Digital marketing trends are constantly changing and being ahead of them is important to delivering an effective marketing campaign. In the past year, we’ve seen a shift in the way people are inclined to shop and how people consume the content they are being shown.
With the expansion of online shopping, the competition between companies is higher than ever which is why understanding the digital marketing trends in 2021 is so important.
Artificial Intelligence
It’s very important that marketers know their audience in order to create a successful digital marketing campaign. Preferences can be hard to track but with the use of Artificial Intelligence, we can analyse behaviour and demographics much more efficiently.
AI can extract every detail of information from a person. From personal preferences, profile information, purchases, interests, browsing history, and much more. By collecting and using artificial intelligence you can target tailored campaigns to your target audience.
Reactive Marketing
Reactive marketing is another longstanding popular marketing strategy. By being on the ball with your marketing and taking advantage of current trends, you can show your audiences that you are constantly up to date with the latest news.
Ikea is renowned for its reactive marketing and has proved thrived with its digital marketing campaigns throughout 2021. In addition, a great example of reactive marketing recently can be shown through brands changing their logos to match the album cover of Drake’s new album ‘Certified Lover Boy.’ Companies such as JD, Nandos, and Sephora all took part in the reactive marketing trend to increase brand awareness.
Source: Nandos Instagram
Voice Search
Voice search has been implemented on all social media platforms within the past year and offers an instant solution to customers’ queries. Instead of searching for an answer across google, voice search will directly tell them the information they need in an instant.
In a study, 58% of customers found a local business via voice search, and a further 27% visited a local company after conducting a voice search. If you are not optimising voice search now is the time to do so!
Personalisation
Personalisation can also be linked to artificial intelligence and is the key to driving engagement. When used effectively you can market the right product to the right person at the right time. Personalisation is a way to make your brand stand out, people crave uniqueness and are willing to pay above budget for something that feels special to them.
Personalisation is about creating a one-to-one experience for customers and can be done best by collecting qualitative data. Netflix and Youtube are great examples of personalisation marketing. Youtube with its specially curated recommended page and Netflix constantly assess what you’ve watched to recommend content you’d enjoy.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has seen an increase in popularity over the past years and shows no signs of slowing down. According to Tomoson Data studies, influencer marketing was the fastest-growing acquisition channel, ahead of organic search, paid search and display advertising. Along with email marketing, it was also the most cost-effective.
Influencer marketing is also one of the best ways to raise brand awareness and increase exposure. Whilst it can be harder to track return on investment with influencer marketing, 51% of businesses reported that they received a higher quality customer base.
Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing is the best strategy for improving customer engagement, customer experience and increasing revenue. Chatbots are the most commonly used and have made conversational marketing more effective by being able to resolve customer issues and answer queries instantly.
Other frequently used conversational marketing tools are live chats and messaging apps. These tools can be personalised to improve customer relationships if the chats are able to mimic a casual conversation and follow the same tone of voice as the customer.
Data-Driven Marketing
Data has been a huge theme across this list, from artificial intelligence to personalisation, all types of marketing strategies are best driven by data. When it comes to data-driven marketing it’s very simple, the more data you can collect the more effective your marketing campaigns will be.
Data-driven marketing optimises brand communications on customer information collection, you can interpret the information to predict their behaviours and desires, find out what they like and don’t like, and what content potential customers interact with. These types of data and insights can help with the highest possible return on investment.
Nostalgia Marketing
Emotions are extremely powerful when it comes to marketing. Surfacing emotions such as joy, freedom, and even anger can be effective examples of gaining a potential customer’s attention and converting them into a buyer. Nostalgia can be one of the most powerful marketing techniques.
Nostalgia marketing uses references, images, videos, or songs that were popular in the past to stir up sentimental feelings. Research study shows customers are more likely to spend money when something makes them feel nostalgic.
The most effective way to keep on top of the digital marketing trends is to outsource an agency for your company. Here at Surge Marketing Solutions, we are a constantly evolving marketing agency that can deliver effective campaigns to help your company.
