6 Digital Marketing Trends for 2018

 

2018 comes with many shifts in digital marketing. New trends are entering the marketplace and companies need to pay attention or they may be forced by the wayside.

With the need to become more visible and reach more customers, the digital marketing of tomorrow offers advancements in emerging technologies as consumers demand a more integrated experience.

Here are six (6) digital marketing trends that you’ll want to watch out for in 2018.

1. Twitter & Snapchat May Fall While LinkedIn & Instagram Rises.

While other social media platforms are seeing steady or rapid growth, Twitter has failed to grow its user base in 2017. Recently, the platform tried to revive its reach by expanding its traditional 140 character count to 280 characters, but this effort’s success has yet to be seen. Some users are actually irritated that what they believed was a differentiator for the platform is now gone.

Using under 140 characters forced individuals and brands to be precise and succinct in their ideas and messages. Twitter unlike LinkedIn focused heavily on user acquisition in 2017, rather than on making improvements to its ad platform. As a result, marketers are investing in other platforms to reach their audiences. This trend will continue in 2018 as Twitter continues to die a slow death.

Top Social Platforms - Monthly Active Users (MAU) 2017

Meanwhile, LinkedIn has made a number of improvements to its advertising platform in 2017 and presented a refreshed user interface, offering new opportunities for B2B and B2C brands. Instagram, for its part, continues to grow at an incredible rate. In 2017, Instagram announced that approximately 800 million people use the platform each month.

Their latest tool, Instagram Stories, became more popular than Snapchat just one year after going live, and we expect more people to continue to migrate over from Snapchat to Instagram Stories in 2018. Many B2C brands tend to see better engagement on Instagram than any other social platform, and its excellent advertising controls will help it become the go-to channel for social media marketing in 2018.

Influence Is Power

2. The Collapse Of The Influencer Market.

Brands pour millions of dollars into influencers now, but by and large they're either not measuring or not seeing the results they could get from alternative marketing spends. The market will collapse as brands zero in on a few select individuals who drive results or move to organic grassroots promotion, and away from high-cost, middle-tier influencers who drive awareness but little ROI.

We are on the verge of a new age in the evolution of influencer culture. Brands should be very cautious about the money they are spending to buy influencer placement. Being an influencer means that you are often thought of as a friend by your followers and that comes with a host of expectations that may not attach to a more traditional type of talent.

New European Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

3. Privacy Protection Will Be a Major Priority Across the Globe.

With the onset of new privacy regulations across the globe, brands that sell to customers in Europe and beyond must be prepared to comply. The new European Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in particular, will redefine what online privacy means for all organizations, as they’re faced with requests (and requirements) for the permanent erasure of customer information through the “right to erasure” and restrictions about how prospect data is collected and used for marketing initiatives.

In addition, 2017’s massive data breaches have had a considerable impact on how consumers everywhere (and perhaps even more so in the U.S.) think about their online privacy and security.

Consumers will prioritize companies and products that put their information security first in 2018 and beyond as these attacks continue to become more common, and smart marketers will begin using privacy protection and data security as a value proposition across all industries and product offerings.

New Ad Platforms Tackle Ad Blocking

4. New Advertising Formats Will Circumvent Ad-Blocking Technology

Much to their delight, shoppers are discovering ad-blocker software, everyday albeit to the disappointment of marketers. 100 million consumers in the U.S. will be ad-block users in 2020.

According to Optimal.com estimates, this will add up to more than $12 billion lost in display ad revenue in 2020. Google is working on a Chrome tool that mutes autoplay videos, which might be good news for consumers, but not such great news for advertisers.

So how are brands getting around these types of ad-blocking and silencing features? Smart advertising platforms like Facebook have found ways to disable ad-blocking on their sites, allowing businesses to know their content will be seen.

Others are moving to new platforms. YouTube, while well-established, is growing significantly in popularity with a new audience base, and advertisers are taking notice. YouTube Kids is free to consumers, ad-supported and reaches around 70% of the 6 to 12-year-old audience, and comes with parental controls, content preferences and time limits. Parents are quickly making the switch from expensive cable. This is a great opportunity for advertisers who want to reach this target segment with streaming ads.

Live Streams Content Expected To Triple in 2018

5. Professional Live Video

Video will continue to be a trend into 2018 but not just video, professional live videos. Live Video (or Live Streaming). Cisco states that Live Internet video will account for 13 percent of the total video traffic. While live streaming has been a success, the global market is fragmented due to different content preferences and emerging trends.

Every social media platform is jumping into live video and adding new features monthly to their platforms. Live video is a great way to connect with your audience, and the shaky, holding-a-phone-in-your-hand live video won't be acceptable anymore.

The inclusion of live streaming capabilities in social apps, such as Facebook and Twitter, is likely to make it easier for consumers to watch both user-generated and professionally made live video content. Based on consumer interest, the proportion of smartphone users in the US using live streaming apps is likely to triple in the coming year, while in South Korea it is likely to double.

Video Marketing

6. Video Marketing

Video is becoming the most popular and influential form of digital content for businesses today and if done right, it can have a very positive impact on your business. As our attention spans decrease, marketers are heavily relying more and more on creating video content to boost search engine rankings, increase engagement and website traffic rates, as an example.

Square video grows in popularity as they now take up 78% more space in the Facebook News Feed, and get more engagement, than horizontal videos, according to Animoto. Video is driving purchase behavior and creating stronger customer engagement. Video content that resonates builds trust and so serve as an excellent training tool.

Here are just a few of the findings from recent video studies, courtesy of ReelSEO and HubSpot:

• YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any broadcast or cable TV network.
• YouTube does all this with just mobile traffic! (The above stat doesn’t include desktop visits.)
• After watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to purchase a product online.
• Conversions may increase by as much as 80% with a video on a landing page.
• Visitors spend 88% more time on a website that includes video.

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