Every year that begins is marked by a series of marketing trends, which determine the paths to follow in order to achieve advertising and commercial success.
And 2018 is no exception! That is why today we are going to share with you the 9 most important marketing trends you must follow to reach your audience effectively in 2018. Take note!
1- Videos at the top of marketing strategy
Continuing with the previous years’ trend, videos are still the kings of social media marketing. For this reason, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Vine will invest this year in producing audiovisual content to increase engagement and add new followers. Here is why:
- 80% of global Internet traffic will be generated by videos in 2020.
- 90% of the content shared by users on social networks will be made up of videos.
- 87% of marketers will use videos in their campaigns.
- 95% of the messages this year will be audiovisual content, while only 10% will be text.
To take advantage of this trend to the maximum benefit of your business, we invite you to read our posts on how to post videos and succeed with your audience on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
2- Ephemeral content multiplies
Stories on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp Status are increasingly popular in Social Networks. These contents stand out for being ephemeral: they disappear after 24 hours from its publication (unless the user decides otherwise), and is characterized by being informal and showing everyday scenes.
In 2018 ephemeral content will increase its popularity thanks to:
- Its authenticity.
- The fear generated by users to “be out” of what happens at the moment.
- Its high power to create engagement.
- Its quality of being mobile friendly.
Take a look at our articles to create stories that your followers like and promote your business on Instagram and Facebook.
3- Live broadcasts will be hugely popular
As you may have noticed, it is increasingly common to see live videos on Social Networks. Since Snapchat launched that functionality in 2014, the trend grew to reach Facebook (2015), Twitter (2015), Tumblr (2016) and YouTube (2016).
For this reason, marketing trends related to live streaming indicate that:
- By 2021 live video transmissions will become an industry of more than 70 billion dollars.
- 80% of customers prefer to watch live videos of a brand before reading posts.
- Facebook live videos will be 3 times more viewed than normal videos.
Check our posts to learn how to broadcast videos on Facebook and Instagram successfully.
4- Chatbots are here to stay in 2018
Chatbots are a new and effective way to stay in touch with your audience. Specifically, it is about the possibility of automatically chatting with your customers and followers through Artificial Intelligence in Social Networks, to solve questions, share offers and even make sales.
- Each month there will be more than 12 thousand active chatbots in Facebook Messenger.
- 30% of our conversations via chat will be with chatbots.
- 80% of chatbots can be used efficiently to provide customer service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Learn how to create your own chatbot on Facebook with this step-by-step tutorial on our blog.
5- Augmented Reality takes the scene
Augmented reality mixes digital information with “real life” through mobile applications that overlap information in our day to day. From games like Pokémon Go to Snapchat filters, this marketing trend will grow noticeably in 2018.
- In 2013, the launch of Google Glass marked a turning point for augmented reality.
- In June 2016 Snapchat is presented as the first application that works with this technology.
- In July 2016 Pokémon Go appears, the first augmented reality game based on the specific location of each user.
- In April 2017 Facebook introduces effects for the camera developed specifically for augmented reality hardware.
- In December 2017 Snapchat launches a new augmented reality platform.
6- Investments in influencers continue to grow
The influencer marketing is probably one of the most effective ways to impact the consumption habits of your audience and reach them with your commercial messages. For this reason, this is one of the marketing trends of 2018 that will grow the most over the next few years.
- 94% of marketers who resorted to influencer marketing consider it an effective strategy.
- 49% of Twitter and Instagram users trust recommendations from influencers.
- Influencers multiply conversion rates by 10.
- The influencer marketing is the digital strategy that grows faster compared to the others, taking 22% of the analyzed total.
Take a look at the following article to learn how and why you should get a micro influencer for your local business.
7- Marketing points to Generation Z
Generation Z is made up of people who were born between 1995 and 2012. It is an extremely digital human collective, which constitutes a segment in itself. For this reason in 2018 its importance will continue to grow for digital marketing.
- 31% of promotional efforts on YouTube go to Generation Z.
- On Instagram, they represent 24%.
- On Snapchat, 14%.
- On Facebook, 11%.
- On Twitter, 5% of marketing efforts are for this segment, while on Pinterest, they represent only 2%.
8- Brands increase their presence in chat services
Due to their practicality and the closeness they provide when communicating with consumers, instant messaging services are gaining more and more place in the field of digital marketing. That is why they are included in the marketing trends of 2018:
- Facebook is the chat service most used by brands in 2018 worldwide, and it takes 23% of the total media analyzed.
- WhatsApp is the most used instant messaging service in mobile, with more than 1300 million users.
- In the second place is Facebook Messenger, with 1200 million users.
- In the third place stands WeChat, with 889 million users.
- The fourth place is for QQ, with 868 million users.
- The fifth place corresponds to Snapchat, with 255 million users.
9- The use of smartphones is on the rise
Finally, the use of smartphones is on the rise throughout the world, and the penetration of this technology seems to have no end. For this reason, marketers must consider this means to reach people because little by little it is becoming the most effective in terms of reach.
- In 2018 the world’s Smartphone users sum a total of 2480 million.
- It is expected that by 2019 the number of users will rise to 2,659 million.
- People spend 68% more time on the Facebook mobile application than on the desktop version.
- On Instagram, people spend 98% of the time on the app, compared to 2% for the computer version.
- The Twitter app occupies 86% of the time of use, while the desktop version takes only 14%.
- 92% of the time users spend on Pinterest takes place in the mobile app.
- In the case of YouTube, the use of the desktop version consumes 60% of the time allocated by users.
- LinkedIn for desktop is, along with YouTube, the other exception, since it occupies 74% of user time spent by users.
- Snapchat users use the app exclusively via Smartphone.
In conclusion, we can say that the marketing trends for 2018 are aimed to increase the scope of promotional communications taking advantage of new technologies (augmented reality, ephemeral content) and proven effective strategies (influencers, live streaming, and videos).
It will also increase the use of chat services (including the use of chatbots) and the creation of promotional content exclusively designed for mobile phones. Finally, Generation Z will continue to position itself as the new target to which Digital Marketing efforts will be directed.
That is all for today! To learn more about related topics, we recommend the following readings from our blog:
- 10 Predictions that will Change the Future of Social Networks in 2018
- 7 Mistakes you should avoid to make your brand grow on Instagram
- Facebook for local businesses: 4 essential practices to succeed in your city
Did you like this post? Which of the 2018 marketing trends have you found most interesting? Tell us your opinion! And please, remember to share this blog post with your contacts. Until next time!