Is Marketing just a pretty name?
Marketers, don’t be jaded just yet. Here are 3 Digital Marketing Trends to look forward to this 2018.
Written by: Lim Ying Xuan (NUS School of Business Y3)
There are many times in my journey as a Marketing Intern working across different startups where I would stop and wonder if any of the work I am doing even means anything at all.
According to Harvard Business Review, a study of 600 CEOs and decision makers by the London-based Fournaise Marketing Group revealed that 73% thought CMOs lack business credibility and the ability to generate sufficient business growth.
The idea that CEOs find little value in marketing is not new. This study was done 7 years ago, but it is clear that this sentiment still exists even among the non C-Suite. Within my school itself, the perception that marketing is ‘fluff’ compared to more technical specialisations such as Finance and Accountancy seems to persist. Most of my peers would dismiss job listings that state ‘Social Media Intern’ or ‘Community Intern’ in a heartbeat because of the ‘idea’ that anybody can post a picture, write a caption, plan an event or design a poster.
Perhaps this higher disregard for marketing roles is because it is hard to see tangible results or translate marketing data into recognised financial metrics that show business growth. Working within the cycle of marketing metrics, social media data reports and content marketing, it is possible that marketers are actually on the road to nowhere.
As an intern, I struggle with the actual business value of my work. A simple example is writing articles. I could spend great amounts of time and effort to make sure my content is valuable and targeted. I understand my consumer persona, their needs, and cater my article to their interests. It gets a 20% open rate as usual. I do A/B testings, change the title, change the copy, change the content — It gets a 30% open rate now. It seems to be working, but… what does this mean exactly? Is my content strategy that I revise over and over actually making a difference, or am I just writing articles to keep my social media accounts at least active?
The fact is, consumer engagement is getting harder. Today, buyers are more distracted and no longer paying much attention. In the era of social media, the effectiveness of traditional marketing and sales are decreasing. Consumers are researching product and services on the Internet and through word-of-mouth. They have less patience for spammy ads and cold calls, and marketers are pumping in more money to emerge louder among all the noise. Even in digital marketing, grabbing the attention of consumers is challenging because of the overload of information on the Internet. In a marketer’s bid to constantly generate content volume and quality, grow their social media following base and consistently push out newsletters, it is rare to say for certain that ”Yes, I have fully captured my user’s attention.”
Nevertheless, marketing is not dead. Not surprisingly, marketing is one of the the fields that cannot be overtaken by robots because it requires consumer empathy and human touch. To embed your story in your words, culture and actions, is something I truly believe in, and something that cannot be automated. To reinvigorate marketing, here are some interesting digital marketing trends that we can look forward to this 2018.
Interesting Digital Marketing Trends 2018
1. Social media marketing is a marathon of twists and turns
Over recent years, we have witnessed shifts in social media platforms to meet the needs of marketers. The evolution from organic reach to paid changed the advertising landscape for brands. Social media is always changing. It is a long term commitment, and marketers need to adapt to consistently influence.
One example is Facebook’s recent news feed algorithm change. In January 2018, Mark Zuckerberg announced in a public post that algorithms will be tweaked to reduce public content from brands, media and publishers. It will prioritise posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people to reduce passive consumption of content on Facebook. Facebook’s move to meaningful may seem disruptive to advertisers, but it is actually more useful for effective engagement. Facebook is forcing brands to create quality and relevant content. Social media marketers today need to adjust their Facebook content strategies to effectively and specifically target their intended audience.
Another area to note is the introduction of live streaming videos. Very noticeably, video content is more engaging than pictures, and I believe this will continue to be an essential for a while.
2. Search Marketing is evolving with technology
SEO isn’t just about search engines anymore. Technology plays a big part in this evolution, with mobile devices and personal assistants such as Google Home leading the change. According to Search Engine Land, one in five mobile search queries currently comes from voice search. This changes SEO strategy because of how differently questions are being asked in voice queries and type forms. Here is an example, can you spot the difference?
#1: “Hair Salon Singapore”
#2: “Okay Google, where can i find the a cheap hair salon near me that has many good reviews?”
As people increasingly use voice search, content is no longer about keywords that appear a certain number of times anymore. It is about being answer led and structured in a way that it becomes a conversation between 2 parties. Hence, there is more emphasis on long tail keywords and a more conversational language built in content. Another example of the difference between the two search types is the number of words. The graph I saw on neilpatel.com illustrates this.
3. AI creates personalised marketing
Gone are the days of ‘one-size-fits-all’ marketing. Consumers are demanding more personalised engagement. They want to see things at the right time, with the right message and on the right channels. Imagine receiving an email from your favourite blogshop. Instead of telling you what their summer collection sale consists, they personalise the message specially for you based on your order histories. Users are much more likely to pay attention when it is associated with something they care about. Below is an example of a successful personalised push using AI I found on Localytics. A customised message like this based off a user’s in app actions is likely to improve customer loyalty and engagement.
I began this post somewhat confused about the role of marketers, and the value they provide compared to other roles like a Software Engineer or a Project Manager. As I reach the end of this post, I am glad to be pursing this space. The job of a marketer is always about agile adaptation to constantly evolving technology and consumer behaviours. Through how we understand consumer needs and humanise our approach to reach out and touch them, this, is value in itself.
Signing off,
X.
