We have been very fortunate in the last 10 to 15 years to have experienced some major changes in the digital marketing industry. There has been a phenomenal growth in the position and status of organic and paid searches as well as social media. However, recently the primary development worldwide is the growth in mobile and specifically smartphone usage. Year-on-year the most popular device used to browse the web are mobile phones taking up 51.4% of devices used, showing an increase by 25%. Moving forward into this article, I’m going to review the 10 trends which I believe are most relevant to marketers across all types of industries that digital marketing firms should implement.
5 Digital Marketing Trends for 2018
1. Artificial Intelligence
With significant development in AI in 2017 we are expecting big things in 2018. Programmes such as Chatbots are able to suggest products and services to a consumer that they may be interested in by offering a deal alongside it. Apps learn from user behaviour by interacting with them more and then anticipating their future needs. For a digital marketing firm, integrating this type of trend into an ecommerce business would prove highly beneficial.
2. Mobile Marketing
As stated at the beginning, mobile devices are the primary source of web browsing. Therefore, it is essential for marketers to innovate in this area. Mobile wallets, loyalty cards and apps are all ways of increasing customer awareness and loyalty.
3. Integrating various data sources
When running various channels for a business through websites, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram it can be daunting seeing all of the data and how to act effectively on it. The likes of Google Adwords and Rivery.io are media insight tools most digital marketing firms will use or are partners with. For example, Glasgow based agency, Smarter Digital Marketing promote that they are a Google Adwords Partner. Companies similar to this are usually reliable and certified in Search & Display advertising.
4. Predictive Analytics
Previously, digital marketing firms would throw out a campaign and just wait and see if it were successful or not. Luckily now we have an in depth analysis of all the marketing efforts we make and this type of data is hugely beneficial in leading our future campaigns. For digital marketing firms it also provides good insight for our customers to see exactly how your efforts have benefitted their business.
5. Multi-channel Marketing
Your client’s consumers no longer just receive marketing messages through one platform. Users tend to switch between various devices. As marketers is best to use these data platforms to understand the consumer’s behaviour and which device they are more likely to use. Use this information to bridge the gap from one campaign to another to provide a consistent marketing experience.
It looks as though 2018 will be very interesting for digital marketing firms delivering excellent value to their clients and consumers.