Every year brings about new trends and 2018 is no different. Technological advancements and the growing minds of marketers continue to work together to develop the best digital marketing strategies for businesses. Here are some of the top digital marketing trends of 2018:
An Increase in Video Content:
Let’s be honest, most people would rather watch a video than sit through a lecture or read an article. Mobile phones have become so relevant in the past couple of years, making it extremely important for companies to focus on producing video content to market themselves. TJ Kiely of THE DRUM provided some incredible statistics in relation to video marketing. On average, YouTube viewers watch a billion hours of video each day, Facebook user’s consume over 8 billion views a day and 82% of Twitter’s users view video content on their platform. These statistics do not come much to my surprise because I in fact use all of these platforms every day, viewing numerous amounts of videos. As time has gone on, I have noticed more and more marketing done on these sites, whether it is an ad before a video or even a marketing video standing on its own within my timeline.
Creative minds and brilliant developers have raised the bar when it comes to the level of sophistication in their videos. There are a variety of types of videos produced out there ranging from animation to short documentaries. As long as the brand is marketed correctly, you can never go wrong with a little video content.
The Impact of Influencers:
The younger generation continues to combine their social media attachment with their growing admiration towards influencers throughout the world. YouTube is one of the most popular platforms to link brands to influencers. Many Youtubers have an incredible relationship with their subscribers of their videos. With that being said, subscribers or “fans” tend to support everything that is advertised to them through by an influencer they admire. This gives companies a great incentive to pursue a relationship with these online influencers. It is a win-win situation for both the influencer and company. In this case, the Youtuber continues to attain views on their videos while getting additionally compensated for the deal. The companies themselves benefit greatly from this brand deal.
There is also a negative side to this for companies. If an influencer expresses having a bad experience with a product or service, this can really hurt a company. When singer, Rihanna criticized Snapchat, its stocks went down about 4.7%, according to Forbes. Madeline Berg of Forbes added that this also caused CEO, Evan Spiegel’s net worth to decrease by $150 million. Now this is on a much larger scale than most businesses, but nonetheless, influencers can really have an effect, both positive and negative on a company.
Using Social Media as a Customer Service Outlet:
I myself have used platforms like Twitter to quickly contact a company for customer service and this trend is becoming more popular than ever lately. With the increasing lack of face-to-face interaction, this trend is no surprise. Companies have started to open their messages to followers, allowing people to ask questions as if they were calling up or asking for help in person. Some companies like Spotify, have ever created a separate social media account just for customer service.
From my experience, the response rate is extremely quick. In the world today, people love speed, so rather than sitting on hold waiting for someone to answer your question, this outlet is a lot quicker and more efficient. Having a quick and efficient customer service contributes immensely to a company’s reputation and only helps them successfully market their company.
For those who maybe have a difficult time conversing in person or on the phone, this has become an incredible form of communication. For the older generation who do not necessarily have social media accounts, this form of communication does not really phase them at all. Could this become the main and only customer service outlet in the future? Only time will tell.
Mobile Marketing:
With the amount of time spent on social media, it seems odd to not at least consider mobile marketing. You are literally putting your marketing plan into the hands of consumers. Creating a marketing campaign that will ultimately lead to buying the service or product online is becoming increasing popular and beneficial to companies. It is vital to have a mobile-friendly site that you can market through. Whether you are large or small company, mobile marketing is the way to go.
