What will be the Next Big Trend in Digital Marketing – a Discussion

 Shaping up to be another record-setting year in business and marketing, 2018 is proving to deliver some unique trends in marketing. According to many experts, there is as much as eight unique trends each competing to overtake marketing in 2018.

As we look ahead towards the rest of the year, we hope to be on the cutting edge of what works – as would most companies in our shoes. For the clients we are currently working with and to the partnerships we will form in the future, these are just some of the big marketing trends we are paying attention to in 2018.

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a unique approach used in business marketing wherein an organization will communicate with prospects and/or customer accounts as markets of one. Account-based marketing has shown promising results in the business-to-business marketing community and is a trend that we are keeping our eyes on.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are a digitization that is happening of the real world. Transcending the division that exists between the digital and the non-digital, more apps and sites are using predominantly AR to create more immersive user experiences. In return, audiences appear to be flocking in droves to take part in these experiences. Now, whether VR or AR converts to sales is another story however this is an area we are keeping tabs on.

Blockchain technology is a growing collection of records which are kept under cryptography. Blockchain will not necessarily affect web design and marketing in 2018 however we have our eye on it for the future. As the next generation of internet-friendly tech is ushered in, in all likelihood, blockchain is going to play a role.

IoT marketing applications also is on tap to continue to grow in 2018. IoT is short for ‘Internet of Things’, which explains the connectivity of the internet and its expansion towards including everyday objects. The more places where the internet can be embedded, the more opportunity there is to grow brands.

Next is mobile optimization which was the biggest trend of 2017. Every website should be optimized to be viewable and adaptable to smartphones, tablets, and other mobile screens. A site that has not undergone mobile optimization is going to not only miss out on consumers searching on mobile applications but a site with no mobile optimization will drop down the Google search engine rankings very fast.

This year’s biggest trend may be on track to be voice search. The number of devices allowing consumers to search by voice has grown tremendously. This past Christmas and holiday season, voice search devices were a huge hit among households in Canada and the United States. This year, it’s on track to continue taking over the marketplace.

There are many experts who believe the biggest trend in marketing in 2018 will either be artificial intelligence (AI) and/or consumer personalization. As AI technology continues to run into snags and issues, it is debatable whether enough of these apps will be able to work out the kinks before end of year. In the meantime, consumer personalization has become a necessity to brands. Marketing materials that fail to employ consumer personalization might see themselves wasting valuable dollars on campaigns with limited results.

Any of these trends could be the next big thing in marketing for 2018. As the year progresses, we will have our eyes on each of these!