2017 showed a heightened focus on influencer marketing, multichannel experiences, and live streaming. Looking to 2018, what will be some new trends to emerge, and which trends will fizzle out in the new year?
When discussing what influencer marketing will look like in 2018, The Marketing Arm’s Chris Gannett notes in MarketingDIVE that it is still “a Wild West category,” with “a landscape that is characterized by overlapping and often indistinguishable players and products and services.” MarketingDIVE believes that while influencer marketing budgets will continue to increase in 2018, the number of vendors actually will shrink.
Transparency among brands will be of the utmost importance in 2018, therefore making it crucial for brands to be completely authentic with influencer marketing. Gannett predicts, “There will be more in-house influencers for brands,” negotiating long-term deals that allow influencers to “begin to embody the voice of the brand.”
Gannett notes that another way to improve accountability and transparency among influencer marketing is by implementing blockchain technology. According to MarketingDIVE, since this technology is so new, brands will use the coming months to experiment with blockchain to better understand how they can benefit from the emerging technology.
Finally, with Amazon’s recent acquisition of Whole Foods, it will be interesting to keep an eye on the next move Amazon makes as the online retailer continues to grow. Gannett thinks that any acquisition is “on the table,” and is “curious to see if Amazon purchases Twitter.”
For more trends to watch for in 2018, check out the full article on MarketingDIVE.
