Big Changes in 2017 That Will Shape Your Marketing in 2018
2017 was a year of upheaval and change-for advertising and marketers. Here are nine things that happened in 2017 that will have an ongoing ripple effect (or tidal wave?) on your marketing efforts this year:
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- Vertical Video – get used to it
We’re used to looking at the world horizontally, but shifting that perspective on mobile is not only intuitive, it’s a no-brainer. Users hold their smartphones vertically 94% of the time, so content that takes up the whole screen only garners more attention. As more social platforms come to prioritize vertical formats, the medium is evolving from a cool nice-to have to a must-have.
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- Keep it shorter {:06)
Vine (RIP) started it ages ago but in 2017 super-short video finally caught on. In the new world of hyper-short attention spans (goldfish study, anyone?) brands need to figure out how to tell a compelling story in less time than it takes to reload an app.
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- Brands should be careful about embracing causes
Looking at you Pepsi, and Kendall Jenner. Don’t jump on a #movement just because it feels “of the moment”. Take extra caution to make sure your brand’s actions are already in alignment with the cause you’re considering. Don’t be caught pink/green/anything ‘washing’ your brand to sell more stuff.
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- Mobile First is now Search First
How do you show up in search? Of course you’ve had an SEO strategy for years, but are you staying on pulse with the ever-changing algorithms of Google? Beyond that – do you show up in the ‘new’ search engines of choice: Facebook and Amazon?
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- Voice is the new Search
Once you’ve figured out traditional search, do you know how to make sure your brand shows up on the now dominate voice-enabled digital assistants (Siri, Google, Alexa)? When there’s no more ‘above the fold’, how do you make sure you’re the first listing on voice search since few users go past the first answer?
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- Amazon buys Whole Foods Market
The “World’s Biggest Everything” is shaking up numerous verticals – like Hydrogen’s own grocery clients, Whole Foods Markets and 365 by Whole Foods. Is Nordstrom next? Even if your brand wouldn’t be a likely target, how are your customers using Amazon and have you considered using their data as third-party resources to improve your own digital campaigns?
Sure, Facebook has over 5 million advertisers, but how will the Gram keep their highly visual user experience ‘clean’? Do you know how to refine and highly target and optimize your lnstagram campaigns and content to make sure you’re not seen as the ‘spam-y’ kind of advertiser?
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- What is happening to Print?
Like newspaper before it, magazines were hit hard in 2017. Just look at Time, Conde Nast, Hearst, Forbes and even Rolling Stone. But magazines aren’t dead yet—many audiences are still reading print (especially B2B) and now is the time for you to maximize your negotiation leverage with your pubs.
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- What about those Ad blockers?
Safari started it in 2017, then Mozilla jumped on the bandwagon. There are more extensions and plug-ins coming soon. Advertisers and publishers need to up the quality game ASAP to avoid being blocked.
What were your top marketing milestones of 2017? And, how are you adapting your 2018 marketing plans?
