9 Important Digital Marketing Trends
If you own a business, there are several ways to improve your online marketing strategy so that you can increase your lead generation, conversion rates, and ultimately, profit. One of the best ways to guarantee long-term growth, however, is to stay on top of the trends running the industry. This ensures that you’re never left behind and that you remain competitive.
If that’s something you’re interested in, read on to learn about the upcoming top digital marketing trends.
1. AI Is Growing
artificial intelligence (AI) has slowly begun to play a larger and larger role in business and digital marketing activities in all areas. In fact, 80% of business and tech leaders claim that AI boosts their productivity already.
You can take advantage of this productivity boost yourself by using AI technology to make your processes more accurate and efficient, boosting customer experience along the way.
Marketing chatbots are just one example of the power of AI.
2. Micro-Influencers Are Taking Over
Influencers are nothing new, and for a while, people thought influencer marketing might be on the decline. This changed when the global pandemic pushed more people online than ever before, and micro-influencers began to take over the scene. Micro-influencers are influencers with smaller followings of 1,000 to 100,000 followers.
Micro-influencers are taking over because they maintain more niche pages and are seen as experts in their industry or passion. As a result of this and the fact that they are smaller, their audiences are more engaged and trusting. Their smaller audiences are also more easily defined.
Another bonus: They’re cheaper than regular influencers with larger followings.
3. Video Is Always a Good Idea
They say content is king, and they’re right, but videos are the king of content.
Human eyes are attracted to movement, and due to our instincts, video is more attention-grabbing and stimulating than other forms of content. It also involves more senses – visual and audio. As a result, audiences watch video content longer.
This makes video advertising more effective and easy to remember. Studies even show that 95% of a message is recalled by viewers when in a video format, compared to a mere 10% when it’s portrayed in the text.
It’s also worth noting that it’s easier to invoke action-inducing emotion with video content.
4. Advertising on Messaging Apps
Among the upcoming digital marketing trends is the move towards advertising on messaging apps. You wouldn’t think users would need more than one, but people contact others through an assortment of messaging apps available. Facebook Messenger, Instagram direct message, and Whatsapp are just a few.
Advertising on messaging apps works because it’s taking place where conversations are already happening and the consumer is ready to take in information. Here, your business is associated with the other important contacts in a consumer’s life.
Messaging apps are great because they encourage conversation with your brand. It’s the opportunity to provide customer support, build relationships, and grow customer loyalty.
5. Voice Search Is on the Rise
About 50% of all searches made online are predicted to be made via voice search. It’s important to make voice search optimization a part of your marketing game plan.
Part of the reason voice search is growing is that people are realizing that it’s faster and easier than typing when you’re on the go. In some cases, such as when driving, it’s also safer.
The important thing to keep in mind for voice search is that people speak differently than they type, so you’ll want to adjust your SEO strategy and keywords to account for this.
6. Say Hello to AR and VR
Both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are on the rise, and smart, successful businesses are thinking about how to implement them in their digital marketing strategy.
AR and VR allow a customer to experience your place, product, or event without having to be there physically. It may seem futuristic, but it will soon be expected by users when competitors are providing AR and VR options.
This trend is especially important for online businesses or those with customers that can’t go onsite.
7. Stick With Social
Social media has been a popular part of online marketing for a while, but the number of users and time spent on social media platforms is only growing.
Plus, social media is always changing. To run a successful social media business page, you need to stay up to date on all of the platform’s unique changes, additions, and features.
Social media users continue to open up to following and connecting with brands that maintain a strong social media presence. This form of marketing will continue to be one of the best ways to build your brand community and generate leads.
8. Try Out TikTok
On the topic of social media, a likely huge player in marketing will be TikTok. Over the past year, the number of users on TikTok outside of China has exploded. Better yet, a huge portion of TikTok users are the younger audiences many brands target.
Make sure that if you create a paid social advertising strategy that you consider promoting on TikTok.
9. Focus on Customer Retention
As far as marketing trends go, successful businesses are beginning to realize that it’s cheaper and easier to keep customers than it is to find new ones. As a result, customer retention should take up a good amount of your business strategy. Brand loyal customers are also more valuable because they’re repeat-buyers and spread the word.
To work on retaining more of your customers, focus on personalizing their experience. A great way to do this is by segmenting your audience so that you’re not trying the same tactics on everyone.
Use These Digital Marketing Trends to Win
Staying informed of digital marketing trends is essential if you want your business to succeed. This is especially the case as more businesses move online, amping up the competition.
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