The year 2018 is just a few days away, and most people are currently trying to deal with the holiday madness that’s going on during this part of the year. However, marketers aren’t regular people. Most of them are currently working hard on their marketing strategies for the next year.
If you’ve been too busy with the holidays, don’t worry, it’s never too late to devise a plan for next year’s big marketing trends. In order to help you outline a perfect strategy for 2018, let’s look at some of the trends you need to watch out for in the next year.
The divide between the US and EU marketers
Companies that are marketing both in the United States and Europe will now have to approach these markets differently simply because their regulatory stances differ in more than a few ways.
In less than six months, GDPR will take effect and it will have a huge impact on the way people collect user-data in Europe. On the other hand, America has practically opened the floodgates on data.
Platforms and ad-tech companies will also have to adapt to two specific environments. For instance, the EU Commission has recently fined Google $2.7 billion for favoring its own shopping engine. The search engine giant is also facing two antitrust charges in Europe.
The rise of Internet Service Providers
The European Commission isn’t even Google’s biggest problem at the moment. Internet Service Providers like AT&T and Verizon also present huge threats. The latter is probably best position to take advantage of the new Net neutrality regulations you’ve been hearing so much about.
Although similar privacy standards apply to ISPs like they do for Facebook and Google, ISP’s all around the United States now have the freedom to take, sell and handle user-data basically any way they want.
And the amount of data ISPs have about their users is huge – they have everything from geological and browsing data to listening and watching data. While this may be a dream come true for some brands, it’s practically a nightmare for privacy-minded consumers.
The uproar of influencer marketing
Influencer marketing has seen a big increase in popularity in the past few years, and from what it seems, things are going to remain the same in the next 12 months. Moreover, different types of companies and brands are starting to notice the potential of influencer marketing.
As Inc.com reports, almost 85% of marketers executed at least one influencer marketing campaign in 2017. What’s more, on average, companies make $6.5 for every dollar invested in influencer marketing.
In the past, clothing brands had a great success with both micro and macro influencers, but now, companies like Amazon are trying to get in on the action. The company recently added a self-service tool for influencers that gives them an opportunity to show their followers the products they shop and recommend.
The bypassing adblock technology
Adblock technology is nothing new. As a matter of fact, people have been using it for almost two decades at this point. At the moment, around 44 million people in the US are using adblock tools, but according to Optimal.com, the number is expected to grow to 100 million by the end of the decade.
This increase in usage will add up to around $12 billion loss in ad revenue. What’s worse, Google is currently working on a tool that will mute all of those auto-play videos on YouTube. While this is great news for users, it’s not so good for advertisers.
This will mainly affect larger brands, but small companies that depend on paid ads will definitely take a hit as well. In order to combat this, it would be wise to have a digital agency ready on deck to help you out with setting up campaigns.
The blend of AI and behavioral marketing
Marketing platforms have been collecting information like browsing patterns, content preferences, and search history throughout 2017. Now they have to utilize all of these data.
As Adobe predicts, in 2018, machines are going to start making marketing decisions. The software will analyze data to start and stop marketing campaigns across a number of channels. Customers are more loyal when they see customized marketing content, and these AI advancements will allow marketers to cater to their customers at a personal level.
Consequently, marketers will be able to connect with their prospects and existing customers on a deeper level, and of course, boost their efforts in the process.
The bottom line
Of course, some of these trends won’t actually come to fruition in 2018. To be frank, some of them won’t come to fruition at all. Their success heavily depends on things like new technologies and platform improvements. However, most of these predictions will probably come to pass and if you want to keep up with your competitors, you have to be aware of every possible trend.
Author Bio:
Oscar Waterworth – a digital nomad, writer and senior editor at Technivorz. By working with product development teams for nearly a decade now, he has gained a great deal of insight on remote team management and project operations in the startup sphere.