The ever-changing online and social media landscape has resulted in massive, observable changes in the way organizations approach marketing. This makes sense because as various organizations are looking for ways to improve their brand push for better customer engagement; their competitors are also trying their best not to lag behind.
Online marketing is an online strategy that has benefited from the ubiquity of the internet and smart devices today. It is just not enough for you to use online marketing and then sit back hoping everything will be fine. You have to keep on refining your strategy by using information on the latest market trends. Let’s take a look at some of the online marketing trends in 2018.
Content Marketing
The importance of content marketing in the digital space has remained constant over the years. A 2018 report by Marketing Profs and Content Marketing Institute stated that about 89 percent of business markets used content marketing in the year 2017 and about 63 percent are wholly committed to it. Without content in your marketing campaigns, there is little success to be had because buyers now focus on contents more than ever before.
Live Video Streaming
Smart businesses have only just recently started taking advantage of the interest video contents attract. According to Livestream, about 80 percent of people would prefer to watch a live video from a brand than spend time reading a blog from that brand. The advent of multiple social media platforms like YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, and so on has also made it easy for businesses to livestream themselves to their audience. Live video streaming has a lot of potential in marketing, and you should definitely consider incorporating the strategy.
Customer Experience
A customer that gets an unforgettable experience will come back for more. This is the idea behind businesses emphasizing customer experience. According to Clarabridge, about 45 percent of customers will pay more money to get better customer service, while about 42 percent will make more purchases after getting a good customer experience after buying one good. It is therefore evident that you need to invest in customer service.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly gaining relevance in every industry. AI is predicted to influence digital marketing than any other thing. With AI, marketers are expected to be able to personalize contents for their users. There are also chat tools that are AI-based and give marketers enough information to address the needs of their customers. AIs also help in processing large data, which is becoming more common these days, so you should consider incorporating AI into your marketing strategy.
Influencer Marketing
Recommendations from influencers have been known to affect people’s decisions on purchasing a product. For example, you are more likely to buy a product if someone you admire or trust is advocating for the product. Social media platforms also make it easy for these influencers to do their jobs. Marketing your products through influencers on various platforms is also an excellent marketing strategy.
Conclusion
It is essential that you keep track of the current trends in online marketing if you want to remain relevant and compete well with the competition. The five trends in 2018 highlighted here will help you in making better marketing decisions.