In 2017, many innovations—that were once tech outliers—became part of the mainstream, bringing about a revolution in the digital marketing world. And they didn’t just fizzle away once they became stale and ubiquitous as trends often do. These transformational technology solutions changed the way we, as marketers, communicate with our audiences. Check out this full overview of all the most far-reaching and important ways that technology changed the industry last year.
#1 Video marketing
Video marketing isn’t new, but in 2017, the marketing world moved from video to video first. This means that consumers want video far more than they want any other type of content, and they want to take part in creating it as well. Last year, marketing professionals made more use of video content in their marketing campaigns. 83% of B2B marketers agree that video content positively impacts ROI. Video is driving the highest engagement with 43% of people saying they would like to see more video content.
Part of the revolution of video marketing is the rise in user-generated video content (UGC). User-generated video helps create brand ambassadors and increases customer engagement. Brands from Burberry to Heineken have recognized the impact of user-generated video, creating hashtag campaigns that encourage users to share video reviews and clips of themselves interacting with their products. Aerie’s #AerieReal campaign which encouraged women to share un-retouched photos of themselves in Aerie swimwear, was hugely successful in raising revenue through UGC.
#2 Automation
Last year, automation moved from sci-fi to a real force in every single field, and marketing was no exception. In 2017, the best marketing professionals integrated chatbots with social media platforms to develop one-on-one relationship with customers. HarperCollins’ Epic Reads chatbot recommends books to teens via Facebook Messenger. WholeFoods is also enjoying success with its foodie chatbot that recommends recipes and ingredients.
Automation is also affecting marketing through automated social media and email campaigns, and Gartner predicted that in 2018, 20% of all content will be AI-generated. Automation fueled the ability to develop and deliver truly personalized email marketing campaigns, which are proven to drive higher engagement. Additionally, marketing automation strengthened social media marketing, enabling marketing professionals to segment potential customers far more narrowly to create more relevant social media advertising.
#3 The new social media
Social media as a marketing tool isn’t a revolution, but in 2017, marketers used it in a new way – for customer support. At last year’s Social Media Marketing World, marketers discussed the best way to use social media for customer service. Companies shared how their customer service teams provided fast response to public complaints, questions, and reactions on social media networks.
Efficient customer service through social media is far more public than other customer support channels. A good response to a customer concern can raise a brand’s reputation, and shape public perception. Nike is famous for its ever-present customer support on Twitter, and Spotify gives specific instructions for customers seeking assistance, while promoting their services in a fun way.
#4 Data
The year of big data and automation totally overthrew previous approaches to marketing campaigns. Marketing professionals gained access to a wealth of new data that provided deep and powerful insights into the success of campaigns. As noted by McKinsey, even as recently as two years ago, 90% of the data in use today simply didn’t exist, making marketing automation powerful enough to analyze big data far more deeply than human analysts.
Big-data analytics shows marketers an in-depth and fully holistic picture of customer behavior, demand, and purchase journeys. Data-driven marketing campaigns, which were unthinkable just a couple of years ago, made personalized campaigns and precision-targeted advertising a normalcy. The onslaught of data has made marketers more accountable for the success of their campaigns, but also more apt at demonstrating their monetary worth.
#5 Cross-channel marketing
We also saw the rise of cross-channel marketing, partially fueled by the possibilities of big data. Marketing professionals increasingly delivered campaigns across multiple domains and touchpoints that inspired customer loyalty and built brand recognition. When customers receive messages on more than one channel, it increases engagement by 166%. Starbucks’ Frappuccino Happy Hour campaign used the same imagery across a TV commercial, an updated website, in-app messaging and social media platforms to convey a consistent and successful marketing message. Smooth cross-channel marketing both shapes and reflects what consumers are looking for; consistent, coherent, and engaging storytelling across digital platforms.
#6 Geo-location
Geo-location tools and location-based SEO have changed the underlying structure of marketing campaigns. 2017 saw geographically-specific digital marketing that can target potential consumers in an extremely specific area. Many retailers implemented mini-campaigns based on local weather conditions (using geo-location information), heavily advertising barbecue equipment at the local branch on sunny days. Geo-location also enabled augmented reality marketing campaigns like sending a push ad to deliver a discount coupon, as the customer passes by the store.
#7 Ad tech startups
The fast development of martech in 2017 opened up new possibilities for agile ad tech startups to enter the marketing world. These new companies leverage the most advanced ad tech, including automation, social media, and video marketing to develop more effective marketing campaigns at a speed that traditional companies cannot match without carrying out their own digital transformation. Marketing companies are forced to adjust to the new modes of marketing if they are to succeed in the face of rapidly-changing technology.
#8 Changed marketing space
Overall, martech has reshaped the marketing industry in a way that encompasses all specific tech solutions. This 2017 marketing landscape supergraphic shows the explosion of smaller marketing companies over the past seven years. While the marketing landscape is still dominated by a few multi-billion dollar marketing giants, a graph of the industry shows an extended “long tail” of thousands of smaller marketing firms.
This means that today, no one vendor or solution can really do it all. Marketing professionals have embraced the new ecosystem of marketing by repositioning themselves as flexible platforms with solutions that can be accessed in various ways. Smaller marketing companies specialize in particular aspects of martech and collaborate with each other to provide the most advanced and expert martech solutions. In 2017, marketing professionals no longer had to choose one best of breed or marketing software suite. Instead, digital marketers can cherry pick their own set of best of breed platforms by selecting individual software components from among the much wider differentiated options before them.
2017 was a year which saw technology solutions bringing tremendous changes in the marketing world. In 2018, technology is expected to have an even bigger and deeper impact on the marketing world.