It’s always hard to predict what’s going to trend in the digital marketing space, but I think overall we’ve been seeing a push toward more personalized marketing that is hyper-specific to the wants and needs of a targeted audience. I think a lot of marketers were comfortable a few years ago with a kind of one-size-fits-all approach, in which the quality of the product or service they were offering trumped everything, and that the appeal of that product or service was more important than identifying and targeting a specific market.

So I think we’re seeing marketers who are trying to engage their market with a greater sense of human connection. So for example, the move toward capturing experiences in real-time with Facebook Live and other platforms is part of that trend of engaging and connecting with people on a visceral level that says, “Hey, we’re in it together, I’m just like you, so let me into your life.”

As part of this trend, I think you’ll also see marketers use more user-generated content to engage and connect with consumers. It’s the difference between posting a picture with a caption, and posting a picture and asking users to provide a caption. That first example is just about a user staring at a photo with a cool caption, whereas the second example forces interaction and creativity and most importantly…ownership.

One last thing I’m noticing a lot is that website landing pages have sort of gotten more retro and simplistic. Marketers are shrinking back all the “bells and whistles” and focusing more on relevant content and most importantly, simple CTA buttons and field forms and navigation menus. Your landing pages should still be distinct and interesting, but they don’t have to be so overwhelmingly eye-popping and stuffed with content that it ultimately intimidates and drives away a user. Less is more and more ultimately becomes less if your consumer gets fed up and seeks a less distracting site.