Here are some of the key marketing trends in 2018

1. Smart phone use

• More than 50% of searches are on mobile
• 91% of Facebook usage  (Daily Active users) is on mobile
• 80% of  Facebook advertising revenue is on mobile
• 90% of mobile media time is spent in apps
• 87% of millennials always have their smartphone at their side day and night
• we check our phone on average 150 per day
• 30% of us admit we are anxious if we don't have our phone on us
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That consumer journey looks a lot different than it did when your predecessor sat at your desk. And it's not just a story of more mobile usage. Since we can take action on any need or curiosity at any time, the consumer decision journey has been fractured into hundreds of tiny decision-making moments at every stage of the "funnel"from inspiring vacation plans to buying a new blender to learning how to install that new shelf.

2. Increased use of User Interfaces

• Chat functions on websites, Chatbots everyone can set up via their website applications.
• Voice controlled assistances like Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistants which can be used on smartphone
• Voice controlled devices Amazon for its Echo devices and Google's Home

3. Artificial Intelligence to engage, persuade and service customers

• AI can be used to see what customers are interested in and follow up with similar offers

4. Marketing Cloud and automation

Gone are the days of piecing together a marketing tech that is made up of lots of little marketing apps. 

• Marketing Cloud or Digital Marketing Hub service is to help brands manage all points of contact between themselves and the customer through the customer life cycle; from lead to customer communications to develop loyalty and repeat purchase.
• The core of mobile marketing is a mobile optimised website. The most popular approach is a mobile responsive design (RWD). Most businesses now get the basics of mobile marketing right. They provide a responsive website design, meaning that their site is 'mobile-friendly' with the consumers and all-seeing Google's eyes. The trend in 2018 will involve optimising mobile experiences which may mean providing more tailored experiences for different devices through an adaptive design.

5. Content Marketing

Content marketing is the fuel for all your core digital marketing activities to engage and persuade your audience. An effective content marketing strategy supports buyers at every stage of their buying cycle, leaving no gaps for prospects to fall through. As such content marketing is the marketing strategy that helps target audiences move through to purchase, one step at a time.

6. Integration of Digital Platforms - Lifecycle marketing

Lifecycle Marketing Optimization describes an integrated, data-driven approach to improve the effectiveness of interactions with customers on different devices using different communications channels.

This marks a move away from optimising individual touchpoints such as Paid Search or Media, landing pages, emails and conversion pages in isolation, but instead views them as a multi-step, multichannel process.

Here is one example of the power of integration showing how combining Facebook ads with email achieves uplift:

In this case, the advertiser's most valuable customers were those who both opened the email and saw the News Feed ads as they were being reached by multiple channels. Coordinating messaging across channels resulted in reaching customers who were 22% more likely to purchase than those only reached by email. Facebook ads extended email campaign reach by 22%.

This is an example of lifecycle marketing for an online retailer.

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Credits: Digital Marketing Megatrends 2018