2020 was an unusual year, and it changed the overall scenario of the world. It affects the social, personal, and professional lives of common people. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every field of life. It has reduced social bonding. People have learned how to work digitally. Even children have found a school atmosphere in their homes. Online deals have reached sky-high. People spend more time on social media. Video conferencing became the way to communicate with friends, colleagues, relatives, and customers. The entire world has migrated to the digital environment, and it has tremendously benefited businesses of all kinds.
More and more businesses started doing their regular tasks online and allowed their employees to work remotely without coming to the office. Brands became more comfortable connecting with customers digitally. To gain new clients, keep existing ones, and generate revenue, digital marketing strategies contribute nicely.
8 important digital marketing trends for 2021 to help your business not just survive, but flourish in this innovative era:
1: Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is dominating global business fields with its powerful features. It can analyze consumer behaviour and search protocols using data from social media platforms and blogs. It helps businesses understand how customers want to interact with the product or service. It will be the biggest support to companies, industries, and nations for the next few decades. Many companies, like Microsoft and Uber, use this exciting technology to beat their competitors.
2: Chatbots
Chatbots, are an AI-based technology that provides instant messages by chatting in real time. Almost all websites use this technology to make their customers feel attended by the company executives. It works day and night and allows customers and site visitors to get basic information about a service when required. It is an important part of digital marketing. By 2020, 85% of customers will use this service. Its features include day-night service, instant responses to inquiries, and answering simple questions. Customers prefer this virtual assistant as it responds 24/7, answers on time, reminds them of their entire buying history, and always maintains patience. It offers outstanding customer service by meeting customers’ expectations. It executes repetitive tasks automatically so that you stay more focused on your business tasks.
3: Video Marketing
Video marketing has become a significant marketing trend these days and for the next 10 years, or more. It is a more convenient way to keep customers informed about a new product. Even if it is a mobile-friendly way to attract consumers, 75% of businesses think it improves their conversion rate, and 70% of consumers confess they determine their purchase decision by watching a product video. YouTube is not only an option for video marketing but there are plenty of other means to increase engagement with your video marketing. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are some excellent sources to get the benefits of video marketing. Your site will drive 50 times more organic search results if you post videos. People love to watch videos to learn about a product instead of text. It also helps to increase Google rankings.
4: Interactive content
Interactive content is a powerful tool to make audiences feel more at home. it not only promotes engagement but also improves the consumer’s delight and satisfaction. Companies arrange quizzes, open-ended questions, surveys, contests, giveaways, polls, calculators, and widgets that can do wonders for a brand. This strategy determines how long users will stay engaged with you. More significantly, consumers want to be engaged with you when they find several entertaining issues on your site. So, interactive content always improves the user experience.
5: Influencer Marketing
This word-of-mouth marketing technique has become very popular among marketers. It uses celebrity influencers to increase brand messages to a larger market. Influencers can be celebrities, and more often they are YouTubers or Instagram personalities with immense fan follower lists. They express a business or product through their social channels. 63% of consumers rely on influencers’ guidance more than what brands say about themselves. 58% of people buy new products because of an influencer’s recommendation. By discovering the power of influencers, many companies have switched their marketing strategy from traditional marketing to influencer campaigns. Fashion, travel, food, fitness, and beauty are some important sectors where influencer marketing has brought blasts. To identify the influencers and their engagement rates, followers’ lists, and truthfulness, Artificial Intelligence is used.
6: Social Media Stories
Social media stories are an important social media trend. though Snapchat introduced this concept today, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube have revealed their own stories.
The benefits of Social Media stories are:
- Increased brand awareness
- Regular engagement with followers
- Cost-effectiveness
- Reaching younger audiences is easy
- Better traffic to your web page
7: Content Marketing
When you look for the latest digital marketing trends, it’s more important to ensure that your website has speed and well-written content. Content is an important part of digital marketing. It should be clear, and simple, and should provide excellent information about a brand or product. Content marketing is a powerful and reliable way to pull more traffic to your website. 90% of B2B marketers agree that creating high-quality and unique content grows credibility and trust among viewers. It builds relationships that help businesses run on a long-term basis.
8: Google Listings and Local SEO
If you have a small business, the most vital issue to ensure is to keep your local listings updated and current on search engines. B2C businesses primarily pull customers regionally. If you have a dental clinic, definitely you want to draw the attention of local people. Google My Business Listing is a powerful tool, and it provides valuable information about your services, such as the timing, the dentists you provide, the geographical location, and more. These are the key factors customers want to know about your service. As a business owner, you must keep your Google Listings updated. For startups, Google verification is a must. By signing up for Google My Business, you can claim your listing, or create a new one. To provide a higher rank in Google searches, its contribution is huge. Online searchers can find valuable information about your business with this tool.
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Conclusion
Although these digital marketing trends cannot be a complete list, they are just a few to start with when you plan your 2021 marketing strategy. if you are a business owner, make your marketing team more concerned about the importance of social media, local search, interactive content, and improved engagement with customers to boost your business. These eight trends help you increase your traffic, generate more leads, grow sales, increase more revenue, and sustain your hard-earned customer base.
