23 Jul 5 Digital Marketing Trends To Look Out For

2020 was certainly one for the books! It was a year that turned almost every business on its head and accelerated a digital transformation. The entire world has had to adapt the way that it communicates and does business, and the effects of the past year will be felt far and wide in the digital marketing landscape for years to come.

As a result, there is a terrain of new consumer behaviour – social media usage has increased exponentially, businesses have adopted a ‘virtual’ way of working and work from home has become a “normal”, accepted business practice.

Here are some of the leading digital marketing trends for 2021 and beyond (Read the Digital Marketing Trends for 2020) that will help your business not just survive, but thrive in this new age of innovation.

1. Video Content Marketing
2. SEO for Voice Search
3. Personalisation
4. Shoppable Posts on Social Media
5. Chatbots

1. Video Content Marketing

Video marketing is right up there as being one of, if not the, most important marketing trends this year and will likely be for the next 5-10 years. In fact, it’s set to take its position as the GOAT (greatest of all time) of content marketing and is fast becoming an essential component of any marketing strategy. (Find out about Signs of a Successful Marketing Strategy)

Did you know that if your site includes video, it’s 50 times more likely to drive organic search results compared to text? That’s huge! People find video content a lot more compelling, which is why Google pushes pages that include videos higher in the rankings.

Although long-form video content still has its place, it’s the short-form video content that is dominating in a big way. Think quick, bite-sized snippets of useful, engaging content that is easily digestible and keep the brand top of mind.  And with the decreasing cost of film equipment and increasingly high-quality smartphone cameras, it is easier than ever to create short-form video content.

While YouTube most likely comes to mind first, there are plenty of other platforms to make use of video marketing for your brand including Facebook live broadcast, Instagram and TikTok.

Here are some other video marketing trends that are fast becoming popular:

* Live video – Used for interviews, product demos and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the brand, how products are made, events, etc.
* 1:1 Video – Personalised video messages instead of phone calls or emails.
* Video SEO – YouTube and other videos are displayed in the SERPs, so video optimisation is becoming much more important.
* 360-degree video content – Look for the circular symbol in the top left corner to start sliding the moving image left or right as it’s playing.

Consider these video marketing statistics:

* 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

2. SEO for Voice Search

Thanks to virtual assistants like Siri, Google Home and Alexa, more and more users prefer to talk into their search bars instead of type. Voice search has also been integrated into most of our daily tech devices like smartphones, laptops and tablets. Voice search is the next frontier of search engine optimisation, and is expected to flourish in the coming years.

We must also take into consideration that voice searches yield different results compared to text searches. This offers a great opportunity to get ahead of competitors by choosing keywords for SEO optimisation (Find out What is SEO and How Does it Work) that are compatible with what people are accustomed to asking a virtual assistant.

3. Personalisation

Gone are the days of writing one mailer, and sending it to your entire database. Personalised, triggered emails based on behaviour are three times better than batch-and-blast emails. And it’s not just personalisation for your mailers, it’s all forms of digital content and even products. A great example is how Netflix uses personalisation to tailor recommended films and series based on your preferences and watch history.

Still not convinced? Consider these personalisation statistics:

* 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 personalised experiences
* 90% claim they find personalisation appealing

4. Shoppable Posts on Social Media

It goes without saying that online shopping has received massive growth since the pandemic and shoppable posts on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest, are fast becoming the norm. This comes as no surprise considering how easy, convenient and hassle-free it is.

Social media is becoming more than just a tool for discovery – in 2020, a study revealed that 46% of Instagram users purchased one or more products that were put in front of them in a sponsored Instagram post.  We can expect to see easier integrations that allow users to complete purchases without leaving the social media app. Users can easily click on the shopping icon of any product showcased on a company’s social feed, and be directed to their e-commerce website or go straight to checkout.

5. Chatbots

The use of chatbots has recently expanded in a big way, as a result of people spending more time online, and an increase in e-commerce purchases. This AI-based technology uses instant messaging to chat in real-time, with your customers or website visitors.

The top benefits of chatbots are 24-hour service, instant responses to enquiries, and answers to straightforward questions. Surveys show that 63% of respondents prefer messaging an online chatbot to communicate with a business or brand. Chatbots are not going anywhere and we will only see them becoming more popular as time goes on.

Here’s to Success in The Years To Come…

So, now that you know the top digital marketing trends for the coming years, which ones will you be adopting into your strategy? As an experienced Online Marketing Business, we’ve got you covered! Contact SOMS today for a strategy that will keep you ahead of your competitors.