If the end of 2017 was any indication, 2018 promises to be a year of significant innovation in the digital marketing field. Whenever technology makes leaps in its evolution, the digital marketing industry responds with new and more powerful ways to reach a target market. As 2018 gets underway, there are several different aspects of customer engagement that marketing professionals should consider as they develop plans for their clients.
We saw the beginnings of a trend in 2017 that used various tracking and marketing techniques to create advertising that was aimed at specific people instead of groups. In 2018, you can expect those methods to become more refined and effective as big data and artificial intelligence become more prominent in the marketing field. Artificial intelligence alone will become more refined and powerful enough to anticipate consumer needs and help create personalized experiences that will increase a client’s return on their marketing investment.
Could 2018 finally be the year that the digital marketing industry solves the mystery of mobile marketing? The screens on mobile devices are not getting any bigger, which means the challenges of putting marketing images on those screens that people will interact with are still there. Marketing experts need to consider ways of monetizing mobile marketing in 2018 or there could be a significant drop in marketing revenue in the coming years. More people access the Internet through their phones than a desktop or laptop, and that makes those small phone screens prime real estate.
The ultimate challenge in 2018 that digital marketing experts will have to consider is how to put marketing on wearable technology. The first question that needs to be answered is whether or not consumers want to see marketing on their mobile phone wristwatches or their health monitors. If they do, then how should that marketing be done? Wearable technology is a growing industry that can either enhance digital marketing, or frustrate marketing professionals even more.
The online presentation used by digital marketing experts for years has consisted primarily of text enhanced by images. That model started to change slightly a few years ago, and now there looks to be a total shift in 2018. Marketing professionals are starting to realize that consumers prefer to interact with colorful images and videos more than text, and that means that company branding could completely change to a more visual process.
It seems that every few years the rules used to design attractive and professional websites change and digital marketing experts have to keep up or their sites will not make the grade for search engine results. In 2018, concepts such as busy background images and less-defined website sections are going to get their chance to become full-blown trends. Marketing and design experts are going to have to consider the changing preferences of the Internet-using public if they want to get their client websites the right amount of attention.
The world of digital marketing has been evolving quickly, and it looks like there will be even more changes in 2018. Marketing experts will have to start changing their methods as the types of marketing elements they must consider in order to create a successful marketing campaign continue to change.
