8 marketing strategies for 2018

As you probably already know, marketing is a whole science in itself defined by always changing trends, seasons and technology. A truly effective marketing strategy brings positive sales growth. That is, if you can keep up with the evolution. Rapid technological advance and wild expansion of social network platforms completely changed the way we use and perceive advertising. Consumers have become immune to overused marketing tactics. Tricks that worked last year are no longer effective today. 

This article sums up the best marketing trends that proved effective in recent years. Keep in mind however, that marketing is a constant struggle involving endless trial and error. In order to improve your chances for success, it is best to use several different strategies at once. For example, a mix of automated and targeted marketing together with virtual sales representative strategy is an effective solution more suitable for modern-day audience. 

As mentioned before, marketing is a science and an art. Gather your data, research competitors, use exact numbers but try to think creatively, and you are sure to find a strategy that works perfectly for your particular project. 

Native advertising
Consumers have grown so immune to advertising, that they can spot a sales pitch-line from a mile away and instantly reject it. But there are more subtle ways, that won't raise annoyance levels and help your product to reach target audience as intended. To put it in simple words, native advertising is designed to appear as part of content on a website or any other media. Readers or viewers cannot distinguish content from advertising which improves chances that your whole message will be read.

Content marketing
When you think about how much daily advertising bombardment consumers receive, it's no wonder that people ignore it. It is simply indiscriminate and hence mostly ineffective. Audience has no patience to listen about things they don't need. Soon they will simply stop paying attention to ads altogether. Creating a targeted marketing campaign that will only reach audience that actually needs your product or service will always hit a nail on the head. 

Influencer marketing
One thing that you can always rely on is that people, especially younger generation, look up at somebody as their idol. Celebrity admirers follow habits and lifestyle to the most intricate detail. This presents you with a great opportunity to create a word of mouth buzz around your product. 

Video and visual storytelling
Internet opens up tons of marketing opportunities that in the past were only available through expensive TV advertising. YouTube and Facebook streaming capabilities create new ways to reach consumers. Unlike text-only ads, it is much easier to convey emotion and a sense of urgency through video clips. Your ad can be as simple as a series of static frames and still yield more sales than a whole year worth of magazine ad space. 

Chat bots
Remember that oftentimes a consumer does not want to dig around for answers. On average three clicks is all that you get before a potential buyer yawns. You can have everything there is to know about your product on your website, but rest be assured someone will find your FAQ section exhaustively overwhelming. If they want answers and want them quick, your best bet is a virtual salesman. Thanks to massive advances into artificial intelligence, modern chat-bot programs are sufficiently effective in answering most questions a buyer may have about your product. 

Offer expiration
What is the best way to convey a sense of urgency to a potential buyer? Modern audience demands nothing less than instant gratification and has an extremely short attention span. A reminder to act now before it’s too late, often works as a wakeup call. 

Personalization marketing
Knowing your customer is the key element for a successful business. Having access to customer’s habits and interests allows you to tailor ad content on an individual level. A buyer is more likely to respond to an ad that sells something they actually need. Think about personalization marketing strategy as the targeted marketing only much more precise. 

Automate your ad campaign
A lot of the strategies mentioned above offer increased chance of success, but there is also an additional price to pay. Imagine if you have hundreds of different products and thousands or even millions of potential customers. Crafting a personalized ad for every single one of them is way too labor intensive. To put into business terms – it is not financially feasible. 
But do not despair, for there is marketing automation to aid you every step of the way. Ready to use software solutions will relieve you from the horrors of micromanagement. Newsletter and ad campaigns, vital statistic gathering and other repetitive tasks are now driven entirely by an autopilot. As an added bonus you can reuse the exact same software to conduct an ad campaign with a different product, which in turn will save you more money.