2018 Digital Marketing Statistics and Trends

Expected Marketing Trends for 2018

In the overwhelming age of the internet, it can be difficult to break through the noise with your marketing content. With easily accessible content coming at consumers from every angle, it’s important to keep abreast of the latest developments and trends in the marketplace. If your marketing is outdated, it’s an easy jump to think that you will be losing a lot of potential traffic and sales. So, take a peak with us into the trends we are seeing heading into 2018 and we’ll help you implement those into your day-to-day marketing plan.

Generation Z as the New Frontier of Marketing

As a broad generalization, Generation Z is difficult to impress. But, by 2020 they are expected to be 40% of all consumers. Born after 1996, this generation has never been alive without internet. They have short attention spans (researchers say 6-8 seconds) but once they are in, they are in. In short, this is a generation unlike any other that marketers have attempted to reach.

Companies winning with Generation Z are those that communicate with them, not at them. Netflix, Wendy’s and Taco Bell are great examples of companies using communication to win with Generation Z via Twitter.

Generation Z is on social media up to 10 hours each day, chatting, sharing, and consuming content. For them, it’s not entertainment, it’s a lifestyle. This generation tends to utilize each social media platform in a different way, and marketers need to respond by reaching the newest Americans in very targeted ways on each platform.

Video Marketing Trends For 2018

We’ve accepted now that video is leading the way in marketing trends for 2018. It had a major impact in 2017 and will only continue to grow. Companies are jumping headfirst into the video marketing bandwagon, with many starting their own internal film teams. Here are some interesting video stats for 2018:

• By 2019, global consumer Internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic (SmallBizTrends)
• 90% of consumers say that product videos are helpful in their decision making process (Vidyard)
• 56% of videos are under 2 minutes long. (Vidyard)
• Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined (SmallBizTrends)

Live Video

Live video isn’t new, but it exploded (particularly on Facebook) in 2017 and will continue to grow in 2018. According to Cisco, live Internet video will account for 13 percent of total video traffic over the next four years. Companies are introducing live “how to” videos to create trust and a connection with their customers.

Some examples of Brands Using Live Video For Marketing:

• Reverend Guitars (Facebook Live) – Once a week Reverend guitar gets between 2.5k and 3k views when they feature one of their guitars and answer customer questions. It’s a great way to keep the line of communication open.
• J Crew (Instagram Live) – This company very effectively uses Instagram live to share news and sales with their customers. Staying at the top of customer feeds keeps them at the forefront of marketing trends and minds.
• Starbucks (Live Events)- Starbucks garnered 2.2million views when they live streamed an artist creating a mural and using customer suggestions to create art.

The Trend Toward Less but Better

The internet is a busy place. There is a lot of chaos and noise. Content and information come at users from all angles. Ad blockers have become a huge trend with 600 million consumers downloading apps. For 2018 the marketing trend will be toward simplicity and straightforward communication. Graphic design is more sleek and less cluttered with text. There is less content thrown at the wall by marketing companies, and what exists is original and better. The easiest way to garner clicks is by making an impact quickly with focused and quality content.

The Rising Demand for Authenticity Based Marketing.

With easy access to information and news, companies are being held to a higher standard of values. Uber and Pepsi are good examples of companies that have been marred by choices they made in 2017. Marketers should approach potential customers where they are. Marketing should be calm, open and honest, while still maintaining the established brand.

Some might recall the disaster when Radio Shack, trying to remain relevant, ditched “radio” and tried to rebrand to “The Shack.” Consumers are too savvy to accept cheap attempts to garner their affection. Stay authentic, don’t panic, be deliberate. These are all marketing trends that will be emphasized in 2018

Consumers are also increasingly more drawn to socially conscious companies (look at Tom’s shoes). In 2015 it was discovered that nearly two out of three global consumers are willing to spend more on sustainable products. Opening a communication with the consumer, and making a connection in a meaningful way is a great way to focus your marketing and business.

The Marriage of Social Consciousness and Business:

• Toms shoes – For each pair of shoes purchased, one pair is donated to a person in need.
• Elephant Pants – The company employs people in Chiang Mai, Thailand at twice the minimum wage and donates $1 of each sale to organizations that help make the world a safer place for elephants.
• Out of Africa A company that produces natural shea butter skin care products and donates a portion of all sales to West Africa education and women’s cooperatives.

Blurring the Lines Between Public Relations and Digital Marketing

Outreach and links are arguably the most important aspects of digital marketing. Links lead to more exposure and better search engine ranking. The better the websites are that are linking to your content, the better your content does.

Google has also shut down links gained through more sketchy means, which means that every link needs to be high quality and authentic. This means that content needs to be high quality to authentic to earn those links.

And this is where the lines between PR agent and digital marketer start to blur. One of the main purposes of a public relations team is to get the word out about content, to perform outreach, and to gain links from major publications and websites. One of the main tasks of a digital marketer is outreach, link building, and creating content that earns links from quality publications. The responsibilities of the qualified digital marketing expert are growing exponentially every year. They must be knowledgeable in content creation, social media, and Public Relations.

While PR agencies and marketing agencies still exist apart from each other, it’s possible that over the next few years they will begin to merge into one.

The Rise of Artificial Intelligence and its Impact on the Future of Digital Marketing

It’s expected that there will be 67 million voice-activated assistants in homes by 2019. Comscore data suggests that by 2020 50% of marketing will be via voice tech. Companies are asking what they can do to prepare. Businesses that have been satisfied showing up in the top five items on Google, are starting to realize that they may need to fight for one of the top two spots, or risk not being heard at all. The difficult avenue for marketers will be finding a way to integrate their brand on to these devices, without upsetting the user experience.

Voice search also changed up how digital marketers and SEO professionals approached search. There is a lot more focus on more natural speech patterns and full questions, while still targeting the more cryptic keywords and phrases.

The Pros and Cons of the Chatbot

Chatbots are already in use across e-commerce websites on the internet. They are a great way to bridge the gap between customer and company. This is a trend that is expected to grow and evolve in 2018. Artificial intelligence systems aren’t perfect yet. They don’t have the intelligence, communication, and information to replace real customer service agents (yet). But, they can streamline the process, assist agents by gathering and providing information, and creating a direct line of communication between consumer and company.

And while they may replace some customer service agents, there will be the need for new job creation: folks who can oversee chatbot communication and continue to hone and personalize it.

Chatbot Trivia: In 2017 two Facebook chatbots in development created a secret language, something human children often do. This behavior was stopped by developers because it wasn’t the initial intention of the bots.

Going back to the basics – in Person, Face-to-Face Connections

Face to face (F2F) marketing will always be relevant, even in 2018. While digital tech has drastically changed the face of marketing in the last ten years, real, in person connection, cannot be replaced completely. The internet continues to make the world smaller, but also less personal. Marketing content can reach thousands or millions at a time, but sometimes a single, face to face meeting can make an important impact as well.

Here Are Some Great Ways to Meet Potential Customers Face to Face

• Events – parties, or networking events can be a great way to make in person connections and sales.
• Conventions – targeted conventions, where folks are already excited to check out areas similar to what you’re selling are a great place to network.
• Talks – Finding local talks that deal with your area of expertise are a great place to find others who have interest in what you’re marketing.
• Meetings – planning in person meet and greets with potential customers are a great way to cement sales. Sometimes it takes a handshake to break through all of the noise and chaos of the advertising world.

Morality: the New Wave of Marketing

2017 brought with it the biggest wave of internet polarization we’ve ever seen before. In the past, taking a political stand as a company wouldn’t even have been considered. With the high profile media circus that was the 2017 elections, it became much more common, even expected in some spheres, for companies to join the discussion. Headlines were dominated by companies that were targeted or praised by all sides of the political spectrum. Here are some of the most famous examples from 2017:

Starbucks – Pledged to Hire 10,000 refugees in five years: While it’s difficult to say whether this helped or hurt their brand (Starbucks says “not”), it definitely kept the company relevant and in the newspapers throughout January and February of 2017.

Uber/Lyft–  Uber and Lyft were fighting it out in the media this year with each making their different values clear. Uber made many marketing missteps this year and Lyft emerged the clear winning. Moving into 2018, Lyft is expected to have one third of the U.S. ride hailing marketing share.
Almost every tech company – Facebook, Google, Netflix, and the Internet Association all publicly spoke out against the FCC plans to roll back Net Neutrality.

Regardless of the marketing pros and cons, it has become much more common, almost expected, to see companies taking a stand and joining the political discussion. We expect to see even more of this in 2018.

Marketing Your Company in 2018

In our digital age, everything changes so quickly. While these are the marketing trends we expect to see in 2018, it’s impossible to predict everything that will have an impact. We’re eager to see what happens and we hope you are too!

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