A new year brings new opportunities for digital marketers to adjust their strategy in order to take advantage of emerging trends. Read on for more information about the advertising trends poised to make waves in 2018.
Amazon will become a serious challenger for Google and Facebook
Amazon could pose a real challenge to perennial ad powerhouses Google and Facebook in 2018. According to recent data, more than 70% of consumers search for products on Amazon at some point in their purchasing process, and Amazon has made great strides in collecting consumer data to focus ad placement.
Europe’s General Data Protection Review (GDPR) will have a major impact
The GDPR legislation is set to become law across Europe on 25 May 2018. It requires digital advertisers to obtain explicit consent to use consumers’ personal data, including cookies, device IDs, IP addresses and more. Though experts predict a brief honeymoon period of leniency, investigations should ramp up by the autumn.
Social media platforms will face increased pressure to regulate harmful and illegal content
2017 revealed significant problems with the way many social media platforms manage brand safety and control content. The Committee on Standards in Public Life has taken notice and it seems realistic to expect legislation on these issues over the next few years.
Voice search optimisation will become an integral part of digital marketing strategy
Nearly 20% of all searches are now conducted via voice and virtual assistants are only pushing those numbers upward. 2018 should see more digital marketers embracing voice search, optimising their strategy and content to comply with demand.
Chatbots will drive customer service
Many businesses are already using real-time chatbots to improve customer service quality and efficiency with great success. Expect to see an increase in the use of these virtual helpers in the coming year.
Artificial intelligence will use ‘big data’ to target audiences
‘Big data’ insights such as consumer search and purchase history, social media presence and format preference can all be collected and analysed in seconds by AI for mass personalisation.
Private marketplace (PMP) will overtake programmatic ad trading
Concerns about brand safety and fraud risk will have more marketers abandoning open exchange ad trading in favour of PMP inventory.
Banner ads will all but disappear
Static banners have ruled ad space for more than 20 years, but 2018 will bring a decisive shift to more dynamic deliveries like video, social, native and paid content advertising.
Keep these predictions in mind as 2018 commences and unfolds to ensure that your business stays ahead of the curve.
