In an ever-changing digital space, it can be hard to keep up with what trends are going to hold strong throughout the year. As new technologies emerge, you will even notice that often times, the things everyone thought were going to be a big deal are actually not and there is a new idea that has replaced it. That’s why we are just now talking about the top 5 digital marketing trends, instead of in January when new technologies had yet to be launched. With that being said let’s dive into some of the top trends we see for Q2 and beyond this year.

Based off of an already evolutionary Q1, we can see many trends that are beginning to pave the way this year. From OTT to Dynamic Display, let’s make sure you are setting trends this year.

OTT, Yeah You Know Me

Shout out to all my nineties babies with this one. While OTT sounds like a catchy tune from back in the day, there is nothing dated about one of the hottest trends to hit the digital marketing game. One of the biggest complaints, we hear from clients when considering the jump to digital is that no one is watching traditional tv anymore and guess what, they are all correct. Traditional tv advertising is quickly becoming a thing of the past and this is where OTT swoops in to save the day. OTT allows you to use your TV spots, but in a digital space, which is key during a time when so many Americans are cutting the cable and jumping straight into streaming devices such as Roku, Firestick, and Apple TV.

Things are About to Get Dynamic

Are you tired of seeing the same old display ad polluting website that you frequent? Us too, and that’s why we see dynamic ads coming to the table as a key player this year. In fact, Red Shark Digital’s dynamic inventory ads are some of our key sellers, especially for our car dealers. Not only do we offer eye-catching dynamic ads, but nine times out of ten we don’t even need to implement any type of inventory software. Our crawlers can actually crawl your site and bring back your inventory in real time to your display ad.

AI: The Next Generation

AI already plays a crucial part in the marketing process today. Utilizing AI allows us to analyze consumer behavior and search patterns, utilize data from social media platforms and blog posts to help YOU understand how YOUR users and customers search for products and services.

Let’s Get Programmatic

Taking a nod from AI, programmatic is the next biggest trend of the year! Essentially, programmatic advertising uses AI to better buy ad placements for your business. With programmatic tactics, we are able to get oddly specific with our targeting to ensure that all of the unstructured data we can capitalize on is put to good use.

Let Me Tell You a Story

Once upon a time in a land far far away lived a cool little app called Snapchat. Snapchat brought with it an amazing friend who goes by the name of Snapchat Stories. Everyone in all of the land wanted Stories to hang out with them because she was just so cool. Now you can find her on other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. What’s the moral of this story you may ask? Everyone is loving the stories function right now and you would be missing out on key opportunities if you aren’t utilizing them in your marketing plan.

Don't Miss Out on The Bigger Picture

One key thing that a lot of marketers believe when kicking off new campaigns is that clicks are all that matters and search ads are the key to their overall success. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they are wrong. When browsing the net in fact, many users actually disregard the paid search listings as they feel that these listings are skewed and do not represent the most reliable content. Utilizing SEO in your marketing strategy is a great way to focus on those users who are searching for reliable content to use in their purchase decision.

To top all of this off adding in those dynamic creatives I mentioned earlier are a great way to grab users at the beginning of the sales funnel.

Video Killed the Display Star

We've been talking about video's rise to fame for months now and we weren't wrong! Video is taking over! From spending hours watching an endless loop of Facebook videos to catching up on your favorite shows online, you are engrossing yourself in video. Why wouldn't you show your ads where the attention is? With programmatic video creative, we are able to place your video as pre-roll and mid-roll advertising across the web. Talk about maximum visibility.

Don't Forget Social

Social advertising is golden in more circumstances than not. Not only is social an easy way to rack up thousands of impressions in a day, but social media is where everyone's attention is. More so now on Instagram than Facebook, but luckily you can choose where to place your ads dependent upon your demographic. How cool is that? So if you're trying to reach the seventeen-year-olds in your area, go ahead and set your placement on Instagram only.

Personalize Your Brand

Some of the biggest complaints millennials have when following a brand revolves around the brand not immersing their followers in the overall culture of the brand. This is so easy to do that even you're non-experienced cashier can post a few things on your page. When it comes to establishing that personal brand you will want to engage with those who follow your brand, as well as post content that is shareable. Posting a video of something funny that happens in store is a quick way to get many shares, increasing your overall brand awareness.

Step Your Creative Game Up

Last but not least, one key thing to dominate this year with your digital marketing plan is to really kick your creatives into high gear. We even have a nice little blog about graphic design trends that can help you create eye-catching and engaging creatives that will ensure a higher click-through-rate!

Elevate Your Marketing Plan

Well, there ya have it, five of the hottest digital marketing trends for 2018. I’m sure this won’t be the last ya hear from me as these trends are always changing. Chances are there will be yet another new technology for us to tell you about come Q3. In the meantime, contact Red Shark Digital for all of your digital needs!