Digital Marketing Trends to Look Out for in 2021
We’re at the edge of 2020. A few more hours and we are going to welcome the new year. There is still time to look ahead and have a few more ideas about digital marketing trends to look out for in 2021.
In making short-term plans, it’s important to keep your long-term goals in mind. No one can really say what the future of marketing holds, but industry leaders can use insights to have viable predictions of what’s to come. 2020 is proof that the future holds so many uncertainties. Yet, despite everything that has happened this year, some things are certain. Business and marketing will continue to be more diverse, inclusive, and engaging to customers’ needs.
Technology has changed all of our lives for the better. The rapid advancement of modernization and technology has affected the marketing strategies of every business. While these are welcome changes, there are some pushbacks against the increased automation of interaction between brands and consumers. Now, more than ever, there is a desire for making marketing more human again.
Here are some digital marketing trends to look out for in 2021.
An Even Greater Customer Experience
In businesses, it will always be about the customer. No matter what field you are in, providing an exceptional customer experience is always the ultimate goal. Today, it’s not just about convincing people to buy from you. Now, it’s all about connecting to your audience and giving them an excellent customer journey that will keep them coming back to you. When you focus on providing great service and continue building a positive culture in your business, the marketing will work and take care of itself.
Having a growing online content that contains almost everything, consumers will no longer wait for you to explain your product to them and tell them how great it is. Instead, they use the power of the internet and conduct the research themselves. For your marketing efforts today, you have to offer them more than just information.
Efficiency, convenience, friendly service, and easy payment options are just some things that make an exceptional customer experience. Consider CX in every aspect of your digital marketing strategy so you can provide an even better customer experience to retain your customers and keep attracting new ones.
A Great Team Behind the Brand
If friendly service and efficiency is the foundation of building a great CX, how will you make sure that this is always being provided? Of course, you need to have a great team behind your company. Your employees will be the face of your brand, and having a harmonious relationship between employees and customers should be included in your strategy.
Make sure that your employees understand the values of your company and that they align with your brand’s mission and vision. Employee engagement will require you to make your workplace an attractive place to work so that your employees’ happiness will reflect on how they treat your customers. You can’t expect your employees to care about your customers if they don’t believe in what you do and are not happy at work in the first place.
Treat your employees as your most special customers. Give them proper training that will not only make them more informed about your products but also allow them to develop new skills to upgrade their resume. Permit them to post about your company on their social media platforms. And maybe involve them in creating videos and blog posts and other marketing content wherein they can show their expertise. Once your team shares their love for your company, the rest will fall into place and pay off.
Interesting Visuals
Making visual content is more important than ever. Even with the rise of smart speakers and voice search in recent years, creating fantastic visual content should never be neglected.
People prefer visual content more than just plain text. The rise of Instagram and Pinterest to popularity is proof of this. 65% of the population are visual learners, and 85% of the people who come across your content are more likely to buy your product after watching a video about it. This is why visual content is vital – as they are easier to remember than just plain written content.
Brand Personalization
When a customer faces a choice between two similar products, she will definitely go with the brand that resonated with her. One of the many ways to engage with your audience is by personalizing your brand to meet their needs. Personalized marketing messages that forge a connection to your brand’s target market is the answer.
Having Featured Snippets in the Search Engine Result Pages
SEO will be consistent when you want to succeed with digital marketing, but as the years went by, the SEO industry has evolved as mobile and voice search continues to grow. With these things, people have changed the way they use search engines. Being on the first page of a search engine result should not be the only aim of your business. Today, it’s all about having featured snippets in the SERP. Having these snippets means that people don’t have to click through the link to view the content they are looking for. This is how people are nowadays, they only scour through the results page and look for the information they need right there.
These featured snippets can appear in various places, but the most coveted spot is the position right at the top of the page. Brands are still trying to figure out how to achieve this position and you can expect more SEO companies offering this service in the next year.
AI-Based Automation
Over the years, we’ve seen huge advancements in AI technology and a lot of businesses have used AI-based automation to assist them in their marketing strategies. AI technology is behind voice searches and smart assistants, and it has also made chatbots possible. This tech helps a lot in a company’s marketing efforts so they can concentrate more on crafting strategies and make their customer experience better. Still, it’s important to remember to make your marketing as human as possible. This AI-based technology is just there to enhance your marketing, and not totally replace the actual people working behind the scenes.
Focusing on Customer Loyalty and Retention
As stated in the first point of this list, providing a great CX is going to keep your existing customers while also attracting new ones. Keep in mind that recurring customers are more valuable than new ones. It’s five times more effort to gain new clients than to keep the existing ones, so that’s a reason worthy enough to maintain a great customer experience to keep your customers happy.
Loyal customers help increase your brand’s reputation as they will talk and promote their love for your products and services to their family and friends. Happy customers can make great brand ambassadors!
Gen Z will be more influential than Millennials
In the past two decades, the marketing industry was all about Millennials. When you go to Google and search for the term “millennials”, there’s a whopping 129 million results compared to just around 7 million for the previous generation known as “generation x”. But as of speaking, the Millennials of today have outgrown the market’s caricature of being entitled 20-somethings as the first millennials are now approaching their 40th birthday.
While this age group is still significant in the pool of target audiences, their importance has fallen short of many of the marketer’s predictions. Come 2030, the global population of millennials from 40% will drop to just under 37% as Generation Z comes of age.
Gen Z’s are people who were born between 1995-2010. This age group grew up in a digital world and have a different point of view from the previous generations, making them unique and more diverse than any other generation.
These people being very diverse can make marketing more challenging, but it opens more opportunities to reach out to a wide scope of audiences through personalization. If you have been conducting your marketing efforts to target millennials, maybe it’s time to step back and include generation z as well.
If you haven’t made plans for your 2021 marketing strategy, or haven’t finalized it yet, it’s not too late. Start your new year with clear goals and a plan on how you are going to achieve them.
Marketing trends come and go, but the basics will always remain the same. Understand the needs of your customers and be clear and consistent in communicating with them. Creating customer-focused content is often the best way to establish a wonderful relationship with your audience.
Put these digital marketing trends in mind when making plans for your 2021 strategy.
Have a happy new year!
