In 2017 advertisers sunk into Snapchat, dipped their toes in augmented reality and had a taste of the power of content marketing. Facebook continued to be the biggest bugbear for advertisers and marketers alike. Their persistence to unleash more power in their advertising tools left millions feeling frustrated and lost in the minute by minute updates. Don’t get me started on the Business Manager blunder! Be that as it may, we’ve moved on to 2018 which promises more developments, opportunities and channels to advertise your brand. So, what are the top marketing trends for 2018? Here’s what we think…

Customer Experience

In 2018, marketers are seeking to step away from user experience (UX) and focus more on customer experience. Customer experience comes in many forms. From training your staff on how to manage customers to including chat-bots on your website. It’s all about the customer. Sometimes we forget that. We get swept up in keeping up with the trends and channels for advertising and loose grip on the fundamentals of great customer service.

Live-stream Video

The ‘now’ is so exciting! In a world where we’re obsessing about the past or stressing about the future the idea of celebrating, and being in the now has translated nicely in livestream video. It still seems almost magical to scroll through Facebook and come across a live event somewhere in the world where you can watch Adele or Michael Bublé performing somewhere in the world. Livestream video is going to continue to trend in 2018. Our advice – get onto it

Collecting Data

This is something businesses have either done for years or have been meaning to do. The ones who’ve been doing it for years typically don’t know what to do with the information they collect and the ones who have been meaning to miss out on thousands of dollars. Automated marketing is a massive untapped area of marketing. Keep an eye out for out next blog about this. But without data collection activities in place there’s no data base and therefore no potential customers to advertise to. Whether it’s a business card bowl, competitions or strategic lead capture ads online businesses need to start collecting data.

We’d love to hear from you! What do you think are going to be the biggest marketing trends in 2018?