Montana Marketing Trends to Watch For in 2018

New digital marketing trends pop up all the time. Things change when it comes to marketing your business online, seemingly on a daily basis. One minute your social marketing is killing it and the next minute you are wondering where you traffic went. Your YouTube videos are gaining traction one day and the next, nobody seems to be viewing them. It can be exhausting for a business owner to keep up, and with that in mind, let’s look at some of the top marketing trends heading into 2018 and some of these specifically pertain to Montana marketing.

1. Mobile Video. The ad spend from mobile video is expected to surpass $18 billion in 2018 and yes, that is Billion with a B! Watching video on home computers and laptops is heading steadily down and video views on phones and tablets is on the rise. Viewers watch, on average, 36 minutes per day on their mobile devices, which is nearly double what the average laptop user watches.
2. Live Streaming. Continuing with the video domination trend, video streaming accounted for 75% of all internet traffic in 2017 and there is no reason to think that is going to slow down during 2018. Not only do viewers watch live streaming more than recorded videos, they watch it 3x longer. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook will all be increasing their live video feed platforms in 2018 and adding more and more features.
3. Explainer Videos. Exactly what their name implies, these videos explain what your company does or what service or product you offer, in a short, concise video. Websites with an explainer video present are 4x as likely to have the user watch the video as read the text on the same page. This makes a huge difference in getting results from your web traffic.
4. Growth Hacking. SEO remains the best growth hacking strategy available for online business owners for a very basic reason: you are getting traffic from people who are already inquiry about your product or service based on keyword searches. A good SEO strategy constantly adjusted to shifting trends and will attract new leads with great content (and updating content) to convert these leads into sales.
5. AI-Artificial Intelligence. AI is expected to make a big impact on marketing to consumers in 2018. An AI strategy will be very costly and with require a very specific skill set, but for those willing to take the plunge, it will yield big results. AI use will grow by over 550% over the next 2 years and marketing teams who are utilizing it say it is essential in creating ‘touch points’ for prospecting leads.
6. Chat Bots. 2018 will continue the sharp rise in companies utilizing chat bots as part of their marketing strategy. These bots are driven by a predefined workflow to facilitate conversions by answering questions and making suggestions. It is predicted that by 2020 as much as 85% of user interactions with be through the use of chat bots. It’s a Brave New World indeed.
7. Geofencing. Whether we like it or not, mobile devices are part of our everyday lives and we are constantly trackable by the fact that we carry them everywhere we go. Marketers use where we are at during any given day to collect information about us and target customers.  Geofences are specific  areas that will prompt a mobile notification when a customer is in a certain area.  What you will begin to see more and more in 2018 is during certain moments that a customer is in a specific store or location, a notice will be sent offering a discount on a certain product. Geofencing is a great way to engage with customers who are constantly moving. Of course, customers have to allow your app to track their location, so it’s not like you can randomly talk to every one who has your app, but over time this will become more and more prevalent.
8. Viral Content. Everybody has heard about a video ‘going viral.’ You have probably seen the cute baby singing karaoke video yourself. Marketers think about brand recognition and see advertising dollars when it comes to viral content. It is very challenging to create content that will go viral, as it needs to be original, authentic, and using cute and funny helps as well. But, if you can develop content that goes viral, you can reap the rewards in advertising.
9. Micro Influencers. Again, like their name implies, micro influencers are digital influencers that simply do not have as much influence as larger ones. These influencers may have as little as 1,000 viewers or followers, but they are over 4x as likely to get viewer interaction in the form of a comment or a post, as influencers who have something like 10 million followers.  Micro influencers are typically niche oriented and have very loyal followings. These loyal followers engage more and share more about the topics that they are passionate about.
10. Brand Blog. 2018 should mark the return of the blog to the forefront for many companies. We will see companies taking more control over their content by creating updates, featured stories, guest posts, and more, which will allow them to cultivate their brand in interact with customer on their own website instead of another platform.

2018 is going to bring changes in marketing trends, much like every year does in the digital realm. New technology is developing rapidly and it presents and ever shifting challenge for companies and marketing teams. Making yourself aware of the coming trends is always a good way to keep your business moving ahead instead of letting it fall behind.

Get in touch with Billings SEO today, to find out more about how to get in on these Montana marketing trends.