Now that we have crossed into February and the confetti has settled from the start of another new year, it’s time to stop looking in the past and start looking to the future to see what 2018 has in store for content marketing. Every year MarketingProfs conducts a study in conjunction with the Content Marketing Institute and sponsored by Brightcove to determine what the projected trends are for 2018. We have read through this study and below is a breakdown of the most important (and interesting) of these projected trends:
Personalization Will Make Way For Individualization
Personalization is one of the critical components of marketing automation, and 2018 sees it evolving to include individualization. As algorithms evolve and become more sophisticated it opens up new possibilities for more insight to be gained concerning customer behavior. These insights help marketers to determine which courses of action will resonate with the buyer. Capabilities such as these make it possible for a customer to self-educate on a company’s products before they ever even talk to a salesperson. This in turn has increased the pressure on the marketing department’s need to deliver the right content at the right time.
So where does individualization come in? Another projected trend for 2018 is a rise in using artificial intelligence in marketing. AI excels in areas that humans do not, such as setting up the initial rules to maximize performance on complex tasks that are data-driven. Going a step further, AI is constantly evolving its actions, getting smarter and creating its own algorithms. AI will allow marketers to take personalization to the next level by increasing marketing automation’s ability to track buyer behaviors and machine-learning to identify optimal windows to then engage each individual.
Good Customer Service is More Important Than Ever Before
It goes without saying that to be successful in business your focus has to be on the customer. You may have a wonderful product or service, but it is your interactions with customers that determine your success. In the days before technology, this was done by providing excellent customer service, usually over the phone or in person to ensure that the customer had a positive sales experience. Enter the internet. While the internet has allowed commerce to spread to all corners of the globe, it has also made establishing customer relationships more of a challenge.
It is because of this digital shift that it is even more important to focus on creating and nurturing customer relationships. Most communication is done through email or social media, and finding ways to personalize these experiences is key. The internet may make it easier to attract clients, but the lack of face to face interaction makes it easier to lose them as well. As we continue on this digital path, it will become a necessity that companies examine every aspect of their operation involving the customer journey to ensure that it is a personalized and pleasant experience from start to finish.
Audience Building Will Retain Its Importance
As evidenced by the trends above, 2018 is projected to be a time of new and exciting innovations in marketing. The study also shows that in 2018 there will be a stronger focus on aspects of content marketing that marketers may already be familiar with. For example, Audience building is something that we have mentioned on the blog before and is a key feature of marketing automation. It is also a practice that is projected to increase when compared to last year as developing and segmenting an audience continues to be of importance when creating targeted content. Another familiar face is creativity in marketing. While creativity and marketing go hand in hand, the past couple of years have seen it take a backseat with the focus shifting to data and numbers but 2018 shows it back in the forefront, especially when it comes to creating and producing content.
2018 is a year projected to be filled with new ideas and innovations in marketing. If you are interested in adding some innovation to your current marketing campaign click on the banner below to schedule your free 30-minute consultation.
