swing, many big name retailers such as ASOS are using the Chatbot service to their benefit. Facebook have opened up their API on messenger, which provides a gift selector chat service, and retailers are taking full advantage of it! The API allows users to improve the experience of purchasing a gift for family, friends or colleagues, in the hope that it shortens the process of selecting the perfect gift, with the added bonus of boosting conversions when this service is being used.

In 2018 chatbots are expected to become a lot more efficient, due to businesses analysing and utilising customer behaviour and search preferences to understand individuals wants, needs and whether that the business can fulfil them. People are also increasingly using chat apps for one-on-one communication as we shift further toward the desire for a more personalised and human form of contact. With this in mind, brands are taking this opportunity to boost conversions within the app themselves.

• Social Media

With the ever growing popularity of Snapchat, Instagram introduced their own version of Snapchat’s story feature which, to this day, is used by 200 million users which is in fact 50 million more than those who use Snapchat – which is very impressive considering Instagram Stories is only one year old. Jumping on this feature would prove to be beneficial for brands, particularly those that already have a strong presence on Instagram, or who are striving to as part of their digital marketing strategy. Snapchat, which has evolved drastically over the years into an effective platform for advertisers, is still using different methods to communicate different products and services, for example celebrities with Snapchat accounts use the story feature to showcase a specific product, through a video based ad. An example of this is Kendall Jenner promoting the Daniel Wellington brand – a campaign that has seen widespread exposure.

• Mass Personalisation

Over the past couple of years, the idea of personalisation has been developed within email marketing strategies. The use of automation to attract people based on their past shopping or browsing behaviour, interests and demographics provide us with reams of information that helps us to predict and capitalise on customer behaviour. In 2018, it’s expected that personalisation will continue to seamlessly integrate with what we see when we browse online and which ads / content we’re presented with in all aspects of online activity.

• Video Marketing

Video marketing is an increasingly popular trend, largely due to the rate of growth seen over the past year, particularly with the younger demographic. 2018 is expected to see more businesses realign their marketing efforts to market their products and services via this increasingly popular medium. As always, ad campaigns will evolve based on the changes in user behaviour, trends and the introduction of new technologies and services.

With a recorded one billion hours of YouTube viewing per day, this is a huge opportunity for marketeers to get into and explore this trend for 2018. The increasing popularity of video has also seen the uptake of live video streaming, VR video marketing and 360 videos. All of which have been integrated with social media channels as they stay ahead of trends and attempt to fend off competition.

Influencers

Social influencers in today’s world are commonplace, vlogs have rocketed in popularity over the past few years, vloggers are now elevated to celebrity status and have huge followings for their captivated and extremely loyal audiences. One of the names that springs to mind is Zoella, who has a huge influence over the younger generation, primarily female, so obviously, brands want to capitalise on this opportunity, tap in to this market and get their products or services in front of this fully engaged audience.

Is it time to realign your 2018 marketing strategy? Are you missing out targeting an already engaged and active audience? Get in touch to discuss how we can boost your ROI in 2018!