With the need to become more visible and reach more customers it is important to keep up with the latest trends. See the top digital marketing trends for 2018 here:
The Rise of Video
Social media users are flocking to YouTube, Instagram Stories, Snap Chat, Facebook Live Streaming and much more. It is inevitable that video marketing is the way of the future.
According to the news by HubSpot:
- video is on the rise. 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.
- 90% of customers report that videos help them make purchase decisions
- 64% of customers are likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it.
- 59% of company decision makers would rather watch a video than reading.
According to a new study by Cisco:
- Video is projected to claim more than 80% of all web traffic by 2019.
Privacy Protection
Privacy protection has always been important but now it is more important than ever before because as of 25th May 2018 the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes in force to harmonise data privacy laws.
According to a study by KPMG:
- 55% of consumers said they decided against buying something due to privacy concerns.
According to a study by Google:
- Studies show that users do not perceive the lack of a “secure” icon as a warning, but also that users become blind to warnings that occur too frequently.
Cross-Device Marketing
At one-time, online marketing was a lot simpler but with the advancement of technology, all this has changed. Today, consumers use a variety of digital platforms to browse, shop and engage on the Internet.
According to an infographic by Go-Gulf:
- 70% of consumers use three or more connected devices.
- 80% of consumers bounce between devices.
- 40% of online transactions involve multiple devices along the way.
Influencer marketing will continue to rise
Influencer marketing is not a new trend; however, it has become one of the hottest topics in the digital marketing industry this year.
According to Forbes:
- With the rise of ad blockers and decline in radio and TV viewership, influencer marketing has proven to be the most effective form of advertising.
- Influencer marketing is growing faster than digital ads.
According to a study by Collective Bias:
- 70% of millennials are influenced by the recommendations of their peers in buying decisions.
- The same survey reveals that 30% consumers are more likely to buy a product recommended by a non-celebrity blogger. Consumers can relate more to these influencers and value their opinions more than that of celebrity influencers.
- Just 3% of consumers are influenced by celebrity endorsements in their product purchase decisions.
- 19% of consumer purchase decisions are influenced by Facebook posts.
- 18% of consumers are influenced by YouTube regarding their purchases.
Social Commerce
Social media together with online shopping has lead to the birth of social commerce, a digital initiative that uses social media to build relationships with the consumers and assist in their shopping experience online.
According to Shopify:
- 85% of all eCommerce orders come from Facebook
According to Business Insider:
- Pinterest drives 16% of social revenue and this number should increase with Pinterest’s new ‘Buy Now’ buttons.
New SEO factors
SEO has come a long way since the 1990s. The prevalence of big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has led to the anticipation if even bigger changes on the horizon. These include but are not limited to:
- Voice Search
- Mobile
- Structured data
- Personalisation
- Hyperlocal results
- Machine learning over typical search results
According to Google:
- 65% of online consumers look up more information now versus a few years ago.
- 82% of smartphone users use a search engine when looking for a local business.
- 82% of smartphone users consult their phones while in-store deciding what to buy.
See the latest: 'Digital marketing & advertising trends 2019.'
