Looking back, 2017 was a turning point for digital marketing. It felt like every month brought a new tool or trend. If you were running a campaign or just trying to keep up, you probably noticed big changes in how brands talked to people online. From the rise of short videos to AI making things easier and more personal, a lot happened. Here’s a look at the key strategies that made 2017 trends marketing such a memorable year.
Key Takeaways
- Short-form video became the go-to way for brands to grab attention, with platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels changing how people discover and share content.
- AI tools moved into the spotlight, helping marketers save time and reach the right people with smarter, more personal campaigns.
- Shopping inside social media apps took off, making it easier for users to buy things without leaving their favorite platforms.
- Voice search started to matter more, pushing brands to rethink how they write and organize their content for more natural, spoken questions.
- Building trust through clear, personal messages and better customer support became just as important as flashy ads or big campaigns.
Dominance of Short-Form Video in Marketing Strategies
Short-form video ruled marketing in 2017, changing how brands and people connect. Every time you opened your phone, there was something new to watch—fast, catchier, and way easier to share. Marketers couldn’t ignore it; these videos were popping up everywhere, and if you blinked, you’d miss the next big thing. Let’s look at what made them so vital.
Platforms Revolutionizing Content Discovery
TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts all nudged people to check out fresh content. These platforms made scrolling addictive, showing clips based on what you liked or paused on—even stuff you didn’t know you wanted. For marketers, this meant you no longer had to hunt down your audience. Your videos could pop up for anyone, anytime, which meant a small brand could go viral alongside a household name.
- Users spent the most time on apps with short videos.
- Video suggestions came from machine smarts that tracked viewing habits.
- Anyone with a phone and an idea could grab attention—no big budget needed.
Algorithmic Amplification and Brand Reach
The real magic was in the algorithms. Platforms paid close attention to what grabbed people and pushed those hits even further. If your video got some likes or shares in the first hour, you could wake up to thousands of new views by the next morning. For brands, this meant reaching new people without paying for ads every time.
| Platform | Avg. Video Length | Organic Reach (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | < 60 sec | High |
| Instagram Reels | < 60 sec | Moderate-High |
| YouTube Shorts | < 60 sec | Moderate |
- Quick feedback from viewers told brands which ideas worked.
- Going viral didn’t take a huge following—just the right idea at the right moment.
- Trends moved lightning-fast, keeping brands on their toes.
Engagement Through Challenges and Viral Trends
Short-form video wasn’t just about watching—it was about joining in. Dance challenges, meme remixes, and hashtag games got everyday folks involved. Brands saw the value in jumping on these trends or even starting their own. If you could turn your product into a challenge, it basically sold itself.
- Challenges created a sense of community, building word-of-mouth buzz.
- Viral trends encouraged everyone to share, duet, or mash up content.
- The more people played along, the further the message spread, often with zero extra cost to the brand.
Short-form video changed more than algorithms or ad budgets—it reshaped how stories get told and how regular people join the fun. For brands in 2017, missing out wasn’t really an option.
AI Marketing Tools: Transforming Content Creation and Personalization
AI was not just the shiny new thing in 2017 marketing—it was the engine driving a lot of the year’s smartest moves. Businesses big and small realized they could get better results in less time by turning to AI tools for help with everything from brainstorming ad copy to knowing exactly which customer wanted what. Let’s dig into how this shift played out in three crucial areas.
Streamlining Campaign Optimization
It used to take weeks—or longer—to go from "Would this ad work?" to having actual data.
With AI, marketers could:
- Instantly analyze campaign results and suggest real-time tweaks.
- Shift budgets dynamically toward what’s working, instead of waiting for monthly reviews.
- Spot patterns in huge piles of campaign data, flagging spots where money was being wasted.
Check out how large language models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini handled these tasks: they’d summarize performance reports and even recommend the next steps, all in plain language marketers could quickly act on.
Data-Driven Personalization Across Touchpoints
Personalization didn’t mean just putting someone’s name in a newsletter. In 2017, AI started sifting through all sorts of signals—click behavior, purchase history, even the exact time someone opened your emails. This allowed brands to:
- Suggest products and content in the right channel, at the right time.
- Test headlines, images, and calls-to-action tailored to each user.
- Move from guesswork to customized experiences across sites, apps, and messaging.
A quick look at the numbers:
| Method | Before AI | After AI |
|---|---|---|
| Time to launch A/B test | Days to weeks | A few hours |
| Customer segment size | General groups | Micro-segments |
| Personalization relevance | Low-medium | High |
Scaling Customer Engagement Efficiently
When you’re talking to thousands or millions of people, you need more than a big team—you need smart automation. In 2017, AI-powered tools:
- Took over the most repetitive jobs, like answering simple customer questions.
- Helped marketers prioritize who to reach out to and when, rather than blasting everyone.
- Delivered one-to-one messages, whether it was a push notification, email, or SMS, matching what each person actually cared about.
Summing it up: AI tools started off as helpers but quickly became another member of the team—always on, always learning, and (usually) making everyone’s job easier. By mid-2017, marketers saw them shift from just crunching numbers to actually helping brands build connections.
Social Commerce: Seamless Shopping Within Social Media
Social shopping isn’t just a buzzword anymore. In 2017, it really took off, changing the way people buy and sell online. Suddenly, those endless scrolls on social apps didn’t just end with a like or a share—they led straight to the checkout, without ever leaving the platform.
Native In-App Checkout Driving Conversions
Native checkout meant shoppers no longer had to leave the app, which made buying not just easy but almost automatic. Instagram and Facebook were big movers here. You’d spot a product, tap it, buy it. No new tabs, no clunky redirects. This one-tap purchase journey cut out friction, giving brands better conversion rates and more reliable data.
A quick look at how in-app checkout changed the game:
| Platform | Avg. Steps to Purchase | Conversion Rate (Pre) | Conversion Rate (Post) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1.4% | 2.7% | |
| 7 | 1.1% | 2.3% | |
| TikTok | 8 | 0.9% | 2.0% |
Creator-Driven Commerce and UGC Integration
Social commerce is more than just brands posting ads. Real people sharing real experiences with products—this is what gets attention. The magic comes from two big shifts:
- Brands partnering with creators for authentic content
- Shoppable posts featuring user-generated content (UGC)
- Product collaborations and exclusives revealed through live streams
This combo helped brands seem more relatable, and shoppers trusted the opinions of creators they already followed. In a feed full of ads, genuine feedback from a peer stands out.
Advanced Analytics for Social eCommerce Success
You can’t just throw products into a social feed and hope for the best. Marketers started digging deep into analytics to understand what really worked. Here’s what changed:
- Tracking in-app sales data, not just website traffic.
- Measuring influences: which creators led to actual purchases?
- Breaking down which content types (videos, stories, or posts) converted best.
Bold brands used these numbers to get smarter, shifting spend and effort from flops to hits in almost real-time. Over time, this new wave of data helped everyone—brands, platforms, and creators—work together better and sell more efficiently.
Social commerce in 2017 was all about convenience, credibility, and clarity. It’s changed shopping from a standalone activity into something that could happen anywhere, at any scroll.
Generative AI Search Impacting Content and SEO Approaches
The shift to generative AI in search has changed the way people discover information online. Instead of scrolling through a list of blue links, searchers are met with concise AI-generated responses, often leaving them with no need to click any further. This new reality is forcing everyone in marketing to rethink what it means to get found online.
Rise of Zero-Click Outcomes
More and more, users get the answers they need without ever visiting a website. This is called a "zero-click" result, and it’s become standard as AI-driven responses have taken over search pages.
Here are some standout shifts:
- People get direct answers from AI, skipping extra clicks.
- Brands lose traffic but still get attention if AI highlights their info.
- Interactions focus on mid-funnel questions—comparisons and calculators that AI can reference, instead of simple basics.
| Metric | Before AI Search | Now (With Generative AI) |
|---|---|---|
| Clicks Per Search | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| Branded Mentions Shown | Rare | Common |
| Unique Assets Needed | Fewer | More |
As suggested in the context of Generative AI’s impact, established search platforms have managed to stay relevant by folding AI into their systems, but it’s the way users search and interact that really changed the game.
Authority-Building Through Unique Content
Regular how-to articles don’t cut it anymore. Now, success depends on original assets—think comparison tables that AI can’t easily summarize, interactive tools, or commentary only you can give. Here’s what works:
- Create distinctive resources: Side-by-side product comparisons, personalized calculators, industry benchmarks.
- Publish expert takes and unique perspectives.
- Win mentions and citations across the web, especially on podcasts or in community discussions.
Authority is about being seen as a reliable source by both search engines and AIs, not just ranking for a keyword.
Expanding Beyond Traditional SEO With Digital PR
Getting your pages found today means thinking beyond the old SEO playbook. Keyword stuffing and basic link building are less effective; what’s needed is a real digital PR approach:
- Focus on getting your brand and content mentioned in industry roundups or news articles.
- Network with creators and influencers for podcast or video features.
- Track metrics like AI citations, branded searches, and conversions from mid-funnel content.
Today’s landscape rewards those who combine unique content with a strong brand presence, moving the needle with both people and machines.
If you’ve been stuck playing catch-up with every algorithm update, now is the time to rethink what you publish and how you build trust with AI search engines and users alike.
Voice Search and Voice Commerce Reshaping Consumer Interaction
The last few years saw voice-controlled devices quietly working their way into more households and routines. People are now talking to their phones, smart speakers, and even their TVs to get things done or find what they need. Let’s walk through how this has started changing the way people search for things and shop—and how marketers are scrambling to keep up.
Optimizing for Conversational Queries
People don’t talk like they type, especially when they’re speaking to voice assistants. If you want to be found through voice, you can’t just stuff keywords and hope for the best; it’s about answering real questions in a way that sounds natural.
- Write content in a conversational tone—think questions and simple answers.
- Focus on long-tail keywords, since most voice searches are more specific than typed ones.
- Update your FAQs to match how people might actually speak.
Here’s the thing: voice searches are often longer and more casual than text searches. For example, instead of “weather Boston,” someone might say, “Hey Google, what’s the weather like in Boston this weekend?” Marketers need to keep that in mind when planning web content and SEO.
Voice Search Adoption in Everyday Life
It’s obvious now that voice devices aren’t just a passing phase. From smart speakers in kitchens to asking for directions while driving, voice is everywhere—and, yeah, it’s making things easier for people who just don’t want to type.
Here’s a quick look at the numbers:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| US households expected to own a smart speaker (2025) | 75% |
| Young adults (18–34) using voice search on phones | 77% |
| Predicted global smart speaker market (2033) | $100 billion |
Why do people use voice search so much? It saves time, helps when hands are full (think driving or cooking), and even feels a bit more personal than typing anything out.
VSO: The New SEO Frontier
Everybody talks about SEO, but VSO—Voice Search Optimization—is slowly making its way onto marketing checklists.
A few steps businesses are taking:
- Making sure websites load fast and use clean code, so assistants can read them easily.
- Adding structured data to help search engines pull the right info for voice responses.
- Focusing on local search queries—"near me" searches are huge on voice.
It’s not about ditching traditional SEO, but giving it a bit of a voice-friendly twist. Marketers paying attention to this are finding new ways to reach customers who are talking instead of typing, and sometimes getting ahead of slower-moving competition.
So, while voice search didn’t totally flip the marketing world upside down in 2017, it set the stage for a shift that’s only picked up speed in the years since. If you’re ignoring it, you’re probably missing out on how lots of folks find and buy things right now.
AI-Powered Customer Support Setting New Service Standards
Think back to the way customer support used to work. Long hold times, getting bounced from agent to agent, and a pile of frustration. But by 2017, things started shifting fast—AI-backed tools like chatbots and virtual assistants moved into the spotlight and changed the game. These tools didn’t just save time; they actually made support smoother, easier, and way more efficient for pretty much everyone.
Chatbots and Virtual Assistants in Action
Here’s how chatbots and AI helpers have transformed support:
- 24/7 availability: No more “wait for office hours.” Customers could get answers any time, even at 3am.
- Quick responses: Automated tools handle basic FAQs or track orders in seconds, cutting out the need for repeat calls or emails.
- Multi-channel support: AI bots worked not just on websites, but on messaging apps and social, so help was everywhere.
A quick breakdown of improvements:
| Metric | Before AI | After AI |
|---|---|---|
| Avg. Response Time | 10+ min | Under 2 min |
| 24/7 Service | Uncommon | Standard |
| Ticket Resolution Rate | ~60% in 24 hrs | ~90% in 24 hrs |
Improved Customer Satisfaction and Efficiency
Ask anyone who still remembers old-school call centers, and they’ll tell you: speed and accuracy matter. AI changed support in three main ways:
- Reduced wait times: No one likes elevator music. AI tools answered more questions instantly.
- Consistency: Bots gave the same answer, every time, without mood swings.
- Self-service for common requests: Customers started solving problems on their own, no agent needed.
Maximizing Productivity With Smart Automation
It wasn’t just customers who felt the improvement. Companies noticed their teams were freed up for the hard stuff. Here’s what changed inside businesses:
- Agents focused on tougher, interesting cases instead of password resets or order checks.
- Training time dropped—AI bots didn’t need to be taught every month.
- Departments started using chatbots for HR, IT, and even recruiting, not just for customers.
So if you look back, AI in customer support set a new bar. There were fewer headaches for customers and more focus for teams. Companies that got on board early saw happier customers and, honestly, happier staff, too. Pretty good trade if you ask me.
Personalization and Trust: Building Stronger Brand Relationships
Building trust with customers became tough in 2017. People started questioning what brands did with their information, and you could feel that a generic message wasn’t enough anymore.
Preference Centers and Value Exchange
A lot of companies launched preference centers this year. These are simple—customers pick what kind of emails or texts they get, choose topics, and decide when brands can reach out. The goal? Give people more control. It works, too.
Here’s what a preference center brings to the table:
- Higher opt-in rates, since customers pick what matters to them
- Fewer unsubscribes because the content is actually relevant
- Better insight for brands into what their audience wants
Sample Data: Preference Center Metrics (2017)
| Metric | Before Center | After Center |
|---|---|---|
| Opt-in Rate | 19% | 28% |
| Unsubscribe Rate | 8% | 4% |
| Profile Completions | 12% | 30% |
Brands that clearly explained why they needed data saw the best results. Not magic. Just transparency.
Transparency in AI and Data Usage
2017 was also the year where data privacy got loud. Marketers who were straightforward about using AI and collecting info got a better response. When a company wrote in plain language how AI shaped recommendations or how it kept data safe, it made a difference.
- People want to know exactly how their information is being used
- Trust improves when customers are told why they’re seeing certain ads or offers
- Documenting AI use in clear terms reduces confusion and suspicion
If a business hid behind jargon? Customers tuned out, or worse, dropped out.
Hyper-Personalized Communications Boosting Loyalty
Sending the same deal to everyone didn’t work. Instead, companies started to:
- Use purchase and browsing history to suggest next buys
- Reach out at the right moment—like birthdays or after a recent order
- Customize messages to fit routines and habits, not just broad segments
People responded to brands that "got" them. They were more likely to return, share feedback, and even recommend the company. Personalization was no longer just about using someone’s name in an email—2017 set the stage for real, meaningful conversation.
In short, personalization in 2017 wasn’t just a gimmick; it built real trust and kept customers sticking around. When companies were honest, clear, and offered true choice, everybody won.
Conclusion
Looking back at 2017, it’s clear that the marketing world was already starting to shift in some big ways. Short-form video was just starting to catch on, and now it’s everywhere. AI tools were getting smarter, and brands were experimenting with new ways to connect with people online. Some trends, like voice search and AR/VR, didn’t quite take off as fast as everyone hoped, but they’re still hanging around, waiting for their moment. The main thing is, marketers learned to stay flexible and keep an eye on what actually works, not just what’s hyped. If there’s one lesson from 2017, it’s that you can’t just set your strategy and forget it. The tools and platforms will keep changing, and so will what people want. So, whether you’re planning your next campaign or just trying to keep up, remember: the best marketing is about paying attention, trying new things, and not being afraid to change course when you need to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did short-form video become so popular for marketing in 2017?
Short-form videos took off because people liked quick, fun content that was easy to watch. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts made it simple for brands to grab attention and share messages in less than a minute. These videos also made it easy for users to join in challenges and trends, helping brands reach more people fast.
How did AI tools change marketing in 2017?
AI tools made marketing easier and smarter. They helped brands make better ads, create content faster, and talk to customers in a more personal way. With AI, companies could understand what people liked and send them messages that fit their interests, making marketing more effective.
What is social commerce, and how did it grow in 2017?
Social commerce means shopping directly on social media apps like Instagram or TikTok. In 2017, more people started buying things without leaving the app, thanks to new features like in-app checkout. Brands also worked with creators and used customer photos and reviews to make shopping more fun and trustworthy.
How did generative AI and new search tools affect SEO in 2017?
Generative AI changed how people searched for information. Instead of clicking lots of links, users got direct answers. This meant brands had to make unique content that AI couldn’t easily copy, like special comparisons or tools, and focus more on building trust and getting mentioned on other sites.
Why did voice search and voice shopping start to matter in 2017?
More people started using smart speakers and voice assistants to search and shop. This meant brands had to make their websites easier to find with spoken questions, not just typed ones. Voice search made it important to use simple, clear language that matches how people talk.
How did brands build trust with customers using personalization in 2017?
Brands started giving people more control over what messages they got and how their data was used. They were more open about using AI and worked hard to send messages that felt special to each person. This helped customers feel valued and made them more likely to stick with the brand.
