If your business has any intention of remaining competitive in today’s online landscape, you must adapt to the rapidly evolving changes in digital marketing.
“Each business is a victim of Digital Darwinism, the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than the ability to exploit it. Digital Darwinism does not discriminate. Every business is threatened.” – Brian Solis
Here is a list of the top trends that you should have in mind for your success strategy:
1) Artificial Intelligence
AI can analyze consumer behavior and search patterns, and use data from social media platforms and blog posts to help businesses understand how customers find their products and services.
Artificial intelligence will soon be the driving force behind many services and, currently, we already see it implemented in such areas as:
Basic communication
Product recommendations
Content creation
Email personalization
E-commerce transactions
Businesses adopting AI in 2021 will be able to cut staffing costs and accelerate growth, getting an edge over their competitors.
2) Personalization
If you want to stand out in 2021, you need to personalize your marketing – and that means personalized content, products, emails and more.
Consider these personalization stats:
63% of consumers are highly annoyed with generic advertising blasts
80% say they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences
90% claim they find personalization appealing
Advantages of hiring marketing agency
3) Video Marketing
Video marketing is one of, if not the, most important marketing trend today and likely for the next 5-10 years. These numbers show the importance of incorporating video into your digital marketing strategy in 2021:
70% of consumers say that they have shared a brand’s video
72% of businesses say that video has improved their conversion rate
52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions
65% of executives visit the marketer’s website and 39% call a vendor after viewing a video
Video is by far the most popular way customers want to learn about new products:
If your site includes video, it’s 50X more likely to drive organic search results compared to text. Why? Because people find video content more compelling, so Google pushes pages that include videos higher in the rankings.
4) Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a type of word-of-mouth marketing that focuses on using key leaders to amplify your brand message to a larger market. Influencers can be well-known celebrities, but more often they are Instagram or YouTube personalities with a huge niche following who can help spread the word about your business or product through their social channels.
Because influencer marketing is generally more authentic than corporate advertising:
63% of consumers trust influencers’ opinions of products much more than what brands say about themselves
58% of people have bought a new product in the past six months because of an influencer’s recommendation
5) Voice Search & Smart SpeakersThe increasing use of voice search has made it important for companies to rethink their digital marketing strategies in 2021. Consider these numbers:
50% of all searches will be via voice by 2020
55% of all American homes will own a smart speaker by 2022
72% of people who own voice-activated speakers say that their devices are used as part of their daily routines
Voice shopping is set to jump to $40 billion in 2022, up from $2 billion today
Global smart speaker shipments have almost trebled between Q1 2018 and Q2 2019, growing from 9.36 million units to 26.1 million units
Overall, people expect to be using voice search far more in the future:
Digital Marketing and Coronavirus, what to do?
6) Social Commerce & Shoppable Posts
With e-commerce and social media both growing at alarming rates, it’s no wonder brands are using the two together to maximize opportunities for sales.
In March 2019, Instagram unveiled Instagram Checkout, which lets users complete their purchase from within Instagram:
E-commerce brands hope this will reduce the risk that customers will abandon their purchase because they have to switch apps or sign in to an unknown store.
Social media is integral to digital marketing, and visual platforms like Instagram are gold for marketers. Better yet, visual commerce is taking off as more consumers are willing to buy products through ads they see in their feeds.
Instagram reports that the platform has 1 billion users, and 90% of them already follow active shopping brands, with many visiting these profiles on a daily basis. So what better way to leverage this massive potential than by using shoppable posts?
7) Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel marketing is the process of marketing across multiple platforms so you can connect with prospects on more touchpoints. When you do omnichannel marketing right, you can offer an enhanced user experience and cohesive brand message that drives people to action.
To stay ahead, brands must present a seamless, consistent voice and message across all available mediums, including physical storefronts, social media channels, online, in catalogs and anywhere else you can imagine. All channels should be linked in one all-encompassing strategy for the best results.
So, from all this information above, we can realize the great importance of digital marketing for modern business environment. We are all witnessing a global game changing situations and what we need is fine tuning our strategies for future success.
The passing year had highs and lows, both laughter and tears. Though 2021 has only just begun, we are optimistic for what lies ahead.
Whatever this year brings, you can rely on our support and maximum effort to gain your success into the stars. You just focus on your passion – your business. We will take care of your digital presence and make sure you look incredible.
Let us help you make your brand more global.
Contact us and take a step into a prosperous direction.
Your safe partner – Equus Group LLC