A recent study reveals that only 1% of the 2,000 individuals said yes when asked if they want to know their future. 85%-90% of the participants wanted to avoid the agony of knowing what is ahead and simply wanted to live by the moment. In terms of life in general, this doesn’t come as a surprise.
But when it comes to knowing the future of businesses, I think we can get an astounding “Yes!” from entrepreneurs and marketers. Knowing what’s ahead allows the companies to allocate the right effort and budget to where it matters most.
Here’s a roundup of data-driven predictions from marketing experts you would want to know.
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Embrace artificial intelligence (AI).
Consumers know what they want, demands it whenever they need it and desires to be treated like VIPs. This seems all too challenging until AI happened.
According to the experts:
“AI in 2018 will be the key to personalisation and see marketing’s job change,” VRTY CEO, Kingston Lee-Young, says. “With AI at the forefront, marketers will be better able to understand the likes and dislikes of a customer, determine what specific branded content should be served to that consumer, and track all their interactions through the customer’s journey.”
“…artificial intelligence will become more ubiquitous, so marketers must gain first-hand knowledge on machine learning and marketing automation. Tools that allow access to voice-based marketing automation will be indispensable for all marketing specialists.” says Jana Garanko, Head of PR at SEMrush
“Simply put, AI will enable and empower marketers to do their best work yet,” Datorama APAC managing director, Mick O’Brien, says. “The value add comes from the ability of AI to elevate insights that were not previously known from within a department’s data assets, freeing up marketing teams to do what they’re best at and actually passionate about, so that better decisions can be made on both strategic and tactical levels,” he states.
Artificial intelligence is all about providing an efficient, personalized, and seamless consumer experience. Your target market knows what they want. Be that.
To learn more about artificial intelligence, check out How AI is Changing the Way We Live.
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Voice-A-Geddon is happening in 2018.
Voice marketing has started to gain momentum when voice-activated virtual assistants were launched in the market back in 2014. Now, voice search is reported to reign in 2018.
“With the rise of Amazon Echo and Google Home in consumers’ homes, voice search is becoming increasingly important,” says Ahmed Khalifa, the Founder & Director of IgniteRock.
Sophia Moule, the Head of Marketing of Pi Datametrics, shares the same belief. “Some of the biggest brands are waking up and realizing that as we begin to move towards voice, and move further away from the keyword game, the SERPs landscape and the content produced will change dramatically. Like with Mobile-Geddon, we will see a Voice-A-Geddon.”
Sophia also challenges brands to keep up and be ready to respond to this highly-anticipated trend.
Lastly, a new study by VoiceLabs via Mediapost clearly shows the ascent of voice search. “This year (2017), 25 million devices will be shipped, bringing the total number of voice-first devices to 33 million in circulation.”
To know more about voice marketing, check out The Growing Potential of Voice Search.
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Content remains to be the king, but only if you do videos.
When asked which marketing trend will be the most important to brands, unsurprisingly, highest votes went to Content Marketing.
Image from Smart Insights
Content marketing continues to dominate 2018 as it serves to be the fuel to all digital communications – may it be e-mail, search, or social. The key to winning content? Know what engages your consumers. And according to the experts, people are still going crazy on videos.
Here are several statements supporting this claim.
“Big shifts away from physical events. Big shifts to digital strategies. Bigger focus on content than ever before,” says Janis Fratamico, Vice President, Marketing Innovation, SAP North America
“In a world with countless videos – it’s important to get users to stop and watch. This means optimizing all videos so that they are easily accessible, high quality, and most importantly: mobile-responsive. Not only does this make it easier for folks to watch it on the go, but it incentivizes the platforms to prioritize your content.” – Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder and CEO of Mighteor
“Live video will continue its dominance. In fact, at an average of just 3 seconds per view, Facebook is generating over 3,000 years’ worth of watch time each day! In 2018, this trend will continue sprouting as more brands decide to dive in.” – Ryan Somers, Head of Digital Content & PR Director of Global Sponsorships, SAP
And for those who haven’t done videos, Facebook’s Creative Strategist Kat Hahn, has something to tell you. “Not doing short video is not an option. Brands who are not yet using video as part of their social media strategy need to start.”
2018 has a lot in store for us. Expect disruptions, disruptions, and disruptions.
As your brand continues to thrive and be ahead of the game, always keep your consumers at the center of it all. Because in spite all the advances, some things never change.
“Everything starts with the customer.”- June Martin.
Sources:
Chaffey, D. (2017, September 20) 10 Marketing Trends to Act on in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/10-marketing-trends/
Digital Marketing Trends for 2018: The Experts Weigh In Retrieved from http://ima314.com/2017/09/digital-marketing-trends-for-2018-the-experts-weigh-in/
Williams, A. (2017, December 18) Predictions: 8 digital marketing trends for 2018. Retrieved from, https://www.cmo.com.au/article/631150/predictions-8-digital-marketing-trends-2018/
Davis,B. ( 2017, December 08) SEO Trends in 2018: What do the experts predict? Retrieved from https://www.econsultancy.com/blog/69644-seo-trends-in-2018-what-do-the-experts-predict
Rettner, R. (2017, February 22) Want to Know the Future? Most People Don’t, Study Suggests. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/57939-knowing-future-psychology.html
