1.  Video marketing

2017 was a big year for video marketing, but 2018 will be even bigger as companies incorporate video marketing into all aspects of their customer experience. In fact, video marketing is projected to account for 80, of total internet traffic by 2020. If you haven’t adopted visual content into your marketing strategy yet, now is the time.

2. Chatbots

Waiting for customer service can be a nightmare, but thanks to chatbots—Al-powered live chat tools—customers can receive immediate responses to basic, repeatable questions. As this technology becomes more advanced, expect to see more companies embrace chatbots to improve online customer service.

3. Storytelling

It is human nature to love good stories, so it’s easy to see why so many brands are focusing STORYTELLING on crafting stories into their digital marketing. With social media evolving from a traffic generation channel into a customer engagement platform, companies will seek to delight customers through creative storytelling and transparency about their brand purpose.

4. Rise In The Cost Of Social Advertising

Gone are the days of organic reach providing steady traffic and engagement. Now, companies must advertise on social media in order to gain any traction. Increases in the number of advertisers on each social platform unfortunately means cost increases, forcing companies to choose between increasing their social media budgets or finding other channels to drive brand awareness.

5. Growth Hacking

Although many will call it a buzzword, growth hacking remains top of mind for entrepreneurs looking to grow and scale their businesses quickly. Aphrase coined by Sean Ellis, growth hacking involves experimentation of different marketing approaches to exponentially grow sales. For 2018, expect to see marketers explore SEO and video marketing (see #1) as growth hacking methods.

6. User generated content

Customers trust one another’s opinions more than ads or celebrity endorsements. In fact, 66 percent of consumers trust other consumer opinions posted online, which is why di so many brands are turning to user IF generated content to boost sales. If you haven’t leveraged this form of content yet, adding testimonials and reviews to your website is an easy way to jump on this trend.

7. Interactive Content

Gone are the days when companies could simply upload plain text blog posts and receive massive traffic. To engage users in 2018, brands will have to use more interactive forms—think quizzes, polls, and videos— in their content marketing strategy.

sources: smartinsights.com, forbes.com, cisco.com.