As we head further into 2018, marketers are continuing to look at ways to better target their marketing campaigns, often using new trends and innovations that are expected to become standard in the coming years. However, as customer expectations change, so too must marketing strategies.
Here’s what we’re seeing as the top 10 marketing trends as B2B marketers plan for the home stretch of 2018:
1. Chatbots: Have you noticed more chatbots popping up on your screen lately? That’s because chat-based AI is beginning to be used more and more in areas such as customer service, answering questions, and even placing orders. As technology develops, marketers can leverage the real-time power of chatbots by placing sales material and brand messaging into the app. Customers who respond to these messages can then be directly connected to a sales agent, further enhancing the customer experience.
2. Voice Search: Businesses are rapidly adopting voice search to improve the customer experience on their websites. This is simply because speaking is easier than typing, and instead of getting dozens of links as you would with most search engines, you get one direct answer. The numbers speak for themselves. In 2016, Google reported that 20% of online searches were conducted through voice. By 2020, that number is expected to grow to 50%. In the meantime, expect more companies to adopt voice search so the technology is already in place as the trend rises.
3. Data Privacy for Reputation Management: With the ongoing Cambridge Analytica – Facebook saga, which affected the data privacy of approximately 87 million Facebook users, companies will be placing a higher priority on including privacy protection as part of their value proposition. Companies who take the initiative will boost their brand reputation and be seen as the “good guys” in their industry. This also extends to data breaches, of which there were several high-profile cases during 2017. Cybersecurity has had a considerable impact in the world of both B2B and B2C, and customers who give you their data will want to know that you’re doing everything possible to protect their information. Companies will start giving privacy and security a more prominent place in their brand message as the year progresses.
4. Integrating Cold Acquisition Campaigns: Average cold emails typically have a low response rate. This trend is expected to continue as email clients improve their ability to filter out unsolicited messages, especially from brands they’d never heard of. To help stem this tide, expect marketers in 2018 to further support their email campaigns with a more integrated approach that includes a combination of digital ads, SEO, social media, and other channels that will promote brand recognition and encourage more opens.
5. Opening Up Gated Content: For years, B2B marketers used gated content as an effective way to generate leads. But since some of the bigger B2B brands, such as Hubspot and Zendesk, are taking the gate away on some of their premium content. Removing the gate helps these companies develop a stronger organic search presence as SERP competition continues to heat up. Marketers in 2018 will have to weigh the pros and cons of using gated content as they develop their 3rd and 4th quarter plans.
6. Experiential/Event Marketing: There’s a reason why companies like Salesforce hold live events: they get partners, customers, prospects, and media all under one roof. Approximately 63% of marketers surveyed last year planned to increase the number of live events they host. These events also give marketers the opportunity to promote, live tweet, and recap the event, as well as a live stream from the event floor. Interaction from the viewing audience means engagement on a much broader scale, and the possibility for larger events down the road.
7. Account-Focused Content Marketing: Traditionally, marketers have treated content marketing with a one-size-fits-all approach. Now, with the development of more sophisticated customer personas, B2B marketers have the opportunity to provide highly customized content to individuals within a company. This improves the customer experience by providing the user with only the most relevant content. The user journey can then be further personalized by using microsites, landing pages, and calls to action.
8. Augmented Reality in B2B: Augmented reality is already making a splash in B2B marketing, by allowing the user to “stick” branded content into the real world through a simple app on their mobile device. Through AR technology, users can “experience” the impact that your products and services will have on their workspace, and be able to make informed buying decisions. Another benefit is that AR experiences stick in the user’s mind, and are fully shareable to help spread the word about your brand. Look for marketers to leverage AR technology in the coming months.
9. Instagram Becomes More Valuable for B2B Marketers: The photo-sharing social media platform Instagram has grown at a dizzying pace, with approximately 800 million users every month, and 500 million daily users. Its latest feature, Instagram Stories, was reported to have been used by over 250 million people every day in mid-2017. With this kind of broad reach, expect an increased number of B2B brands to be using Instagram to share photos and micro-videos in order to build their brand and connect with more customers.
10. Micro Videos: Years ago, Master Lock ran a one-second ad during the Super Bowl. Few doubted that it was a stunt tied to the exorbitant prices to advertise during the game, but even fewer would have believed that in 2018 fragmented content and puny attention spans would result in Master Lock appearing to be ahead of the curve. Since YouTube introduced six-second ads in 2017, companies have discovered ways to be creative and tell complete stories in a short span of time and included these micro-videos in the video marketing strategy. Also, ad recall among viewers has risen, lending further credence to this cost-effective solution.
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