Digital marketing is a fast-paced discipline, with social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter continually updating their user settings, requiring constant attention. Not to mention the fickle ways of Google, regularly changing its algorithm updates. Today’s marketers need to stay up-to-date with developments in the industry, to adapt marketing strategies and ensure brands stay ahead of the game.
As part of our ‘Let’s talk digital’ blog series, we talk to our head of digital, Oliver Brewood, about the trends to watch out for in 2018, and what they mean for b2b marketers. Here, we discuss opportunities in video and whether artificial intelligence (AI) is worth the hype.
Will video still be relevant in 2018?
“Yes, video will continue to dominate content marketing – particularly on social media. It was recently reported that YouTube viewers now watch a billion hours of video each day, to give you an idea of how much video is valued. Now, finally LinkedIn has also expanded into video advertising, which will autoplay without sound. Previously this was only possible by uploading Vimeo links, for example, but being able to embed native video into LinkedIn will be a great asset to marketers when it becomes available.”
“Videos ads have become a necessity in recent years, as people find them much more engaging than reading long texts. Particularly for communicating more technical processes in b2b marketing, it is a great way to break down content in a more digestible way.”
Is this the year for artificial intelligence (AI)?
“AI is still an emerging technology in digital marketing, despite the headlines to the contrary. It’s true that the algorithms are showing promise, but it doesn’t look likely that AI will be adopted widely yet. Although more research is needed in this area, it will become a great tool for helping to analyse website and email marketing data, as it will be easier to spot patterns and make subsequent changes to campaigns.”
“Using AI would make it much easier to see which content is working well and adapt it accordingly. We’ve already seen this by using the A/B testing method in email marketing campaigns, but AI would hopefully make this process easier to refine and less admin-heavy. Watch this space!”
The future?
2018 is already shaping up to be an interesting year for digital marketing. Look out for our ’50 things about digital stuff’ guide, for everything you need to know to keep you up-to-date in the industry – coming soon! Plus, keep an eye out for the next in our ‘Let’s talk digital’ blog series – on email marketing and advertising.
In the meantime, to find out how our knowledge and experience in implementing next level technology can benefit your business, email us at [email protected].