It’s the end of the year, so for about a month now you can expect to see “X things happened in 2017” summaries and “Y things to expect in 2018” predictions. This is one of them.
It’s worthing taking a look at though. Why? Because it reinforces what works and serves as a reminder. Kind of like each year for the last ten years was supposed to be the year of mobile.
Let’s get started then. Here are five digital marketing trends that are not new but worthy of a reminder.
1. Organic Facebook Reach Is Dying a Slow Death
Now is the time to stop thinking that a wave of new likes or follows on the platform equals reach and growth.
Worse, the more followers you have, the smaller percentage of them will see your content:
Facebook advertising is worth the bother though. Very much so.
You just need to do one simple yet hard thing: shift your thinking about Facebook from a free traffic source to a paid traffic source. Don’t think “SEO.” Think “AdWords.” It was fun while it’s lasted, but now it’s over. Once you switch your thinking, you’ll see how great of a tool it could be.
Instead of crafting a Facebook strategy around organic reach, craft a plan around paid.
I know, I know. It’s a pain. Figuring out how to set up a campaign, who to target, and what to budget can seem overwhelming. But the truth is, Facebook collects thousands of data points about each of its users. That’s thousands of data point you don’t have to accumulate and analyze yourself, which would arguably be more expensive, time-consuming, and overwhelming had Facebook not done this heavy lifting for you.
Facebook ads give you an opportunity to hand-pick precise audiences, and you don’t have to spend a lot to do so. With the opportunity to control your reach and spend with each Facebook ad you make, you can ensure that you’re only talking to people who are most interested in what you’re offering.
2. Simple Marketing Automation Is Your Friend (and Makes Your Customer’s Experience Personal)
Even simple automation with a little thinking and planning can have wonderful results. I’ve seen it many times. I’ve *done* it many times, and it worked like a charm.
You still need human touches that are simply enhanced by smart automation, like:
Personalize your emails to your leads and customers
Keep your customers up-to-date with deals and steals (or if you just want to say hello)
Send your leads down personalized journeys
Learn more about each customer so that you can better cater to their needs
Nothing groundbreaking. Just take some time to think about the customers, their journeys, motivations, and how to serve their purpose.
Automation removes the guesswork and plows a wide, open path between you and your customers. Your leads will never grow cold, and your insights will only get deeper. So, in the year ahead, use marketing automation to personalize what your customers experience. They’ll be happy, but you’ll be even happier.
3. Landing Pages Are Still Making Your Customer’s Experience Easier (and Your Wallet Fatter)
(Disclaimer: this article is on LeadPages’ blog, a SaaS company which provides a landing page building tool, so take their enthusiasm with a grain of salt. Yes, it’s effective. Yes, it makes sense to do it. Just take into account that they may be infusing it with a tad too much excitement.)
Websites are great for people to go to and explore your business. They’re stuffed with keywords, context, “About Me” pages, and maybe even your whole online shop. Websites are big. Landing pages, on the other hand, are small.
Landing pages are focused on one thing and one thing only—conversions. If you want someone to check you out, send them to your website. If you want someone to buy your ebook, sign up for your webinar, take a class, or convert in any other way, send them to a landing page.
Try these landing page strategies on for size to boost conversions:
- Make a dedicated landing page for each ad campaign
- Keep up with design trends
- A/B test for continuous optimization
- Build more pages for more conversions
All pretty much common sense, but if you’re not doing it, it’s a good reminder to finally put some effort into it.
4. Don’t Forget Your Videos and GIFs
Long-form text-heavy content isn’t winning many fans these days, so making your landing page into a veritable textbook will likely turn people away. Always break up long blocks of landing page copy with videos, GIFs, images, and infographics.
Just like I try to do with my emails and articles 🙂
Plus, adding a video to your landing page can increase conversions by 86%.
5. Start Your Blog. Just Do It.
You may have been postponing your content marketing strategy for some time now, but the fact remains that successful digital marketing hinges on valuable content.
It is (or should be) the #1 source of leads for many businesses. B2B, B2C, SaaS, anything. If you’re still not doing it, just do it. But put some effort into it. Just an article here or there, about company events, every 2-3 months won’t cut it.
Yes, it takes a lot of time, yes, it’s hard. But it’s worth it. And you know that. You’ve just been postponing it year after year. Maybe 2018 shouldn’t be that year again?
5 Digital Marketing Trends That Will Give Your Business Life in 2018
