How Should You Approach Digital Marketing in 2018? Here are Some Insights!

How is 2018 treating you? Have you thought what new things you are going to do for the promotion of your services and products? Have you decided which new steps you will implement in your marketing strategy to ensure that your content is reaching as many people as possible?

Well, in terms of digital marketing, 2018 has many things in store! New trends are making their presence in the market, and every business needs to take note of them. Since trends are usually guided by end customers’ interest and preferences, economic factors and market predictions, ignoring these trends can even mean risk being pushed by the wayside. With competition increasing every day and becoming more intense, the need to become more visible to the target audience has also increased. Implementing new techniques in your digital marketing strategy can provide you with advancements in emerging technologies and can even help you meet the expectations of customers who demand more integrated experiences.

So, before you finalize your digital marketing strategy for 2018, take a look at some of the trends that are likely to impact the concerned arena:

Become an expert in micro-moments:

You already know that your website needs to have a responsive design since most users access your site on their mobile devices. In fact, your website must be designed well enough to create a seamless and satisfactory user experience across all devices, whether it is a desktop monitor, a laptop or a smartphone. Now, if your website is built on WordPress, you can use responsive themes to enhance the user-friendliness of your site. However, having a mobile-friendly website has now become even more critical because of micro-moments. Think with Google suggests that micro-moments are very important as they can be evaluative points of refrence where people expect that brands will provide them with consistent information, irrespective of their time and location. Quick fact: did you know that a whopping 96% users reach for their smartphones the moment they want to find more information about something?

Put much emphasis on visualization:

Visualization has become much more important than it used to be even a few years ago and has become an essential element of Internet optimized marketing. People respond better to visual content, specifically videos. Whether it is a cat video or a simple advertisement, people seem to enjoy them better than text promotions and even pictures. That profound understanding and quicker acceptance are vital to a brand’s success, especially in this era of cut-throat competition. With YouTube registering more audience during prime TV hours than the standard TV network, it is time for brands to think how they can leverage videos to gain more user attention.

Focus on native advertising:

Capture customers’ attention with native ads. Note that native ads help brands to market their services and products in a non-disruptive manner which is in line with the environment that the user is comfortable in. In fact, native ads can blend in so well that a user may not notice them when browsing. This way, the viewers do not feel bombarded with promotions. The click-through rates for native ads on mobile devices are much higher than that of non-native display ads.

You cannot ignore content; it is still the king:

What has changed is the audience’s preference for what type of content they want to consume. Content marketing should always be the core of a marketing plan. However, it should also help to create a personalized experience for each customer. Now, the question is, how would you know that each customer’s specific needs are catered to? To achieve that you need to move away from the static content that has been traditionally used, and must focus on more dynamic, richer content. You can choose to create a compelling website an implement a marketing automation plan, which will deliver top content.

Businesses that are always on the lookout for new techniques for enhancing market reach, improve brand relevance and make the overall engagement better, they can benefit by considering the tips mentioned above and incorporating necessary steps in their digital marketing strategies. While it is true that a WordPress based website comes with its own share of SEO-friendly features, it must also be considered that one formula does not always work. Digital marketing techniques should be revised and tweaked according to the updates released by search engines and audience’ expectations. The more customer-centric your efforts are, the better are your chances of getting them genuinely interested and loyal to your brand. After all, it is the committed relationship with your target market that helps in improving your conversions, right?

Guest article written by: 

Elena Smith is a digital marketer. She not only works with various brands to optimize their digital presence but also conducts market research to find out on upcoming trends. She specializes in Internet optimized marketing and has also written many articles on the same.