Digital marketing is always evolving. This evolution is often caused by the emergence of new marketing channels, changes in consumer behavior and expectations, as well as new marketing strategies and trends. Although marketing trends emerge and disappear all the time, some have the power to stay relevant for the foreseeable future. The following digital marketing trends are the ones most likely to remain relevant through 2021.
Podcasting is on the Rise
Podcasts have been around for some time now. The only problem is they were difficult to access, which made them stagnate. With the surge we are seeing in the uptake of podcasting, it is emerging as a relevant digital marketing trend.
Companies are always looking for new ways to reach their customers or to educate them about their products and services. Each podcast reaches a certain demographic and market segment and businesses that can partner with podcasts that deliver their message to their target audience will reap huge rewards.
Besides partnering with people who host podcasts, businesses have also started creating their own podcasts. Question and answer podcasts are becoming popular as businesses try to reach out to customers directly and answer any questions they have.
Video Marketing is Not an Option
Video marketing is another digital marketing trend that has seen a lot of growth over the past few years. If your business is not already doing video marketing, the best time to start is now. Although many businesses have websites and blogs that provide text-based content, studies have shown that videos have a better impact and ROI than textual content.
The growth of mobile tech and improvements therein also means that a lot more people are watching video content on their phones than ever before. The amount of time people spend watching videos on their phones has increased tremendously and businesses should be doing everything they can to reach these consumers.
Businesses can use video marketing to introduce new products, answer questions, demonstrate how their new products work, or tell consumers about their businesses. For a better ROI, it would be best to focus on interesting videos that provide a lot of value to your customers. Doing so ensures consumers share your video, which increases your reach.
Partnering with Influencers
Marketing budgets are limited. This is why businesses do not usually partner with huge celebrities to become their company’s ambassadors. Instead, they make use of smaller, micro-influencers. These are people who already have built-in audiences and who have already established a community. If this audience is made up of a large group of potential customers, that could provide a massive ROI.
A tangential trend that is emerging and gaining a lot of traction is the use of YouTube personalities to advertise products and services. While they may not refer to themselves as influencers, YouTube personalities usually have a lot in common with the influencers we are used to.
They already have a large audience, they post a lot of content on a regular schedule, and they can help you reach a wide audience. Because these audiences already trust the YouTube personalities they watch, the YouTubers can pass on some of this trust to your business by endorsing its products. This makes potential customers likely to at least check out your business or convert to paying customers if they like what you are offering.
Data Will Continue Driving Major Decisions
With how competitive markets have become, businesses can no longer afford to test strategies to see what works. The use of data is helping businesses avoid this approach and instead depend on data-driven decisions.
Businesses are now collecting more data than ever before. With the rising number of smartphones, computers, and devices accessing the internet, businesses can collect huge volumes about their customers. Analyzing this data allows them to get beneficial insights, and using these insights helps them to make better decisions in the future.
Collecting and analyzing all this data requires employees who have advanced analysis skills. This is what is driving up the demand for marketing employees who have a degree in digital marketing and data analytics. If you are already a marketing professional who wants to get the data analytics skills that will propel your career into the future, click here to learn everything you need to know about a career in digital marketing and data analytics, and what to expect once you get your career going.
Voice Search
Voice search is convenient for those who want to look up a product or find information quickly when they are away from their phones or computers. Because the use of voice search to shop is increasing, marketers must be ready to create content that caters to those who find products and buy them using their voices.
Content created for voice search is supposed to be more conversational and answer questions that customers might have. Creating content that sounds natural will be key, and digital marketing professionals who do not follow this rule will be left behind.
Voice search should also be highly optimized for local listings. Businesses that do not have information about their location displayed on their website stand to lose a lot of traffic if users search for businesses in their area and the business is not listed as one in that locality.
Email Personalization Will Play a Significant Role
Even with more businesses turning to multichannel marketing (using more than one marketing channel to reach customers), email marketing is still a significant part of that marketing strategy. Even though email marketing is still highly effective, businesses must switch from using generic emails to using personalized emails.
Businesses that can tailor their emails to specific actions, such as products a user was looking at, or specific metrics, such as the product they are likely to buy in the future, will see a better return on investment on their email marketing strategy.
With digital marketing constantly evolving, some of the trends that come up have a lot of staying power. This is because these trends provide tactics that businesses can use to maximize their ROI.