5 Marketing Trends To Watch For In 2018

It’s amazing how quickly 2017 has flown by and we are already looking into marketing trends for 2018. There will be a lot of talk about new technology, new sites to check out and other trends. However, the real traffic will be found on familiar platforms, using new tools to maximize opportunity. As you re-evaluate what worked and what didn’t, it’s time to put together a new strategy that will get results.

While many of these trends are not new, they certainly will be getting a lot of attention in 2018 for different reasons.

1. Directories: These sites dominate the web now including Google searches. Millions of people rely on these sites to find their next doctor, mechanic, restaurant or other service. As the field becomes more and more competitive, look for small businesses to give in and put themselves on these sites to try and compete with bigger competition.
2. Mobile platforms: Again, mobile marketing trends are nothing new but they will be taken to the next level in 2018. You will see the average person spend 5-7 hours a day on their phones between apps, search engines, entertainment, social media, finance and more. Companies will be investing heavily into these areas as computers become less relevant.
3. Live interaction: For the past few years the focus has been on creating video content. Google, social media and everywhere else have all fallen in love with video because it commands more attention and engagement from the viewer than any other form of content. However, live interaction including streaming is going to be the next big thing in this area. People want to see stuff as it happens and Facebook, Instagram and Twitter now allow for it to be filmed and shared effortlessly.
4. Email marketing: Its baaaack! 2017 saw the return of email marketing. Companies struggling to keep up with the increased cost for SEM and social boosting found a cost-effective solution by going back to email. It allows you to reach millions of consumers, in a short period of time and you can reach them directly on their phones.
5. Customer profiling: Whether its social media, SEM, SEO, email marketing or anything else, it doesn’t matter how many people see it, what matters is which people see it. The better you target your audience, the higher your conversion rate will be. New customer profiling resources allow you to analyze your data and find out exactly who your customers are and who to target to.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the big sites like Facebook and Google. They will be updating policies and changing things around. These changes may or may not benefit your company but being prepared for them is going to help your campaign.