GDPR came and punched us in the face, and Facebook spent a period in Cambridge Analytica crisis. Social media faced pressure from users and regulators to improve the security, transparency and accuracy of their platforms.

Users are questioning what value (if any) they receive from marketers in exchange for their precious personal details. We are stepping away from demographic based targeting. Users want to be treated like individuals with personal one to one messages, a step away from the disruptive advertising of the past.

As we finish 2018 we can identify some trends for the New Year. Trends worth baking into your New Year New You marketing strategy.

Social storytelling

Unless you’ve been living in a cave social media has become ‘storified’. Snapchat introduced the concept, then Facebook and Instagram jumped on the bandwagon, and now YouTube has unveiled their own story format, “Reels”.

We can begin to make the most of social media stories by using it as a platform to test some of our content. As stories disappear after a set period of time the best content will encourage your followers to regularly tune in or be struck with FOMO (fear of missing out).

Visual search

Voice search is old news. In 2019 visual search is going to take the user experience to a whole new level.

Pinterest introduced ‘Lens’, a tool that allows users to take photo of an item and find out where to buy it online, identify similar products or view pinboards with related items.

HubSpot have also introduced a visual add on to their mobile app, this addition scans the contacts details from business cards and upload them directly into the CRM. Who has time to type in details nowadays anyway?

A drop in screen time

Who else has lay in bed and suddenly had the sudden panic, WHERE IS MY PHONE? Only to find out it has slid under your pillow..

65% of under-35s now look at their phones within five minutes of wakening up (Ofcom 2018). Scary stat. But we know endless time is spent each day scrolling through news feeds. We’ve been living in content auto pilot, consuming endless amount of stuff.

Thankfully this bad habit appears to be ending. Mintel have reported a number of users now feel overwhelmed by mobile notifications, and two thirds of under-24s have begun to limit their daily screen time.

We now have apps tracking how long we are spending on our phones and telling us when enough is enough. Ironic right? But perhaps not a bad thing..

Customer experience comes first

Customer experience has undergone a significant transformation.

The methods of communication and comparison now available to consumers pervade our actions and thoughts, businesses can often find themselves caught on the back foot.

Amazon has made next-day delivery an expectation. Netflix has made on-demand streaming a nightly activity. Google has made information of any kind readily available at the click of a button or the sound of a voice.

“Customers” are only happy when they get what they want. And they want it now. B2B businesses now need to be available 24/7. Or at least appear to be.

To round things up the only constant in marketing is change. Things aren't going to stop or slow down. Be on trend or be gone.