4 Tips to get your Marketing on Track 2018

Staying ahead of marketing trends and mastering new techniques and technologies is a never-ending challenge for all of us. With so many options to engage followers, it can be overwhelming. Here are 4 trends to keep an eye on in 2018 that you can implement into your marketing strategy.

1. Ephemeral Content

We’re all used to providing evergreen content – long-lasting content that can be repurposed for years to come. Sure, that always comes in handy, but with all the new social media stories, from Facebook to Twitter to Snapchat, there is now a demand for temporary content. The time-sensitive component makes it exciting and if done correctly, it can help you engage with your followers even more than ever before! Millennials are savvy with this new technology and they expect the brands they like to follow their footsteps. Using this kind of temporary content to highlight the human side of your brand is a great way to connect through social media and show off why your company is special.

2. Videos

Video was already gaining in popularity throughout 2017, but heading into 2018 we now have even more stats to back up the effectiveness of this type of content.

• 500 million hours of video content watched on YouTube per day
• Facebook videos get 135% more organic views than photos
• Video will represent up to 82% of all IP traffic by 2021

(statistics from business insider)

Videos don’t have to be hard. In fact, videos 2 minutes or less get the most engagement. No one wants to sit there and watch an hour video about what your company does. Hone in on the important points and make it into a visually appealing video.

3. Live Streams

Similar to video content is live streaming. This type of content became wildly popular in 2017, with brands and influencers utilizing it across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Live streams are highly interactive and there are endless ways to use these tools. Here are just a few examples:

• behind the scenes of an event
• question and answer sessions
• tutorials
• sneak peeks of upcoming products or projects

The great part about live streams is that this content can last, especially if it’s successful.

4. Artificial Intelligence 

Current AI is incredibly valuable, with “features such as chatbots, data analysis algorithms, and personalized recommendation systems [to] automatically direct audiences to content that’s relevant to their interests and circumstances.”

The one I like to use is Atomic Reach which gives me recommendations on type and level of language to use, when to post to social media for best engagement, how long my blog posts should be, and more. Embrace this useful technology, but never forget to use AI tools wisely—make sure to keep the human element in the equation. No matter how advanced the technology gets, creativity, empathy, tone, and interpretation are still something only humans can do.