30 key statistics from 2017 to inform your marketing strategy in 2018 when targeting millennials

Millennials have become a bit of a buzz word over the past few years, but do you truly know how to reach this generation? Millennials were born in the early 1980’s to early 2000’s. Currently, this generation has a global population of over 2 billion. Their population is large enough that they carry a lot of influence, both in sociocultural and economic ways. Millennials have grown up in a world where digital technology and the internet are a critical part of daily life. We have found 30 of the key statistics you will need to inform your marketing strategy in 2018 when targeting millennials.

Tech use and online habits

Millennials touch their smartphones 45 times a day 63% of Millennials stay updated on brands through social networks (Sproutsocial, 2016) Smartphones are the most popular device with millennials as 7 in 8 millennials own one (Fluentco, 2017) While still…

Take an exclusive look inside our library of actionable strategy guides, templates, and e-learning modules, covering campaign planning, integrated lifecycle marketing, and managing digital transformation

Our Guides, Templates, Quick Wins, E-learning modules and personalized learning plan are of high quality to help businesses plan, manage and optimize their contribution from digital to multichannel marketing. We cover 7 step strategy guides to actionable templates in Google Sheets, Excel, Word, and Powerpoint. We deliver briefings on the latest trends and research reports to inform your digital transformation plans. Yet, our core focus isn't top-level research and theory, but actionable best practices for digital channels that directly impact leads and sales. Our most popular resources, which our competitors don't offer, are actionable templates to audit, forecast and define improvements covering every digital marketing technique. These are field-proven to help our members audit their current performance and identify problems and opportunities to improve results. For 12 days we…

Join thousands of industry leaders at this year's Marketing Expo 2018 and Smart Insights becomes its official partner

Marketing Expo is an interactive exhibition and conference designed specifically for the marketing sector. Expect to find high-quality exhibitors alongside a conference showcasing some of the world’s most influential figures in marketing. We are partnering with the Marketing Expo at ExCeL on March 21 - 22. This year’s Marketing Expo will attract thousands of visitors from across the industry for two unmissable days. With an unmissable line-up of 95 expert-led educational seminars, 200 diverse supplier exhibitors, and 35 interactive masterclasses. Join Dave Chaffey, CEO of Smart Insights and the Smart Insights team for a digital transformation masterclass. Learn the latest techniques to Plan, Manage and Optimize your digital marketing to compete online in this masterclass for marketing, e-commerce and technology managers. Research by Smart Insights shows that over 30% of businesses…

Chart of the day: Looking to 2018, marketers were asked which tactics will be used in their digital marketing strategy for 2018

Social Media Marketing (18%) Content Marketing (17%) and use of Marketing Technology (16%) are expected to be included the most in digital marketing strategies in 2018. Least used will be data management as well as paid search and social ads. The research suggests there will be a shift from the previously popular use of paid search and social media advertising, to increased use of marketing technology, content marketing and organic social media. We already know content is king, as in a previous chart of the day we reported that research reports used for content marketing are the most successful for generating a return on investment. SEO is still and I predict, always will be very important. It might never be top of…

10+ marketing techniques that need to be addressed for their place in 2018

In the past, many marketing myths were often elevated to the status of being sacrosanct. Given enough repetition, ‘facts’ degenerated from ‘hearsay’ to probability, to ‘gospel truth’. Yet, despite the incessant repetition, unless the core message at the centre of a campaign resonates as plausible fitting perceived experiences, thanks in part to online information overload, even elaborate myths frequently get syphoned to the junk folder labeled, ‘marketing hype.’ So what happens online in 60 seconds? As technology continues to progress at break-neck speeds – enabling data to provide deeper consumer insights - former best practices and market assumptions are being toppled faster than loose talk between Twitter Trolls suffering from interminable low-self-esteem.

Millennials

Unlike fine wine, some marketing assumptions become soured by simply hanging around too long…

A briefing on the advantages and disadvantages of chatbots

Technology and fashion are not exactly two industries which you would associate with one another. While this might be the only time you see the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Naomi Campbell ever compared in an online article, their worlds do share certain similarities. Much like fashion trends, as soon as you have got to grips with the latest technological development billed as revolutionizing the world then it has been promptly usurped by a new innovation. No one spends much time contemplating the potential of the minidisc anymore, for example, do they? But some technological buzzwords do have some substance beneath the layers of frantic internet hype. One such example is the chatbot, which has been proven to be hugely beneficial to businesses of all sizes with 80% expected to be using one by 2020.

Supporting the support agents

We have all been there. Listening…

Chart of the day: Marketers reveal that data quality, lead generation and user experience are the most critical challenges to the success of a digital marketing plan

When it comes to planning a digital marketing strategy we all know there are factors which affect its implementation and success. Data quality affects things like marketing automation and personalization and marketers said it was the biggest challenge. Lead generation is also related to data quality, marketers will always need leads. User experience (UX) also came near the top at 15%, it's great to see marketers are thinking about how UX improvements can benefit sales, revenue and even data.

Bonus chart: Are digital marketing budgets increasing?

For most marketers, their digital marketing budgets are increasing. For just over 4 in 10 (41%) their marketing budget will increase significantly, and over…

Unless you have been marooned on a desert island, chances are you know what Artificial Intelligence (AI) is and have experienced the benefits of machine learning is having on customer experience and business operations

Despite being around for decades, AI is currently one of the most popular topics in business with Gartner predicting that by 2020 AI will be a top five investment priority for more than 20%  of CIOs. Join Joey Moore, Director of Product Marketing and Greg Moore, Manager for Personalisation and Campaign Strategy of Episerver for a practical webinar on The 3 key ways to improve the customer journey. AI is currently closing the gap between detecting patterns from large data sets and predicting intent (a role traditionally reserved for human marketers and merchandizers). AI-powered technologies are replacing the manual work traditionally completed by merchandizers to make product recommendations and marketers to make ad spend decisions. For…

Chart of the day: 28% of internet users use social media to research and find products to buy

Time spent on social media per day is increasing and as a result, online buying is increasing. On average we now spend around 2hours 15minutes per day on social media and 28% of internet users use social media to research and find products to buy. Our buying patterns are evolving and this is good news for many brands as commerce and social activities are taking place in the same space. Social commerce is taking off and according to Global web index 'as 2017 draws to a close, two converging trends could lay the groundwork for social commerce to re-enter the stage: changing consumer mindsets and evolving social engagement patterns'. Source: Global Web Index  Recommended Resources: Mobile Marketing Strategy Guide …

Online quizzes are a great way to present your content in a playful way. Quizzes are not only truly engaging, but they also allow you to collect valuable information about your audience

This includes both the insights derived from the quiz answers as well as contact information such as name and email address. You’ve probably seen them pop-up in your Facebook-feed: “What does your favorite color reveal about your personality?”, “How well do you and your partner fit together?”, “What kind of marketer are you? Take the quiz!”. Quizzes are trending, BuzzSumo called them the “Content Marketing’s secret weapon.”. People like sharing them. Moreover, it is an easy way to repurpose existing content. But did you know that a quiz is also a true lead-magnet? That is exactly the purpose of this article: explaining how quizzes are used for marketing and how you can start taking advantage of it.

A quiz as a type…