A marketing plan and techniques for generating leads are basically one in the same, and you need to be flexible in both to keep up with the ongoing changes in the industry. Pay attention to current 2018 trends in order to stay on top. Priority Content Content marketing is still important in 2018 and should be part of your overall plan. Go for quality instead of quantity, and utilize multi-media as often as possible to really engage your readers. Photos and video are a vital part of good creative content these days. Automatic Applications Use automatic tools as much as you can to streamline your tasks. You can boost productivity by nearly 15% by adding more automation to your plans. Responses to customer inquiries, scheduled content publishing, emails set to send on triggers like purchases or registration are just a few examples of important marketing tasks that you can take off your plate with the right tools. Follow the Data Today, you can harvest data for an almost endless number of sources such as business apps, media usage, social media, and more. Tools like Buzzstream, DataHero and SE Ranking can also be used to your advantage. The market for data was only $1.7 billion in 2016, and it's estimated to top over $9 billion by 2020. It's a huge explosion of information that you can be using. Using actual data leads to better personalization in your marketing, which improves your customer relations right from the start. Segmentation tools can allow you hone your direction so you reach the precise audience you want through your social media campaigns, creating a more efficient and more effective plan for finding new leads. Effective Video Content marketing isn't the only place where you should be utilizing video. It's an advertising medium all on it's own, and one that is extremely effective. Nothing captures a potential customer's attention like video. You are in complete control of how to format and create your video content, using subtitles for added clarity or finding a perfect length to share your message without lingering too long. Social networking sites all allow for the inclusion of video content, so you can be sure to showcase your video ads where people will surely see them. Mobile Tactics Mobile devices are the key in 2018, and that should be part of your marketing techniques. Users spend 87 hours per month, on average, using a smart phone. You have to use methods that are mobile-friendly if you want to effectively reach this market. Web pages need to be responsive to screen sizes and shouldn't only focus on desktop computers. Use an Influencer The concept of a social media "influencer" is very new, and these are people with a huge amount of power due to popularity and audience size. Working to collaborate with the right influencer can bring your brand to a new global audience. Everyone knows that social media is the way to go for marketing in 2018, but these added tips can turn your current campaigns into winners.