Marketing In 2018 Will Evolve
Every year the available marketing platforms seem to grow, change and evolve. Algorithms are updated constantly and even as a marketer it is often a seemingly full time job to stay on top of the changes. It is a given that Marketing in 2018 is only going to develop and change faster.
According to Search Engine Journal the biggest social media trends of 2017 included video, influencer marketing, and bots. Now it’s time to get ready for 2018, and clearly, those trends aren’t going away soon. According to Google, influencers are just as likely to drive buying decisions as our celebrities do.
So while video and influencer marketing will continue to be top social media trends, the basic tenets of marketing still don’t change. As a Business owner or Entrepreneur, you still need to:
- Know WHO your target market is
- Be CRYSTAL clear on your message
- Be able to SHARE your message precisely and succinctly
Most importantly with everything we do now online, the need to make authentic and emotional connections with your customers, on the technology or social platform they are on, is the CRUCIAL element.
Authentic and emotional connections with your customers or audience, is the CRUCIAL element. Click To TweetOffering value, building relevancy, and thinking about the new problems your customers will face is what will separate your business from everyone else over a longer period of time. So whether it is a blog post, email content, SEO or Social media you need to BE the most relevant answer and offer the best connection.
Ephemeral Marketing
Pretty much every marketer to date has agreed that Ephemeral marketing seems poised to have a huge year. What the??? I hear you ask? Ephemeral content is short-lived, and the longest it can last is 24 hours. After that, it disappears forever. Think Snap Chat, Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories – the considerable popularity it has received so far should at the very least get you THINKING about a content strategy for this Social media element.
In just a year, Instagram Stories are being used by 200 million people every month! The beauty of Instagram Stories is that it requires very little effort to create and the possibilities are endless. Hence, my suggestion to start leveraging this opportunity for greater social media success this year.
Instagram Stories are being used by 200 million people every month! Click To TweetLive Videos
Another social media trend that you must definitely leverage in 2018: live videos. According to some astonishing insights revealed by Facebook, people spend 3x more time watching live videos than pre-recorded ones. Not just that. The engagement on live videos is 10x more than that on normal pre-recorded videos.
Mari Smith confirmed that Facebook will appreciate and serve live stream videos that people consistently return to watch, and are published from the same creator/publisher week after week. In fact, 43 percent of people want to see more video content so why not do it from a business perspective.
People spend 3x more time watching live videos & engagement is 10x more than that on pre-recorded videos. Click To TweetOne-Minute Videos
Facebook is the Google of social, and their algorithm is constantly rewarding engagement. Using Facebook’s algorithm a three-second video view is counted as engagement that is all you need – 3 seconds.
According to Dennis Yu, CTO of BlitzMetrics – ONE-MINUTE VIDEOS are where is it at if you want to succeed in 2018 – not bots, tools, AI, or tricks. He has even given some tips on how you should be using your ONE-MINUTE VIDEOS:
- Post your one-minute videos natively (uploaded to Facebook) and enable captions. Trim these videos to get right to the point – no bumpers, since people bail immediately if they see them.
- Boost these posts for $1 a day for 7 days each. If you can get more than 50 percent of people who watch for 3 seconds to stay around to 10 seconds or get an average watch time above 15 seconds, add more money to that boost.
- Set up remarketing audiences against anyone who has engaged with your one-minute videos. Send them to your website, collect their emails, or do whatever is next in your customer sequence. Use your one-minute videos in sequence – pretend you’re Netflix and you have seasons and episodes with your videos.
- Get pro at understanding what videos are working against which audiences. Copy these sequences over to YouTube, Twitter, your website, LinkedIn, and wherever.
Instagram is part of Facebook – and they let you boost videos that are under one minute.
Online Reviews
There is going to be more focus on people leaving honest feedback online about products and experiences through places such as YouTube, Facebook, Google My Business and Yelp. You are ONLINE, unless you are doing a lot of live video, or even video in general, people don’t KNOW you. They will turn to what other people say about you online to start forming an opinion as to whether they will work with you or not.
As some of my clients have found out, it doesn’t matter how great you are there will be a time you will need to combat a negative and turning it into positive. Make it part of your online strategy, and start measuring them. Develop some protocols for all situations that may arise, think FAQs, common complaints, brand stance, advertising trolls, crisis management and general support.
Online reviews are essential your customer listens what other people say about you online! Click To Tweet
Having been bought by Microsoft in 2016, LinkedIn has entered the online turf war between Google, Facebook and Microsoft as a weird mix of business, culture, life insights and so much more.
It isn’t hampered by the limiting algorithms of other platforms. Anyone can publish content that can be seen by anyone else, which makes the platform more open source than any other which still requires following someone to see their content. As a result of this more open environment, there is more navigation for success. This is one platform I am personally focusing on in my marketing strategy.
Personal Branding
Enquiries for personal branding and event amplification services are on the rise as business owners realise that the more we operate ONLINE the more CONNECTION we need with who we deal with. In order to build up trust with your target audience, putting people at the heart of your marketing and PR across social media channels, really does increase engagement and build the relationships so essential for you to have a profitable business.
Consistency
It’s all about consistency with your social media actions in 2018. Find your sweet spot, both in the platform where your audience lives (marketing 101 – know your target market) and your topics of authority where you have a standout, unique perspective to stand on and build from (your creative niche), and then commit to an ongoing appearance.
Be creative with whatever you do, and commit to consistently showing up. It’ll make all the difference.
Be creative with whatever you do, and commit to consistently showing up. Click To TweetCommunity Building
On top of that, it’s important to build our own community. Your customers are dealing with content shock with more and more with millions of pieces of content being created daily. It is no longer enough to just post, create, and schedule. Business owners need to consistently work to build a strong tribe, not just pump out content and create, create, create.
By knowing your target market, knowing your core message, and consistently creating and engaging, you work toward building a tribe. Communities are powerful and worth their weight in gold for any brand.
Semantic SEO
Every year SEO gets more difficult, Google is constantly changing and more content is fighting for valuable real estate in the organic search results. Enter Semantic SEO which refers to a question or search phrase that produces meaningful results, even when the results don’t contain an exact match of the words or phrases used.
Google is very upfront about their move towards AI which means the search algorithm is becoming smart enough to interpret a searcher’s intent (and potentially context of their search) to deliver an answer to their question. Mobile is the driving force behind Semantic SEO. Google, Bing, and Yahoo all see the writing on the wall with mobile adoption and the slow death of the desktop PC.
Keywords may never die, but they’re going to have a lot of company when it comes to determining what your clients are searching for online and serving relevant search results. Not sure how? Start with the suggested searches offered up by Google
Google is racing towards AI so the search algorithm is becoming smart enough to interpret a searcher’s intent. Click To TweetFinal Words:
According to Lisa Buyer, CEO & Social PR Consultant:
- Creativity is the new productivity.
- Augmented Reality /Virtual Reality is the new social media.
- Instagram is the new Facebook.
- Facebook is the new TV.
- Medium is the new blog.
- Twitter is the new social movement.
- Emojis are the new universal language.
- AI is the new customer service.
- Talkwalker is the new Google Alert.
- Podcasts are the new radio.
- And we can’t forget…Meditation is the new Starbucks run (bring on the coffee!)
There is so much noise in social media today. Build relationships. Focus on your target market and communities, these are the tried and true ways earn success in social media.
If you are stuck or overwhelmed with planning for 2018, I have Marketing Planning & Strategy Sessions available over Zoom (better than Skype). Start 2018 with a Clear Action Plan, Digital Strategy Map & Checklists! You can check out the details here!
