With the new year around the corner, it seemed like a good time to dust off the crystal ball and see if we can predict what trends will dominate the market in the coming year. Obviously, thanks to ever changing social buzzes and inevitable algorithm updates we can only postulate what might come in 2018, but it’s still fun to try.
Intent > Keyword
The mighty Google algorithm still has a long way to go before it can truly understand what the user is looking for, but it’s getting really close. Alongside algorithm changes, users are changing the way they search as well. Google has become the magic genie that can answer any question under the sun.
More questions are being searched, and less “keyword+city,state.” This fact has to be considered when optimizing a site and creating content.
Press Play
Video, especially in ads, will continue its ascent to the top next year. Why read when you can watch? Consumers love to watch, share, and engage with high quality videos. With more and more platforms allowing video ads, the market will only continue to rapidly expand.
Cross Channel
If you took Intro to Marketing freshmen year, you’ve probably heard multi-channel marketing. That old concept has now been adapted to fit the digital world, giving birth to cross-channel marketing. The differences are subtle, but important. Multi-channel involves promoting your message across multiple channels (a complex concept, I know). Cross-channel involves leveraging the trackability of digital media to send a consistent and targeted message to potential clients.
Running retargeting campaigns is a great example of cross-channel. If a consumer visits your site and chooses not to buy, you can track their IP and send them ads that remind them of that product they were looking at.
The World’s Gone Mobile!
This trend started a long time ago, but it’s only going to keep going and going. Every piece of digital marketing the public might see needs to look good on a palm sized screen. Back in 2015 mobile searches trumped desktop searches, and as a result Google has started indexing mobile content first.
It’s Getting Expensive
Digital media always has, and most likely always will be, cheaper than traditional media buys. However, the secret is out and now everyone from small businesses to massive corporations are spending money on digital ads. This increase in competition has steadily raised the price of digital marketing. Businesses need to be ready to increase their digital marketing budgets to keep up with the competition.
