A few years ago, data-driven marketing, voice search engine optimization (VSEO), and artificial intelligence were concepts business owners didn’t pay much heed to. However, today, these digital marketing trends demand attention and business owners must include them in their strategies.
If you want to stay in the competition and match the customer’s expectations in today’s competitive online landscape, you must accept the rapidly developing changes in digital marketing.
As of 2021, the times have changed. The pace of technology marketing is fast, and it is challenging to predict the consumers’ interests and behaviours. Marketers cannot continue to refuse the changes and expect educated guesses to give them the results they desire. The age-old methods cannot work forever.
Here, we bring for you 11 digital marketing trends that can help your brand thrive and generate steady revenue in this era of innovation:
1.  Artificial intelligence
It is vital to recognize that artificial intelligence has started to dominate, and this technology is here to stay. It is sure to become the focus of global business and industry in the coming days.
Artificial Intelligence helps to analyze consumer behaviour and search patterns. It enables marketers to use data from social media platforms and understand the customer’s online journey of finding products and services.
AI is expected to become the driving force behind many services. One prominent example of artificial intelligence in practice is chatbots. The other areas where this technology is implemented includes:
- Email personalization
- Product recommendations
- E-commerce transactions
- Basic communication
- Content creation
An experienced digital marketing agency in India will rely on AI to identify subtopics that need to be covered in an article. With the help of artificial intelligence, content teams have a better idea of the subtopics and related keywords. As a result, the article is in-depth and has the best chances to rank on the first page.
Businesses including AI in their marketing plan in 2021 can cut down on staff costs and boost growth, earning advantage over their competition.
2.  Social Media Shopping
Any established business would be harnessing the power of social media already. Nevertheless, many business owners use the platform to share post updates with their target audience.
In 2021, it is time to earn revenues by selling your products and services via social media. Businesses need to convert their Facebook and Instagram pages to shopping portals allowing customers to make purchases.
Many businesses have already started optimizing social media shopping. These include clothing lines, custom-made jewellery, and other bespoke brands. The idea of social media shopping is to sell your products through channels that consumers are accessing every day. Simply maintaining an eCommerce portal like WooCommerce or Shopify, etc., doesn’t suffice to keep you in the high market competition of 2021.
3.  Video Marketing and Webinars
Videos have gained immense popularity. A lot of you are hooked to streaming videos on YouTube, Vimeo, etc. The love to watch videos on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms have also increased. During the lockdown, many individuals have chosen webinars as a means to learn new abilities and upgrade skills.
Consequently, as per statistics, it is a proven fact that the trend for video marketing is rising. Videos are becoming a powerful marketing tool, and customers enjoy watching short videos instead of reading long articles or posts.
It is recommended for businesses to pay attention to this area now more than ever. Videos must be a part of every brand’s digital marketing services in India.
These videos can cover educational content, video advertisements, or brand awareness message videos. Moreover, you can host live video streams and webinars to conduct a one-on-one conversation with your customers.
4.  Voice Search
Voice search came into the consumer’s life in 2011 with Siri. The trend further gained popularity when people used Google Home and Alexa in their living spaces.
According to Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, 20% of Google’s search queries are made via voice. This data proves that modern-day businesses must optimize their eCommerce websites for voice search.
That’s not all. Businesses must also focus on the creation of more humanized and interactive content that is written and spoken in a conversational and natural language. Using this technique, you can tap new audiences since the search results for voice-searched keywords are different on Google from the typed search.
5.  Chatbots
Another popular digital marketing strategy for 2021 is chatbots. This AI-supported technology relies on instant messaging to have a dialogue with the customers or website visitors in real-time.
Many customers like to interact with chatbots as they respond 24/7. Chatbots provide prompt answers, accurately fetch your order history, and are consistently patient. The virtual assistants deliver exceptional customer service and meet the customer’s demands. When it comes to businesses, chatbots help to automate repetitive tasks, thereby giving the sales and customer service team more time to focus on essential activities.
6.  Personalization
Personalizing your marketing activities is vital in 2021 if you want to stay ahead of the competition. Personalization extends to products, emails, content, and more.
90% of consumers find personalization appealing. Such emails influence them to take the required purchase decision. The power of personalization is evident in Netflix and Amazon. They tailor their movie titles and recommended products as per the interests and preferences of their users.
7.  Influencer Marketing
Influencer Marketing taps on the power of word-of-mouth marketing. It uses key leaders to promote your brand message to a larger target market. Celebrities are considered influencers. However, more recently, influencers refer to YouTube or Instagram personalities with a huge fan following from a particular niche. These influencers use video marketing or content marketing tactics to spread the word about your products and services through their social channels.
Influencer marketing appears to be more authentic in comparison to advertising. It is also going to be integrated with artificial intelligence in the future. In the years to come, AI will identify the right influencers in every niche, making it easier for businesses to establish partnerships.
Artificial intelligence helps to identify influencers whose followers are real, have better engagement, and are likely to generate a higher return on investment.
8.  Social Media Stories
Snapchat was the first social media channel to launch the feature of ‘My Story’. The next platform was Instagram, followed by Facebook. YouTube also unveiled a story feature known as Reels.
These stories don’t last forever and disappear after a particular duration. Marketers can use stories to leverage on the consumer behaviour, FOMO – fear of missing out.
Social media stories offer many advantages that include:
- Cost-effectiveness
- Reaching a wider target audience
- Constant engagement with followers
- Increased brand awareness
- More traffic to your website
9.  Browser Push Notifications
As GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) undergo updates and see stricter filters, the potential of email marketing is reducing. Besides, the younger generation prefers other modes of communication and desires to have lesser touchpoints when engaging with a brand.
In an attempt to engage with consumers on multiple platforms, browser push notifications are gaining popularity in 2021. And these notifications are also becoming more sophisticated and personalized.
Notifications created keeping customer behaviour in mind are being used to re-engage users who expressed an interest in the brand but did not convert. Moreover, the feature is used for recovering revenue from customers who have abandoned their shopping carts.
Some notifications also have images and CTAs to increase conversion rates from such efforts.
10. Interactive Content
Interactive content is one of the fastest-growing digital marketing trends of 2021. This year, businesses will need to shift from traditional text-based content to dynamic, engaging content. Such content helps to create an immersive experience.
Some examples of interactive content include:
- Polls and quizzes
- 360-degree videos
- Augmented reality ads
- Embedded calculators
A majority of buyers are looking for more interactive content. They prefer it because it is fresh and original. Moreover, it gives them a feeling of connection with the brand and keeps them involved in the buying process. Interactive content tends to achieve higher engagement levels, is more memorable, and has more chances of generating the results your business desires.
11. Integrate Press Releases Into Your Digital Marketing Journey
Press releases account for a major portion of your revenue. Many digital marketing services in India rely on integrating press releases with digital marketing strategies for higher returns from their eCommerce websites. The reach of press releases is much more, and they assist in building brand awareness.
Wrapping Up
As you start exploring the recent trends of digital marketing, don’t forget to use the traditional ones. The landscape of digital marketing is ever-evolving, and change is an inevitable aspect of a digital marketer’s job. You must formulate a combination of the recent and age-old digital marketing strategies based on what the consumers prefer to succeed at selling your products and services. Embracing the new technologies, strategies, and tools well in time will help you to gain an advantage over your competitors.
