As you may know, consumer Trends are constantly evolving, which is why it is sometimes difficult for companies to keep up with new consumer expectations and market trends. The evolution of the digital world is a major factor in changing consumer behavior. Companies, therefore, have no choice but to adapt their marketing strategy to keep their target consumers. But to attract them, you should know and apply digital marketing trends in 2021 to identify opportunities to improve leads and sales.
Why you should adapt your marketing strategy to market trends?
Since the digital revolution has empowered the consumer, and the various developments in knowledge, communication, information and technology are shaking up classic marketing and pushing it to become dialogue marketing, oriented towards a customer who is no longer a captive, but increasingly a zapper. You better know the current trends in 2021 and must read this article which presents these top marketing trends of the year.
1. Zero Position & Featured Snippets
Position Zero is the information Google offers at the very top of the search results, considered as a featured snippet. It generally answers the question posed by the user.
For many years, the goal of SEO has been to get your website, brand, advertisement, or other to the top of the search results engines. The main objective is the same but it will be even better since the goal is to be at the top with zero-click searches. The zero position consist refers to the optimized snippets on Google pages, and it is this position that the digital marketing and SEO trends of 2021 given top priority. Position zero works differently than other results. It is separate from other results and it’s located in a small area of its own at the very top of the page.
2. The fight against ad-blockers
It can be hidden but not all digital marketing trends of the year are 100% progressive or positive than others. 2021 is also about overcoming major obstacles, such as ad blockers. With an estimated 27% or even more of internet users equipped with ad blockers, many marketers are seeing their main traffic flow automatically cut off at the source, including for the PPC (pay-per-click) advertising campaigns. You must check off the damage by analyzing your advertising data. It’s depended on your target audience as well as where you publish your ads. But sometimes, your ads can be blocked and the best thing to do is absolutely not to waste your time to convince your potential customers it’s will simply annoy them more. The best thing to do is is to adapt and readjust your advertising budget to accommodate other more successful campaigns. For example, since the wave of influencers on social media, many companies use sponsored content whether it’s in YouTube videos, Instagram ads… The best way to attract customers is to start advertising on platforms they frequently use and prefer.
3. Interactive content
Creating interactive content is a good way to communicate easily with your target audiences or your current ones. This is technically not « new » at all, but it has only recently been recognized as good practice. With interactive content, you will know what are your customer’s needs, what they expect from your company, what you can do better and you will also get to know them better. To make interactive content, there are several ways to proceed you can use quizzes, multiple-choice questions, or personal answers. It’s not only a good way to keep your customer entertained and to keep them interested in your content but also to collect data on users’ preferences, make them feel closer to your brand but the most important, to readjust or improve your website content, product…
4. Customer segmentation
Segmenting your customer base is another marketing that is not new at all, but is only now being fully appreciated. Instead of creating a small number of large marketing campaigns targeting a large audience, it is better to have a large number of small marketing campaigns for a specific audience. What does it mean? It means that you define an identification of several buyers who share similar needs, specificities, and purchasing behavior. The objective is to group them together in order to adopt a common strategy towards them. Firstly, it allows you to be more agile and responsive to your prospects, the objective being to build their loyalty over the long term. Secondly, it will allow you to personalize your strategy for a well-known target.
5. Local Seo
Google frequently updates its local search engine optimization algorithm. Therefore, you should also constantly update the appearance, content of your business in local search results. In some ways, local SEO is even more powerful than SEO alone, because people who search for a particular type of business based on their geographical location are more likely to buy than others. So, it’s easier to convert them.
Firstly, you need to be « verified” and « secured » by Google. To do this, sign up to Google My Business and take control of your listing (or create a brand new one). This will help you rank higher in the Google search and also give you the opportunity to add more information about your company.
As you know keywords are important matters in your SEO strategy. Obviously, prioritize the name of your town or village as the main keyword, but also think about related keywords. For example, if you are near a famous monument or a popular place, mention it once or twice.
6. Eco-responsible marketing
Until recently, companies that took the environment into account in their marketing strategy were in the minority. Today, in view of the growing concern of consumers for the protection of the planet it is in their interest to include it as a priority in their sales policy.
This starts with the manufacture of the product, by favoring industrial processes and materials that limit the environmental impact. It then applies to the finished product, in the choice of its packaging and communication. It also includes Fairtrade. For example, now people want to buy more Fair-trade, BIO, or GOTS products not only because they respect the environment but also because of all the workers involved in the production process.
By adopting a green marketing practice, your company not only contributes to protecting the environment but above all, it conveys a positive brand image to consumers, that of a trustworthy company that respects nature and human life. Many customers are willing to pay more for a product or service offered by an eco-friendly or Fair brand.
7. The use of omnichannel
Omnichannel strategy is about managing prospect touchpoints in sync, not independently of each other. This ensures that customers receive a seamless and continuous experience, regardless of the channel they choose.
Omnichannel is more user-centric than brand-centric, which is totally in line with the current trend, resulting in ever-increasing popularity among customers. According to the agency Wide, in partnership with the EBG and Harris Interactive, 85% of French people will be using digital for their purchases in 2019, in parallel with their experience in a physical shop.
8. TikTok and clubhouse
A good marketer knows that the only way to stand against the competitors is to have a proactive approach towards creating innovative marketing strategies. That’s why using Tok-Tok or Clubhouse for your business is rather a prolific calculated decision than ever plus, it’s completely free. On that platform, you can easily gain an enormous community even more than in the Facebook era. Of course, there can be obstacles as well since this platform reached a saturation point where it extremely difficult to get your message brand’s across to your target audience. But there is a more positive point, here are some of the reasons that show why companies shouldn’t ignore Tok-Tok.
- The platform has more than 500 million users
- It available around the world
- It is free
- In 2019 it was the most downloaded app on the AppStore
- There are several age groups from the youngest to the oldest.
It is not a secret that social media have taken a crucial place in the lives of consumers and are extremely powerful growth levers for companies. Thanks to social media such as Tok-Tok and Clubhouse, companies are able to create interactive content from nothing, these platforms have enormous potential for brand deployment.
9. Chatbots
Chatbots are increasingly being used in e-commerce for many years. Available to customers 24 /24 a day and faster, they are able to suggest a selection of products or engage the prospect through targeted marketing campaigns.
They can interact with the customer and thus limit access to real advisors, which has the advantage of reducing costs. As well as offering fast customer service, they are also a goldmine for customer data, to save time and money.
Many websites have integrated the chatbot automatically. Each time a person visits the site, a window opens in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen to offer promotions or personalized advice to visitors.
10. Vocal search
Using voice search has become commonplace for many consumers. Smartphone users are increasingly interacting with a voice such as Siri, Alexa, or Bixby. It goes without saying that this has a definite impact on the marketing strategy of many brands.
It is therefore essential to invest in branding in order to see one’s brand reach the “top of mind” in users’ minds. Indeed, a company must put all the chances on its side when the user passes through its connected speaker to carry out a search on a product.
Voice searches are usually expressed as a question and Google takes this into account in its results proposal. This is where SEO comes into its own. The content proposed must answer the questions asked by consumers in a precise manner and the page titles must be formulated in the interrogative whenever possible.
11. The Livestreams format
In recent years, the Livestream market is expected to exceed $70 billion. And for good reason, this format has met with particular success during the confinements and has taken various forms: webinar, conference, live broadcast, etc. For brands and influencers, this format has allowed them to keep a link with their community and to gain visibility. Indeed, the live functionality is available on most social networks and these appear in the users’ news feed. Live is also key to recreating elements of physical sales online, and the practice helps to engage users on e-commerce platforms. These lives can be made by numerous platforms for example Youtube, Instagram, Uplive, Twitch, and many others.
These were the 11 biggest marketing trends of 2021 that will allow you to improve your content, personalize your offer and increase your visibility on different social networking platforms. As a good marketer, you must follow market trends in order to remain competitive.
In conclusion, I would like to know which trend you consider the most pompous at the moment? Do you have any other digital trends that have particularly stood out for you since the beginning of the year? Let’s chat!
