Technological advances, the development of new devices, and the changing behaviors of consumers mean that marketing best practices adapt accordingly, especially in the digital world. Most businesses these days want their marketing strategies to be comprised of a mixture of traditional and digital advertising, but it can be very tough to keep up with current trends.
With that in mind, here are a few of the most important marketing trends that you can incorporate into your business to make it more profitable and more attractive to prospective clients in the upcoming year.
Technological advances, the development of new devices, and the changing behaviors of consumers mean that marketing best practices adapt accordingly, especially in the digital world. Most businesses these days want their marketing strategies to be comprised of a mixture of traditional and digital advertising, but it can be very tough to keep up with current trends.
With that in mind, here are a few of the most important marketing trends that you can incorporate into your business to make it more profitable and more attractive to prospective clients in the upcoming year.
Artificial Intelligence
The growing powers and reach of artificial intelligence are perhaps the most exciting marketing trends for small businesses and large companies alike, and AI will only continue to grow in the coming years. There are a number of ways that AI is being incorporated into marketing techniques, including:
● Behavioral data collection
● Using behavioural data to drive predictive internet searches
● Trend identification
● Chatbots that engage and message with consumers
Marketing Automation
Another one of the enormous online marketing trends for small business in 2018 is the continuing demand for marketing automation. In a nutshell, marketing automation is software that allows you to automate certain marketing activities on behalf of your clients, including sending emails, composing and publishing social media posts, blog publishing, and website updating.
When these tasks are automated, clients don’t have to dedicate hours every day or week to mindless and repetitive technological chores, so they can spend more time focusing on other parts of their business.
Storytelling
"They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel."
As the digital world continues to expand and people view more and more content on a daily basis, it can be hard to make your content memorable to your audience. However, even if your audience can’t remember exactly what your brand has to offer them, people are more likely to engage with it if it makes them feel a certain way. More specifically, people will interact with businesses that have a cause, which can honestly market themselves as a brand that stands for something beyond just a product or a simple transaction.
People make decisions based on familiarity and how something makes them feel, and that’s why it’s so important – now more than ever – to tell the story for your brand and what it stands for.
Smart CRMs
Customer relationship management is an age-old practice, but like most things today it’s becoming more sophisticated as technologies arise that make relationships and interactions easier for you to analyze and manage.
As such, most businesses are wanting smarter CRMs, and that means automated data entry, a better understanding of key metrics, staff having access to customer information at their fingertips, and an overall better understanding of the needs, wants, and behaviors of consumers. Moreover, a smart CRM will compile data from all points of contact with your clients’ customers, including phone calls, emails, social media interactions, chats, and more.
Social Media - Influencers
One of the biggest social media marketing trends for small businesses right now is Facebook, because while the platform itself isn't new, businesses are finally catching on to what an amazing resource it is to connect them with their audience, gain exposure and increase their reach, and bring in more traffic to their websites.
However, the real trend to keep an eye on for 2018 is the role that influencers on social media channels like Instagram and Twitter will play in the digital marketing realm. The power of building partnerships with influencers is that they can essentially act as a member of your marketing strategy. Influencers can provide content about your business through their blogs, videos and social media posts, and already have a captive audience that they can market to.
Video Advertising
Video advertising is also an incredibly important tool right now because it’s so much more impactful than text or static images when it comes to converting web traffic. In particular, the biggest video-related digital marketing trend sweeping the internet right now is outstream video, which is an ad that can be played exterior to a video player. Ultimately, videos can help to engage your audience and increase the time they spend on your webpages, signaling to search engines like Google that your site has worthwhile content!
Agency Accelerator Program
Digital marketing trends come and go, but one thing is for sure: digital marketing is here to stay. And today’s businesses aren't just looking for traditional marketing strategies anymore, so staying competitive means staying on the cutting edge of digital marketing best practices and trends as well. WSI can be your partner in this and can help turn you into a full-service agency that offers clients a one-stop shop for a comprehensive marketing strategy.
