As we near the end of 2017, marketers and business owners will inevitably scramble to figure out what changes need to be made for 2018. Even if what you’re doing is working just fine, you need to keep an eye on the emerging trends and technologies, and you need to start auditing to see how they might plug into your current plan.
LIVE STREAMING
Viewers watch live streams three times longer than pre-recorded videos. Before you rush out to start a live stream of yourself drinking coffee, let’s take the time to come up with a plan. Don’t stream to stream. Think about the content that your audience actually wants to see live, and plan ahead. Don’t get me wrong, run and gun behind-the-scenes live videos are fantastic (if you’re doing something really cool that people care about), but if you’re sitting on a couch talking to the camera/phone/whatever you’re using, take the time to set up some decent lighting, have talking points ready, and have help!
As a video guy, live streaming is a terrifying subject. So much can go wrong, and so many of the tools that we typically use to make the video look amazing aren’t available in the workflow. There’s no coloring in post – no editing – no second takes. It’s a Ron Burgundy world.
Today’s smartphones are capable of impressive video quality, but there’s still no substitute for real glass (lenses). If you’re interested in upping the live stream game and streaming with a DSLR camera, check out this article.
MOBILE VIDEO
The average viewer is expected to watch thirty-six minutes of online video via a mobile device, while only watching nineteen minutes on a computer. Any text and important visuals within your video need to be visible on small screens. If you’re running paid campaigns, you can target different devices with different ads (separate video for mobile), or choose to target mobile only. The importance of mobile video isn’t new by any means, but its importance is growing, and you need to be aware.
EXPLAINER VIDEOS
Site users are four times more likely to watch a video than to read the text on a page. Chances are that every page of your site doesn’t feature one of these short and sweet videos that cover all of the page content, so this is a big one. Prioritize your highest-trafficked pages, get a video concept together, write a script, and head into production! The video you create can reside on YouTube and prove useful across your web page, social, AND in paid video ad campaigns. Creating content that can be used across channels is an efficient way to up your game across the board!
CHATBOTS
It’s estimated that 85% of online interactions will be chatbots by 2020. Terrifying, huh? I can’t be the only marketer in the world who’s starting to feel a bit like Will Smith in I Robot, but here’s the hard truth; you can’t be everywhere, all the time, and menacing, potentially revolution-starting A.I. that births an army of robots CAN be everywhere all the time.
The 30,000 ft. view of the marketing goal here is to connect with your audience on their terms. If they want to chat with your bot through messenger, well then, by God, who are we to say no? Chatbots can help your prospects and customers get immediate answers to their questions, connect them with resources that move them down sales funnels, and even close sales for you. It’s time to (reluctantly) set up and start testing out those bots.
THE JOURNEY
Intelligent marketing funnels that allow prospects to control a personalized experience are continuing to grow in importance. Now we’re talking inbound marketing, content marketing, marketing automation, integrated marketing, and a whole slew of other things all connecting together to provide an immersive experience. If you haven’t yet taken control of your funnel and built intentional flows for each of your customer types, it’s time.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of trends to be aware of heading into 2018, but it’s a start to get you thinking about how these opportunities can plug into your marketing plan. Meditate on these you must.
