At the end of every year, there is always something to learn. 2020 was a trying time for shoppers let alone the organizations amidst the outbreak of COVID-19. Businesses came to a halt as shopping in-store was limited to nothing but a thought.
While the pandemic changed the way things work, consumer buying behavior also changed. The digital marketing industry came into the limelight as eCommerce boomed.
As easy as it may sound, digital marketing is not every marketer’s cup of tea. Creating a perfectly laid out marketing strategy requires in-depth research and years of experience to effectively captivate a customer’s attention. The digital platforms have always empowered consumers to make informed and well thought buying decisions.
If you are running an online business, you need to equip yourself with these 8 Key Trends of Digital Marketing expected to reign in 2021.
- Social Media
According to the stats by Hootsuite, there is an increase of 7.6% in the overall social media users globally from 3.9 to 4.27 billion. This clearly indicated that organizations are spending massively on digital marketing with a large chunk of it dedicated solely to social media.
In this hyper-connected world, it is highly important for businesses to maintain their digital presence.
- Email Marketing
Although there is hardly anyone who doesn’t receive sales pitches in the form of emails, sales with the lesser cost incurred. It’s usually in the form of giveaways, discount offers, greetings, as well as automated updates about the latest offers.
Even though email marketing was introduced in the digital marketing domain a decade ago, it is still considered one of the most convenient and effective ways of attracting new customers.
- Search Engine Optimization
SEO is a vital digital marketing tool as the digital presence of the business is heavily dependent on it. According to the Content & Editorial Manager of Clutch, Grayson Kemper, 55% of businesses currently invest in professional SEO services, and this percentage is expected to rise.
SEO plays a major role in ranking your website on the SERPs. It pays off in the long run as businesses get more qualified leads that have a higher chance of conversion.
- Content Marketing
Content Marketing is a strategic digital marketing tool that has taken on the marketing community by storm. It’s considered amongst the most influencing and critical digital marketing tools. An increase in avid online readers has also led to an increase in the content marketing activities of online businesses.
It also helps you engage the maximum number of visitors which gradually leads to a sale. Most importantly, it helps you understand the what, how, and why of the topic you intend to educate the target audience on.
- Influencer Marketing
Now and then we see our favorite social media personalities talking about multiple products, and advocating ongoing campaigns of various brands.
A point to ponder here is that we pay a little bit more attention to that content because of an endorsement from someone credible. Tomoson Data crowns Influencer Marketing to be the fastest-growing channel of customer acquisition.
It is deemed to be better than all of the other highly preferred digital marketing tools such as email marketing, PPC, and organic search. Along with this, it is also cost-effective.
- Augmented Reality (AR) for Engagement
AR is quickly making its mark in the Digital Marketing Industry. Digital Marketers are keenly interested in adopting this technology and putting it to use.
You must be wondering why! Well, according to the statistics, 72% of customers bought online products that they did not plan on buying because of AR.
Also, 61% of online shoppers prefer buying products from retailers that offer Augmented Reality. Amazing and swift growth in the AR industry can also be seen by its net worth which is currently standing at $11.14 billion and is expected to reach a whopping milestone of $60.55 billion by 2023.
- Explainer Videos
You might have come across various short, interactive, and appealing videos that made you stop scrolling, right? Aren’t they a good sight? These videos have been adopted by various businesses as a part of their digital marketing strategy. Such content is labeled as explainer videos.
It’s getting harder and harder to keep our concentration levels up, after all, we do have the attention span of a goldfish. On the other hand, explainer videos not only cut the cost but also communicate the desired message to the intended audience in 1-2 minutes.
- Pay-per-Click (PPC)
A pay-per-click advertisement is a business-centric tool equipping businesses to decide who they want to reach online. The decision is based on interests, demographics, age groups, and so on.
However, running an effective PPC campaign means having an allotted budget as you have to pay per every lead. . But according to Web Solutions of America, 50% of PPC visitors presumably make a purchase compared to organic visitors.
There’s More where that came from
The digital marketing industry offers a plethora of features to strategically execute plans to win over their clientele. During this pandemic, a lot of businesses, and individuals have capitalized by taking their business online. However, a negligent approach towards this can also be consequential.
Nonetheless, the benefits availed by businesses, and customers would continue to be like this.
The question is: After this pandemic is over, would you rather shop in-store or online?