Five Digital Marketing Trends To Look Out For In 2021

With 2020 drawing to a close it’s time we looked toward the future. Digital marketing trends are constantly changing and it’s important to stay up to date with what’s working and what’s not.

Five Digital Marketing Trends To Look Out For In 2021

With 2020 drawing to a close it’s time we looked toward the future. Digital marketing trends are constantly changing and it’s important to stay up to date with what’s working and what’s not.

To say this year has not gone as expected would be an understatement and we can probably expect the twists and turns to continue.

This doesn’t change the fact that keeping up with trends is a sure fire way to succeed with your marketing goals. It is important that your business is using the best possible strategies to engage your audience.

There is no better method to achieve your goals than to plan how you’re going to achieve them.

That’s where we can help.

Here are our predictions for digital marketing trends in 2021.

Trend #1 - Voice search

Voice search has boomed in recent years with the introduction of products like Alexa and Google Home. This isn’t just something for the average household either. Businesses will need to ensure they are ready and optimised for voice search queries. Failure to do so means potentially missing out on a lot of traffic.

What this means for your business is possibly changing your search engine optimisation strategy to accommodate for voice search. Remember, people search differently when it comes to voice commands as opposed to text queries. For instance, with text you’d commonly find a search such as “restaurant near me” whereas with voice search, it’d likely be something like “show me the closest restaurant to me”.

Trend #2 - Chatbots

Chatbot is another trend that looks set to continue its growth into 2021 due to the popularity of online transactions and e-commerce. Even more so now due to the limitations put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. We discussed in another article the surge of digital marketing since lockdown measures have been implemented - which you can read here.

What this means for your business is potentially exploring chatbots as an alternative way of contact for your customers. Large corporations such as Facebook and Pizza Hut are already using chatbots. It is predicted that the chatbot market is expanding by 24% annually. This again is potential leads that you can’t afford to miss out on. It's worth noting however, you should only implement a chatbot feature if you have the capacity and accessibility to function one. Chatbots are instantaneous interactions so consumers won’t wait around for long before leaving.

Trend #3 - Video marketing

Video marketing is bigger than ever right now and it shows no signs of slowing down. It is predicted by eMarketer that video ad spend will grow to a whopping $14.89 billion in 2021. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been transformed into video centric feeds that crave fresh content. Not to mention video based platforms like YouTube and TikTok which are social behemoths in their own right. Video is becoming the go to for advertising.

What this means for your business is exploring the many options that come with video marketing. There’s plenty of ways that you can utilise video marketing without having an astronomical budget. Sure, producing a video may be a spend and it may cost more than taking a picture but the benefits far outweigh the costs. The key with video is to be creative. With so much content being produced now, the industry is constantly craving new ideas and approaches.

Trend #4 - Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing has been a popular strategy for a while now. Although contrary to popular belief, studies have shown that the more popular the influencer the lower the ROI. Markerly produced a study that suggested influencers in the 10k-100k follower range provide the highest levels of engagement when it comes to likes and shares. This trend is expected to continue as influencer marketing is predicted to grow year over year.

What this means for your business is potentially finding a relevant influencer within your industry that could help you achieve your goals. We need to stress here the importance of what we’ve just said though. Always find a relevant influencer to your brand and always make sure you have clearly defined goals and aren’t just shooting in the dark. Influencer marketing can be an excellent way to push your brand and help you reach your business goals.

Trend #5 - Branded content

High quality branded content is expected to soar in 2021. Brands are constantly taking their content quality to new heights and doing it in extremely creative ways. For instance, Apple released a high quality, story based video entitled ‘The whole working from home thing’ to showcase how their products can make your life easier during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is not only creative, it is contemporary and showcases the products without feeling like you’re being overtly sold to. High quality content is a must for your business if you want any chance of standing out.

What this means for your business is looking into creating high quality content within your marketing strategy. This ties in perfectly with what we said about video marketing above. This gives you the chance to tell a story and go down a different route to your competitors whilst still maintaining your brand identity. It’s not so much about selling a product or service here as it is about creating an unforgettable experience for your consumers. High quality branded content is here to stay and is only going to become more relevant as time goes on.

Final Thoughts

There we have it, five digital marketing trends to look out for in 2021. In these testing times where every penny counts for brands and consumers alike, you don’t want to be wasting your efforts and resources when they’re not going to provide results. Voice search, chatbots, video marketing, influencer marketing and branded content are all proven frontrunners for growth in 2021 and it would be beneficial to consider them with your teams to see if they can help propel your brand in the coming year.