At first glance, technology and marketing seem like two completely different areas. In reality, they go hand in hand. As technology advances, it provides exciting new marketing opportunities, and businesses that don’t adapt will miss out.
Companies have taken notice, as the average business spending on marketing technology has surpassed the average spending for advertising.
To keep up with the competition, it’s essential to understand tech trends. Here are four that every marketing pro needs to know about for 2018.
1. Social Networks Becoming Platforms to Publish Content
Although social media networks are already a popular way to share content, many of them are also transitioning to a publishing platform model where users publish content on the network and businesses are taking notice. Facebook has its Instant Articles feature, and along with Instagram and Snapchat, it also offers live streaming videos.
Jason Berkowitz of Break the Web – Digital Marketing says, “In 2018, expect social networks to continue to push for original content. An effective social media marketing plan will need to include long-form content to promote maximum engagement.”
2. The Continued Growth of Online Videos
Online video consumption has exploded this decade, increasing tenfold in the five-year span from 2011 to 2016. Teenagers and young adults watch more videos online than they do through cable providers. On social media networks, live videos emerged in 2017 and have steadily grown more popular, in large part because viewers can connect more with the person taking the video.
It has always been important to provide a range of different content instead of sticking to just one format. With the popularity of online videos, a business that isn’t releasing videos will miss out on a large potential audience.
3. Customer Profiles for Greater Personalization
Many businesses, especially e-commerce sites, have been providing personalized recommendations to customers for years. But as analytics get more advanced, it becomes easier for businesses of any size to set up their own customer profiles and use these profiles for content and product suggestions.
Analytics are an important part of tracking your customers and seeing where you can improve your business to get better results. When you apply analytics towards customer profiles, it allows you to provide each customer with the best possible experience.
4. More Consumers Using Virtual Reality Technology
There have been ups and downs when it comes to virtual reality (VR) technology, but it grew rapidly in 2017 and experts believe that trend will continue. Since VR is so new, there’s an excellent opportunity to become an early adopter and get ahead of the game.
There are all kinds of companies releasing interactive VR videos, graphics, and applications. Facebook is getting on board with VR photos. It’s wise to focus on your visual content so that you’ll be ready as VR expands further.
For the best return on investment (ROI) with your marketing efforts, you can’t be complacent. Staying up to date on the key tech trends will help you continually adapt your approach. Keep the four trends above in mind to develop your marketing campaigns for 2018.
