Here, McGillivray uses various sources to provide three trends that will realistically make waves in the marketing world.

1. Companies will be optimising for voice

Google has reported that 20% of mobile search queries submitted via app are done by voice, and Gartner estimates 30% of searches will be done without a screen by 2020, so becoming more vocal is here to stay. Marketing strategies will shift quickly to be more 'visible' to voice and be geared towards providing answers to questions (on all platforms), from text search to voice search.

Advertising seems to have set to take off where Burger King and Google Home left off last year with their 'OK Google, what is the Whopper burger' ad. In a short space of time, we’ll be wondering why we ever thought a brand entering our home in this way was invasive. Interacting with consumers via voice is not the near future, it’s already here (or should we say 'hear'?).

2. Instagram will become bigger than Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg’s New Year’s message promised he would 'fix' Facebook. What with fake news and global politics, he has a big task ahead. Plus, he's also acknowledged: "I’m not going sit here and tell you that we’re going to catch all bad content in our system."

So, Instagram, with an estimated 800 million users in September 2017 and growing fast, is a better place to be. There are fewer trolls, it’s friendlier, better looking, and it’s where the influencers are – so that’s where the marketers are headed – until the further rise of Amazon that is.

3. Transparency will rule, okay?

Much of the 'new' transparency will be enabled by blockchain technology, as Business Insider reports: "Top brands are betting that blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that underpins the cryptocurrency bitcoin, can fix all that ills digital advertising."

What does this mean? Forbes unpacks it in layman's terms, explaining that due to pressure from increasingly vigilant consumers on 'social responsibility and online security', the role of blockchain will become vital as the blockchain makes it 'nearly impossible to forge digital transactions and scam customers'. 

If you’re ethical about the source of your products and services, Blockchain can help you prove this to your customer.

In terms of advertising, more transparency from clients opens up a world where we can bring brand storytelling authentic life. As Seth Godin says, "Touch the humanity inside and connect with the humans in the marketplace." 

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