Our Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends for 2018

Every year digital marketing trends shift. With the pace accelerating, marketers need to be informed, diligent and agile in their digital marketing strategies. Consumers are demanding a more seamless, integrated experience. With that in mind, here are the big shifts in digital marketing we’re tracking for 2018.1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will improve: From AI generated content to voice search to programmatic media buying and ad targeting, AI is shaking up the marketing industry. Check out Smart Insight’s fifteen artificial intelligence techniques that businesses of all sizes can implement. AI’s reach is broad and the application of it can touch all stages of the marketing funnel and customer journey.

2. Heavy investment in Influencer Marketing: According to Inc 5000, “brands are getting the beloved personalities and thought leaders of today's social platforms to tell their fans and followers what and when to buy. According to eConsultancy, almost 60% of fashion and beauty brands have an influencer marketing strategy in place, while a further 21% plan to invest in it over the next year.”3. LinkedIn Up and Twitter Down: “Twitter […]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. 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.” – Digital Marketing Institute

4. Chatbots are taking over: “Chatbots have been around for years, but they’ve seen bigtime AI improvements recently. More and more brands are working on using chatbots for customer support and perfecting their chatbot marketing strategy. Right now, chatbots are mostly used for customer service—61% of consumer-chatbot interactions are centered around customer service-related questions. The future of bots is looking bright, too, with an estimated 85% of customer interactions managed by chatbots by 2020.” - The Drum

5. Video: This isn’t an earth-shattering trend, but one that is worth mentioning. “In many surveys out there (like this one), consumers say they much prefer video over text. Video helps tell more compelling stories, gets your point across faster and can improve sales. Video on a landing page or sales page, for example, can help increase conversions by as much as 80%, according to research.” – Forbes

What trends are on your mind?