Digital marketing can become the same-old hamster wheel year-on-year for companies who are just looking to be present in the space, rather than getting super disruptive and experimental. Email campaigns, the same marketing materials, and continued social media posts aren’t just cutting the mustard anymore as users crave a new way to be sold – and trust us, they’re looking to spend!

There are some digital marketing trends that simply cannot be ignored in 2021, and here are seven of them.

1. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere, in fact, most of the time you may be using it without even realising it – that is how seamless this marketing trend is. The most common piece of AI is found in chatbots. You know, when you send a message to a company or brand on social media and are instantly met with a reply. That there is a chatbot. While this is a very entry-level piece of AI, there are great advantages to adopting AI technology in your marketing campaigns. It’s a great way to understand customer behaviour, analyse patterns, and use data to identify how customers find their products and services.

2. Conversational Marketing

This can easily be confused with Chatbots, but that is not the case. Conversational marketing is real-time, person-to-person interactions online that are proving to be a winning formula for brands looking to not only engage their customer through a purchasing process, but also allowing them to seek help, advice, and troubleshoot. In an online world, users are trending more towards chatting online for assistance, rather than picking up a phone and waiting on hold with that terrible elevator music. Think of it like sitting on Facebook and chatting to a friend via messenger. Conversational marketing works in the same way.

Introducing this marketing strategy can send your conversation rates soaring and improve your overall user experience that can evolve to repeat visitation and great testimonials, reviews, and recommendations.

3. Personalisation

Web personalisation became disruptive a few years ago when it was new and still ironing out some kinks. Now, with technology advancements in that space, personalisation is much easier to implement than you think. We’re talking less generic advertising blasts and more human-centric offerings that equate to higher conversion rates. Just as you would like to be addressed by your name by your friends, digital marketing is treating you as a person with a name, not a human that is a statistic in their data. Once you understand your user’s behaviour, then you’ll be able to offer them a more genuine experience, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

4. TikTok

So, this one is certainly geared toward a younger market, but creating TikTok videos is low effort for big results. TikTok has taken over the way in which we consume products, learn new life hacks, engage and listen to music and above all, how we find new products and services.

Brand recognition and client retention go hand-in-hand and giving your users the ability to view your products and services in a different medium that puts both parties on the same level playing field is paramount. It’s the newest, and arguably the best form of content creation that remains unique, fun, and evergreen and can put your business into a whole new sphere of opportunities.

5. Influencer Marketing

If your business or brand could do with a leg up, then considering social media influencers to help spruik your product or service is a sure-fire way to engage a target audience you’re trying to tap into. It’s an old-school word-of-mouth type of marketing that works but showcasing your brand through people who have highly active and engaged social media followers to amplify your offering.

Influencers can be well-known celebrities or recognisable people within niche fields and followings who will post about your product and push their users to bring about brand awareness and push your products or service. This is usually done by providing the influence with samples and products, a discount code in which they can earn commission from, or other ways that are mutually beneficial.

6. Messaging Apps

Now, this is certainly a savvy way for up-and-coming and established brands alike to really tap into a younger crowd, if not a more digital-centric one. For example, the messenger app WhatsApp is found on just about every smartphone, this is a great way to engage customers and users and treat them like VIPs. It’s easy to set up, and it’s just as easy for users to opt-out, making it a win-win.

Pushing out messages on WhatsApp is a great way to immediately hit-up client bases on things like special offers, flash sales, or unique offerings or insights that provide value to your customer base.

7. Browser Push Notifications

Just about every website you visit from a desktop will prompt you upon arrival of whether or not you’d like to receive browser notifications. Similar to notifications that pop up on your smartphone, browser push notifications are taking the digital space by storm. It’s seen as the new-age way to engage loyal and repeat website users, and if anything, it may just surpass email sign-ups if trends are anything to go by.

With just a click of a button, you can notify your users of new blogs, product, or offers and they’ll be served it immediately making it far more attractive than an email campaign that is sent out and may not be opened. It’s one-less touchpoint a brand needs to worry about, and it’s certainly been a hit with dedicated online users.

Thanks for reading!

To stay up to date with Digital Marketing Trends be sure to follow our blog and our social media channels. Visit our Website to see how we do what we do!