The Brand Newsroom team takes a close look at 7 marketing trends for 2018.

The list comes from Larry Kim of Mobile Monkey. There are some interesting suggestions among the seven and James, Sarah and Nic debate the importance of each one, offering up some practical advice to make them work for marketing budgets of any size.

Brand Newsroom is a marketing podcast for anyone who has a say in how companies are communicating — covering marketing, content marketing, public relations, media, branding and advertising.

Here are some key take-outs:

• If you’re going to do video, do it well. Bad video can damage your brand. The costs of producing a professional video are much lower these days, so check out what it would cost rather than assuming it’s better to go it alone
• If you’re using a chatbot, you better make sure it’s sophisticated enough to do the job well
• Storytelling has become a bit of a buzzword, but good storytelling is really key to marketing success. Don’t just talk about how good you are; tell a story
• Build your own database and your own lists. If you’re going to be on social media, be prepared to pay for reach
• Get your marketing and sales departments working well together – whatever that looks like in your organisation. Don’t be lazy. Always improve
• User-generated content is great for engagement but be wary about it. Encourage people to leave reviews because that’s a really valuable form of engagement
• Interactive content is another great way to engage with your followers. It could be as simple as a Twitter poll. They’re great if you’re marketing on a small budget.

On My Desk

• Nic recommended taking a look at Aaron Kanters, the Digital Broker
• Sarah suggested an article called “Detroit was crumbling. Here’s how it’s reviving”
• James recommended listening to the Business Daily podcast called “Creativity in the Digital Age”.

Links you might need

• Here’s the infographic from Larry Kim.

Have you heard the one about…

Recently James, Sarah and Nic discussed the 9 marketing tactics that really annoy them.

And in this episode they’re joined by Mike Edmonds, author of a new book on brand authenticity.

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For more information about the show, visit the Brand Newsroom website, where you can join the Brand Newsroom Community and receive exclusive content and opportunities to meet James, Nic and Sarah.