Native Ads (Advertorials)
One part advertisement and one part editorial, native ads or “advertorials” feature sponsored content on a website that looks and feels like an editorial piece. Native ads fit the style of the site on which they’re hosted, but typically include a call-to-action within the content that links to the sponsor. These covert ads are often seen on publishing websites — such as Forbes or the Huffington Post — and come in many different forms.

Virtual Reality
Though still a relatively new technology, and possibly a little early for adoption in some cases, virtual reality (VR) is more than just a trend to keep your eye on – it’s a marketing opportunity that will soon be impossible to ignore. By creating virtual narratives that resonate with their key demographics, companies can leverage the mysticism of VR to boost sales and build customer relationships.

Immersive Marketing
Growing competition in content marketing has forced innovators to look for new ways to engage their audience, and developments in immersive marketing technologies are helping to drive this trend. Immersive marketing seeks to create a total brand experience in which the customer is surrounded and completely immersed in a brand. Recent examples include HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PSVR and Niantic Labs’ Pokemon Go.

Conversational Experiences
Major social platforms like Facebook Messenger, Google, Skype and Kik are driving a chatbot revolution. Billions of users are now accustomed to engaging with brands directly in the feeds, and the platforms hope this will enable marketers to engage in creative 1-to-1 engagement opportunities called “conversational experiences.” These experiences will bring together past revolutions in e-commerce and text services, while highlighting the potential for artificial intelligence.

AI Solutions
2017 will be the year artificial intelligence (AI) makes a major breakthrough in the digital marketing industry. This trend with start-up brands, as well as data analytics, identifies applicable AI solutions as a way for consumers to navigate in an increasingly complex world. From personalized content suggestions to virtual shopping assistants, AI is on the way, in a big way.

Source: Forbes

Posted by Ray Simon

Ray Simon is a veteran copywriter with more than a decade's worth of experience in the field. He studied journalism at Vanderbilt University, graduating Cum Laude in 2007. Ray currently specializes in writing content and news articles for independent publications.