8 Big 2021 Digital Marketing Trends You Need to Know

There might be a million ways to reach out to the target audience but digital marketing is considered to be one of the best and most powerful tools to help with marketing. Digital marketing is also a new concept with a lot of untapped potentials, more than 60% of the world’s population is connected to the internet and with the help of digital marketing, a company can appeal to almost all the targeted audience.

Companies have begun to understand the advantage that digital marketing brings and companies that follow digital marketing have an edge over other companies who follow basic marketing techniques. By the year 2020, there aren’t too many successful businesses that don’t have an online presence. Technology is always developing and we can expect to see new technologies and tools that companies will adapt to keep their organizations at the top for digital transformation.

1. Facebook May Be Peaking

There was a time when Facebook was ruling the social media world and the ad conversion rates and engagement from Facebook were off the charts. Facebook started to lag after the rise of better interactive experiences offered by Instagram, Snapchat, and the rising star, TikTok is. Facebook is no longer the kingpin in the social media world but it is still a great platform for companies to implement their digital marketing campaigns.

According to Forbes, 41% of its users are over the age of 65. Companies have begun to target the youth and people within the age group of 21-40 but with Facebook being used by most adults, they are losing out on a lot of opportunities. While it is by no means struggling, it’s clear that Facebook is losing ground with the younger demographics, who tend to prefer the more visual.

Facebook lost a lot of users because of the data breach scandal in 2018 and after there were allegations of Facebook being used to change the outcome of the US elections. Facebook has also lost significant credibility, with many people growing frustrated and resentful with the platform’s proliferation of fake news, political propaganda, NSFW mean social media, and cyberbullying. Facebook is almost dead for the young generation and the popularity of Facebook is not likely to increase anytime soon.

The only reason that digital marketers are still creating marketing campaigns is because of the brand that Facebook stands for, everyone from the present generation knows facebook and its glorious past. It is still a challenge for marketing managers to create campaigns because they have to be very careful not to hurt any sentiments of the audience and the campaign should use all the required.

2. Instagram is a Hit with the Youth

Teenagers and adults have a similar interest in Instagram and this has helped its meteoric rise. Instagram has already passed one billion users and this is an impressive achievement. Instagram is also a social media platform but most of its features and tools are designed in such a way that it helps young creators and businesses develop a social media presence. Instagram closely looks into the feedback that it gets and the app is developed in such a way that it attracts users below 30 years old. The content algorithm and promotion schemes are completely different on Instagram and since there are a lot of young users on Instagram, the content created by young influencers keeps revolving around people’s feeds. Facebook is losing much of that cohort, due to its reputation as the social media platform for “old people.” To enhance your social media presence effortlessly, consider using advanced tools like the “reel maker” available online to create captivating Instagram Reels.

Instagram is not entirely a business-centric social media platform and it focuses on providing a safe environment for all other users as well. This is why Instagram has recently deleted the likes count feature and the total number of likes on a post has now been hidden. This feature will motivate young businesses and creators to post more content without worrying about the reach but many established brands have voiced concerns about this movie, and therefore, companies should keep a close eye on the impact this will have in 2020. In recent times, brands have also started to embed Instagram feed on the website to engage their audience and to increase the reach of their Instagram accounts.

3. Chatbots are Evolving

Customer support or user assistance has become an essential feature and to implement this companies are going for chatbots rather than employing a physical workforce. Chatbots are artificial intelligence (AI) software that acts as a virtual “concierge,” communicating with users and assisting them in completing their goals. These chatbots are programmed so that they have the right answer to some of the most common questions and if the chatbot doesn’t understand the question, they ask the users to rephrase the question so that it can pick up on other keywords. These Chatbots interact with users, primarily through the use of text chat windows, but verbal interactions are also possible. These chatbots will keep getting better and better at their job because they collect insights from all their conversations and use that data to improve themselves. Custom AI development can tailor you a unique chatbot possible?

These chatbots can efficiently be used for –

• Provide 24-hour service
• Give instant responses to customer queries
• Offering service without any need for breaks, vacations, or overtime pay

4. Context matters more than ever

Content Marketing is an essential part of digital marketing and content marketing can help in increasing the reach of the campaign and this is considered to be the backbone of the whole idea of digital marketing. Almost all the brands and companies who are into digital marketing focus on content marketing and develop quality content to attract a new audience. Search engines like google are also making changes to their algorithms so that people get better search results and this can help in connecting people and businesses efficiently.

Content marketing is also a relatively new concept and companies are trying out different strategies and are working on developing different types of content. This content marking is bound to become even more popular and will be widely used.

5. Email Personalization Strategies Go Beyond the Name

Emails have been a major channel of communication and will remain to be an essential challenge of communication because of the billions who use them for personal, commercial, industrial, legal, scientific, and academic purposes. Email marketing has been prevailing for a long time and this email marketing has evolved very much and has changed because unnecessary emails are mostly considered spam and users start to unsubscribe if they start sending too many emails and promotional offers. To combat this, businesses can use email marketing software that provides advanced features like segmentation, personalization, and automation. This software helps businesses to send targeted and relevant emails to their subscribers, resulting in better engagement and higher conversion rates.

The problem faced by many companies was that the generic technique of email marketing was not working anymore because the Marketing agency management software they were using only send the same mail to almost all the contacts in their mailing list. The present technology allows companies to create different versions and types of mails. The software will then process the data that it has and decide to send which type of email to a particular user. A clothing brand, for example, can see the purchases of their users and if someone has been looking at some T-shirts for a long time, the software will then send a promotional mail to that particular user saying that there is a massive sale and discount on T-shirts. This customized form of mails can help the business to improve their sales and services.

6. Interactive Content is Where the Action Is Now

People who are on the internet are constantly looking for new things and always busy, companies can’t expect people to read a whole paragraph or at least a few lines to know about the brand. This is why brands are focusing on interactive content, there are a few headlines or sentences to attract the audience, and if the users like the headlines, they can either click or swipe up to know more about the brand. According to Outgrow, 93% of marketers rate interactive content as highly effective at educating the buyer.

In 2020, more companies will experiment with interactive content types, such as –

• Quizzes and polls
• Augmented reality ads
• 360-degree videos

7. Use Ads Within The Messaging App

We are seeing that traditional channels like email and social media are losing the number of active users but there’s no denying that people are more active on instant messaging apps. It is estimated that in the next 5-7 years, messenger marketing is expected to be the number one marketing channel in the world. Companies and brands are building their customer base through these platforms like working Facebook messenger. These platforms can generate 10 to 80 times more engagement than organic posts on the Facebook News Feed.

8. Omni-Channel Marketing Is Here to Stay

Digital Marketing is not about marketing on a single channel. If companies chose a single channel their campaign can’t reach its full potential, this is why Omnichannel marketing is becoming popular. Omnichannel marketing is the practice of marketing across multiple platforms, including email, apps, social media, and your website blog. This approach enables businesses to connect with customers on more digital touchpoints, effectively offering a better user experience.