2017 was a year for the books in advertising and as the year comes to a close, we are now moving past one of the most developmentally impactful periods for the advertising industry as a whole. The year saw numerous changes in the space (think advancements in mobile web, the AI/VR movement, booming online video content and, for the first time ever, digital ad spend surpassed traditional TV) and the future of the industry is clear.

Accordingly, Dot Com Media Woodland Hills spend the end of each year researching and brainstorming to solidify a list of trends, take the online marketing world by storm in the next year.

These are some of the most important trends developing in 2018:

1. Big, big data. Big data’s been a big trend for many years now, but it’s mostly been confined to big businesses and major players. With the prevalence of big data now—after all, there are over 6 million developers working on big data projects—and its growing accessibility thanks to Machine Learning and AI, big data will become more available to small- to mid-sized business owners.

2. Non-visual experiences. Nobody expected the smart speaker industry to blow up the way it did in 2017. By 2022, smart speakers are expected to be a staple part of more than 55 percent of US households, and they’ve already sold more than 20 million units this year alone. People are starting to interact with these devices as a part of routine, daily life, using voice commands and listening back to results.

3. App capitalization. There’s an app for everything now. And yes, there’s been a diversity of apps available for the past decade or so, but now, consumers rely on certain apps—like map, transportation, and review apps—as part of their daily life. They’ve become as ingrained as Google as a primary search engine, and therefore represent strong real estate in which a brand can grow.

4. Native ads and smart content. Native advertising is expected to drive more than 74 percent of all ad revenue by 2021. With a more natural placement and formatting, Native Ads tend to get more exposure and more engagement than traditional banner ads—and are less annoying for consumers.

In 2018, we’ll definitely see increased spending on native ads, and we’ll also see the rise of “smart content” for those ads, able to adapt to audiences using cookies and an in-depth understanding of target audiences.

Knowing your target audience better through technologies like predictive analytics and machine learning would always work to your advantage. Whatever be the size of your business, make sure you’re aware of what the world is doing, so you can always compete and stay ahead.