2017 was an average year as far as innovation in digital marketing; while many bloggers touted that there were new marketing trends to expect in the previous year, none of the trends were actual “trends”.
Marketing automation seems to always be one of the “trends to look out for” over the years, yet bloggers can’t stop raving about it. At this point, it’s safe to assume that most companies are adopting automation and it’s no longer a trend.
In addition, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Marketing should not be considered “trends” either. There can be trends in those strategies, but marketers need to dive deeper in optimizing their digital campaigns.
Thus, this blog is devoted to identifying actual marketing trends for 2018, not rehashed ideas from years past. Mad Mind Studios continues to be a recognized think-tank as well as a digital marketing agency, and staying on top of trends is our duty.
Here are some marketing trends to expect in 2018:
Brand Stories Build Brand Loyalty
I’ve noticed in 2017 that some brands make their brand ethos well known and present in most of their marketing endeavors. For example, when making captions on Instagram or Facebook, the social media manager may mention a brief history of their company, their process of making a product, or their commitment to a non-profit or social/economic cause.
With so many micro-companies arising due to the ease of launching a company online and big companies joining forces, how do existing small businesses survive in this landscape? Brand loyalty will be the primary factor in 2018 to maintain customers and hopefully, those loyal customers will convert their friends and acquaintances into your customers as well.
Communicating a brand story isn’t an easy task and since a brand story can be told on literally every medium, marketers are faced with a challenge. Building brand loyalty through a good story will be the primary trend of 2018, and businesses that choose to not focus on their brand story may regret it.
Edgy Marketing Will Win
2018 will be the year of taking risks for many businesses looking to stay ahead of their competition. Mad Mind Studios predicts that businesses large and small will need to use guerilla marketing to maintain their footing in their industries.
Guerrilla marketing is more than finding an underground influencer to promote your product; it’s crafting a creative strategy using unconventional methods to gain a following. Guerilla marketing is perhaps one of the most difficult tactics for small businesses to pull off because of its unpredictability.
Businesses will generally use risky marketing tactics on social media by posting edgy content and captions in trying to captivate users. This will go along the lines of Paper Mag’s “Break The Internet” strategy using Kim Kardashian. We were surprised to not see more of that in 2017, but we expect 2018 to be the year of edgy content for digital marketing.
Live & Interactive Content Will Thrive
The phone application game HQ Trivia is currently taking the internet by storm from their live and interactive trivia game where users can win money. Essentially, this stems from Jeopardy, Wheel Of Fortune, and other game-shows that people watch on television. Humans want to be a part of the action, naturally.
Thus, we expect interactive content to be popular for content creators and businesses looking to expand their reach. Instagram Live and Facebook Live are already well established in the digital market, but Snapchat and other tech companies will surely follow suit.
Advertisers and marketers should not ignore live and interactive content in 2018. Influencers should be used to promote businesses on their live feeds and their should be some degree of interactivity placed as well.
Digital marketing in 2018 will definitely be interesting as marketers will try to be edgier and less conservative this year. We believe brand stories, taking risks, and live content will be the primary marketing trends of the new year and we expect companies in every industry to follow suit.
Have any marketing or branding related questions? Feel free to reach out to Mad Mind Studios at info@madmindstudios.com or 310.402.1613 for more information!