7 Technology Trends That Will Change the Face of Content Marketing in 2018

The process of marketing is a dynamic one, which requires it to constantly adjust and react to the latest technology trends in the market. Content marketing has, hands-down, been accepted as the most viable method of marketing in today’s digital age. It focusses on the power of rich and interactive content to draw consumers towards your business. It is difficult to keep in pace with the changing technology for the marketers. Yet, hunger for innovation and constantly bringing something new to the table for their consumers is what keeps most of the businesses on their toes for latest tech updates.

Content marketing has undergone a lot of change over the past few years. The year 2017 saw a lot of advancements being made in this sphere. Use of AI, virtual reality and marketing automation tools are some of the major of them. This year will also see some new IT trends and innovations being made in the digital marketing sphere. So, in order to stay ahead of your competitors and deliver superior value to your consumers, you need to re-strategize your marketing strategy, if you already haven’t. Here are 7 technological trends that would change the way you do content marketing in 2018, and will definitely help you to reach your goals and increase your ROI.

7 Technology Trends Which Will Change The Way Marketers Do Content Marketing

#1. Marketing Automation

Marketing automation refers to a set of tools and software, which helps to automate some of the marketing functions such as e-mails, social media and other website actions, which are otherwise repetitive. Using a marketing automation platform makes it easier to schedule emails, automate social media postings, segment contacts, manage your content and track the lifecycle of your customers in your marketing funnel. The marketing automation industry alone is $5.5 billion and is only expected to grow in the near future. There are many tools available in the market, such as Zapier, AWeber and Hootsuite, which helps marketers accomplish this task.

Before using a marketing automation software, you must do a research on your organization’s specific needs and your consumer’s needs and how will it help achieve these.

For example, if you do marketing through email, you can personalize your email for each of your consumers and also create a custom message for each one of them according to their specific needs.

Some facts about Marketing Automation you probably didn’t know:

• According to Focus Research, 75% of the companies using marketing automation see ROI within 12 months, and 44% within 6 months.
• According to Jupiter Research, relevant emails delivered through marketing automation drive 18 times more revenue than email blasts.
• According to Forrester Research, companies that excel in lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower costs.

These data are the proof of the popularity of marketing automation, and how it has become a must for every business, irrespective of its industry.

#2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

With the advancement in technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a reality and no longer a stuff fiction was made up of. Sure, AI is being used in science industry and automotive industry for some time now, with robots doing many of the critical jobs not practically possible for humans. But recently, it has found its place in the sphere of digital marketing too.

A survey by HubSpot upon 1,000 consumers showed that 63% of the respondents were already using AI without even realizing it.

Some Market Use Cases where AI can be put:

• Website Design
• Content Creation
• Content Curation
• Search
• Marketing Automation
• Social Media
• images

So, if you are not still using AI, it is about time you did so. It is because it has many advantages, such as low cost, high level of efficiency and it can replicate many of your marketing tasks, which are otherwise repetitive.

#3. Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual Reality (VR) is the next big thing in the world of technology. It is a computer generated technology that uses devices such as headsets, which has head-mounted goggles, to generate realistic sounds, images and other sensations for creating real life-like experience for the user in a virtual word. Many of the business are using VR technology, to create an unmatched user experience. Virtual Reality technology, like Oculus Rift, has had a huge impact on how marketers interacted with consumers in 2016.

The most important advantage that VR offers to the consumer is personalization, which a consumer looks for in today’s date. With many brands telling 360-degree stories, VR has made it possible for brands to engage with their consumers like never before. With many companies joining the VR bandwagon, those who use it certainly have a big edge over the others.

#4. Live Videos

While live streaming a video is not a new marketing tactic, its popularity has certainly increased over the past year. This feature has enabled brands to create a unique experience for consumers. The most popular platform for streaming live video is Facebook, with its popularity growing manifold. It enables a brand to engage a consumer in any of its events, and make him feel a part of it. It also helps brands to give real time updates about anything new which is happening with the brand to the consumer. Live streaming of instant and short videos on other social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram have been proven to be successful in connecting with users.

#5. Integration of e-commerce and Social Media

The integration of e-commerce with social media has been one of the biggest leaps in the sphere of digital marketing. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have ventured into the e-commerce zone and have become one of the key platforms for brands to market their products.

With social media platforms like Facebook constantly updating its searching capabilities and integrating payment methods with the site of the brand, it serves provides a unique buying-and search experience to the consumers as it enables them to the first search about the product on the platform and then makes the purchase. Also, it provides a two-in-one buying and social experience for them since they can share and chat about the product they brought with their friends.

Thus, social media platforms not only make buying process easier for a consumer but also makes it an experience for him. With so many benefits of marketing on social media, many brands have jumped the social bandwagon and thus increasing the competition. Thus, to stand out in the crowd of marketing tactics of various brands, you need to strategize a plan which works well for your brand and which your consumers can connect with and relate to.

#6. Internet of Things (IoT)

Technology has changed the lives of humans in such ways which could not be imagined, even a few years back. The world of Internet of Things (IoT) is ever expanding, with new devices coming up each day with the ability to communicate with networked connections. Hence, it enables users to interact with a content from anywhere, and not only being restricted to their PC’s, mobiles or laptops.

For instance, wearable technology has entered the market in a big way, and people use it while they are on the move. Even smart TV’s and refrigerators have entered the market, interacting with the consumers wherever they are. This enables the marketers to provide customized content based on location and send real time updates and alerts straight to the devices, targeting the consumer where they are.

#7. Ephemeral Marketing

We know of the adage “less is more”. This holds more truth in today’s age, where your consumers don’t have time for long content. Ephemeral marketing is all about that, which focusses on communication which is short and to the point.

Snapchat has already entered the marketing platform. Since users use this platform widely for getting regular social media digests, it can prove to be a great platform for marketers to reach users real time.

You might want to deliver an integrated campaign to your consumers, especially the youth, and want to make them feel connected with your brand. For that, you need to create campaigns which are short and personalized for each consumer. And ephemeral marketing will help to serve that purpose since it works upon the principle “less is more’”.

These are the 7 technological trends which will be a big thing in 2018, and change the way marketers do content marketing! So, if you aren’t already incorporating any of these in your marketing strategy, it’s time for a revamp! Do a research which of these trends would best suit your marketing strategy, and match them with your organizational goal.

At #ARM Worldwide, we provide quality content marketing services to drive your business growth exponentially. Hire our professional content marketing experts today! You May Also Be Interested In 10 Things Every Marketer Should Know About Content Marketing Top 50 Content Marketing Tools for Every Marketer Why Should Marketers Go for ROI Driven Content Marketing Agency?