We live in an era where technology advances by leaps and bounds, and the opulence of information is such that it has degenerated into the post-truth phenomenon.
Being up to date is not an easy task, but marketers must know how to adapt to these changes efficiently and quickly.
It is for this reason that we have condensed the digital marketing trends into a list that invites you to read them since these will be the great marketing guidelines in 2018.
1. Smartphones on top
According to a study published in eMarketer, online activity through smartphones will continue to increase, especially among the millennial generation. The research contemplates that 243 million users will begin to use mobile applications to enter social networks in 2018. While the phenomenon occurs on a global scale, the countries in which mobile activity will grow most rapidly next year are China, India, England, Indonesia, and Brazil. On the other hand, the global spread of economic smartphones is expected to trigger the figure in regions such as Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. These new users would shoot the figure to 86.7% of connections through mobile by 2021.
2. Neuromarketing
The study of the brain processes involved in consumer decision-making – called neuromarketing – is gaining more and more traction. The purpose of these studies is to facilitate and improve communication in the market and above all, to understand the consumer. As there are few companies that can afford a special team of neuroscientists or hire the services of a specialist in the field, it is essential to closely follow the studies published in the field. Digital magazines such as Merca2.0 and MarketingHuman are very useful to learn about the latest advances in neuromarketing and not be left behind in the race.
3. Google and Facebook: the kings of advertising
Although it seems impossible to achieve, the advertising revenues of Google and Facebook will continue to rise for a long time. According to a study by Top Thirty Global Media Owners, both brands have doubled their market share growing up to 528% in the last five years. When Strategy Analytics asked users what apps they would install on their mobiles, Google was catapulted into the top, followed by Facebook. The undisputed popularity of both corporations is the reason why they dominate 20% of the global advertising market.
4. Cross-platform management
According to a survey conducted by the Content Marketing Institute (2017), 35% of content marketing requires the adaptation of each piece in an ‘artisanal’ way, which involves large amounts of time and effort to adapt the message to each platform. More worrying is the fact that 3 out of 4 marketers say they fail to craft the pieces without vast human intervention. It is estimated that at least 71% of users who use the internet access social networks. However, users of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Instagram are not the same, something that makes it difficult for brands to arrive with the right message for each segment of users. In this context, cross-platform tools such as the solution for the automation of processes are outlined. Hootsuit, Buffer, Tiempy, Kuku, Sprout Social and even the development of exclusive platforms will be indispensable when it comes to connecting different messages for each social network in a congruent way.
5. The battle against ad-blockers continues
Around 8 out of 10 users consider that their online experience is affected by the presence of advertisements. This explains why 32% of browsers have installed the dreaded ad-blockers, a figure that is inversely proportional to the generational segment of the user, that is, millennials are more prone to their implementation. Faced with the rejection caused by traditional advertising, brands must think of less invasive formats when communicating their message. In this context, content marketing, branded content development, native advertising, and sponsored content will be crucial to the development of an intelligent marketing strategy. It will also be essential to plan offline actions that generate impact such as interactive messages in strategic points of sale.
6. The video-content rise
The prediction is that the demand for video on Internet will reach a peak of 28.8 minutes through smartphones and 18.6 minutes on desktop PCs. Survey data conducted by Ampere Analysis revealed that approximately one-third of users use the internet to watch videos daily.
This data has not gone unnoticed by marketing strategists who are expected to invest 31% of the global budget in online video advertising by 2019. On the other hand, the main social platforms have focused their efforts on developing video content. This change of approach has been beneficial when it comes to retaining users, who begin to turn to social networks to consume multimedia content.
7. Artificial Intelligence on everyone’s lips
Chatbots and virtual assistants are allowing new ways of interaction with users. Currently, both forms of AI are being used in the field of customer service and Facebook has implemented them in its Messenger messaging system. According to a survey conducted by Retail, 3 out of 5 millennials have used chatbots at some point, and most of those who have not are interested in doing so. In addition, the artificial intelligence used in messaging applications – such as chatbots – attacks 71% of younger users, who are even predisposed to make their purchases through them.
8. Internet of Things
In the latest State Marketing report, it was announced that 67% of marketers have begun to collect data obtained through everyday objects connected to the internet. This network of objects has been called IoT (Internet of Things) and has even been proclaimed as «the next industrial revolution». Due to the impact generated by the implementation of the IoT, a world of possibilities opens up that will fluctuate from wearables, through smart homes to the design of highly efficient futuristic cities. Its standardization will not only have an inordinate impact on the social field but will also result in a practically infinite database that will allow marketing solutions to be created quickly and efficiently. According to Cisco Systems, 58% of senior executives consider IoT to be a strategic factor for business, and 95% plan to implement it within a maximum period of 3 years.
9. Data-driven campaigns
The large number of devices connected to the internet described in the previous point will lead to the data-driven phenomenon. Each user’s action will be a valuable source of insights and it will be the companies that know how to manage this inexhaustible database that will lead in the market. Traditional market research has become obsolete in the face of a large amount of data available. Therefore, the analysis of Big Data is an indisputable weapon for decision-making in all areas of marketing.
10. Proximity Marketing
The trend towards the implementation of actions based on the «here and now» in which the user receives an opportune message in the right place and time will maintain an accelerated evolution in the next 4 to 5 years. The interaction between the customer and the campaign is a fundamental pillar of advertising marketing for which it uses tools such as QR code, Bluetooth, geolocation, or wifi. According to Salesforce’s annual report, 58% of the marketing teams that are at the top are generating cross-cutting initiatives of this type by collaborating with other business units.
