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Technology has done amazing things in recent years. Nearly every industry has now adopted improved processes, thanks to innovative solutions that technology has allowed. While some of these trends are obvious to outside observers, others only make sense to the people who are driving the designs. Marketing technology resides on both sides of the fence, offering marketers and their target audiences better experiences that bolster brand awareness.
As 2018 comes to a close, we wanted to look back at some of the digital marketing technology trends that dominated this year (and will continue to do so as we embark upon the next calendar year).
Consumers' expectations are higher today than ever before. Companies that truly want to create engaging campaigns must find ways to deliver authentic experiences to each of their audience members. With today's ever-connected world of mobile devices and non-stop Internet accessibility, consumers expect to be engaged and delighted across multiple channels and platforms, posing major challenges for marketers that weren't prepared for the technological takeover.
According to Adobe, "60% of marketers struggle to personalize content in real-time, yet 77% believe real-time personalization is crucial." That's a huge gap that can only be filled when organizations understand the importance of hiring an outside firm that can automate, update, and optimize their outreach and advertising efforts.
Although desktop usage is still quite common among people with traditional working hours, mobile and tablet technologies have taken over as consumers' preferred search methodologies. What marketers really need to understand is when mobile usage will provide ideal results. Depending on a company's intended demographic, the time of day in which it chooses to display ads could make or break a campaign.
As mentioned above, real-time personalization is the key to revealing a higher ROI. When mobile marketing technology is used correctly, companies can hyper-target their messages based on users' habits, locations, and the time of day in which they're most likely to give the brand the attention it wants.
Artificial intelligence (AI) began popping up in the gaming world a few years ago, but it's only recently reared its head in the marketing industry, turning once-bland ads into must-see experiences. It goes without saying that any trend grabbing people's attention exponentially in just a couple of short years will find its way into marketing campaigns.
AI ups the advertising ante, enabling companies to give consumers that real-life, personalized engagement that's truly meant for the person who's seeing the ads. It will continue to be used to aid in content creation, proper PPC purchasing, website design, and everything else users interact with on the Internet. Machine-learning algorithms enable companies to learn about their consumers and adjust to their needs and desires unlike anything before.
Once upon a time, departments were siloed, unable (or unwilling) to know what the others were doing. Today, that's not possible. Finance, marketing, accounting, and sales are all intertwined by the power of an organization's data. Each department drives the success of another, ideally finding its way to positive customer experiences. Without the necessary technological infrastructure to capture, manage, and analyze everyday data, however, companies are missing out on major opportunities to fulfill their customers' needs.
Data's all about bringing components together and identifying trends, successes, and opportunities that will propel a business into its next stages of success.
Centro is the place where better performance meets more efficient planning, execution, and management of paid digital marketing campaigns. If you're ready to learn what a performance-driven approach can do for your marketing initiatives—learn more about our services and meet our team. Get ahead of the game and be part of the trends that bring big solutions.