2020 was a tumultuous, testing, and difficult year, especially for those that run their own businesses. In response to people being separated, we saw more people than ever coming together online and spending more time on both social media apps and search engines.

Although the year was much different than expected, some brands actually managed to grow substantially during this time, showing how quickly their digital marketing skills could adapt.

Looking forward to 2021, which is (fingers crossed) going to be a much more fulfilling, productive year, many of the digital marketing trends have derived from what happened online in 2020.

In this article, we’re going to putting terrifying 2020 behind us, and moving on to take a look at the top 10 digital marketing trends of 2021 so you and your business can hit the mark when it comes to your digital marketing strategy this year.

Video Content (Including Live Streams)

Visuals are obviously a huge part of digital marketing, but the popularity of video content has increased massively in 2020 and is set to be one of the most important aspects of digital marketing in 2021.

During 2020 there was a 70% surge in people on Instagram viewing live videos, so live streams are definitely something you should aim to be doing every so often.

Video content, including Instagram Reels, is also grabbing the attention of users faster, and for longer, so focus on creating some high-quality, moving visual content this year.

Informative Content

However, as great as beautiful visuals are, more and more people are looking for informative, interesting content. This means posting less aesthetically pleasing images and posting more information about your products, services, and opinions.

You can also use the new Instagram Guides feature to share informative content with your followers.

Knowledgable Customer Service

Good customer service is always essential, but it’s targeted as being one of the most essential digital marketing features this year.

This means that whoever your potential customers are speaking to via social media, whoever emails your customers, and whatever you put in your newsletter, has to be on-point and provide an abundance of knowledge.

Voice Search SEO

With more and more people using voice recognition to search online, it’s important that you take a look at voice search SEO.

When people use voice search, they ask longer and typically more in-depth questions, so it’s a good idea to make sure your SEO is equipped for the kinds of queries your potential customers might be asking.

Shoppable Images

Shoppable images, whether from an influencer or posted by a brand directly, are incredibly popular. The ‘shop now’ link really does work. Research by Quicksprout shows that 60% of Instagram users find new products through this social platform, and 75% of users take an action after viewing a post.

So, ensuring your social media is shoppable and you use sponsored posts to your brand’s advantage is essential.

Micro-Influencers

Although in years gone by the attitude of brands using influencers in their marketing strategy was to target the people with the highest number of followers because they assumed they would have the biggest ROI, that’s not the case anymore.

Micro-influencers (those with between 1,000 - 100,000 followers) are where the real success is, and they’re definitely who you should be targeting for your influencer marketing.

Research shows that over 82% of consumers are likely to buy a product that a micro-influencer recommends.

Increased Use of AI

The use of AI (artificial intelligence) is becoming more popular in digital marketing. The most common AI feature that’s used is a chatbot, allowing customers to speak to ‘someone’ on your website or social media 24/7.

AI can also be used to look at follower and customer data, as well as their experience, to personalise the things they see. This optimises real sales as people are seeing what they actually want to see.

User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is as simple as it sounds, it is content produced by the users (or in a brand’s case, the customers) of a company. This can be reviews, social media posts, images, etc.

Research shows that 92% of people trust UGC more than typical advertising, so it’s time for you to start reposting your customer’s photos and incentivising reviews.

Inclusivity

Throughout 2020 there’s been powerful activism and inclusion, and there’s absolutely no reason for this to stop in 2021. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it’s also beneficial for your brand.

Make sure that everything about your brand screams inclusivity, from your brand’s overall message to your visuals.

Purpose Driven Brands

As mentioned above, after such a powerful year for activism, protest, and change, purpose is more important than ever before, and this impacts your marketing strategy too.

People no longer want to follow or be customers of a brand with no purpose, no identity, and no voice. So, make sure you’re straight on what your brand’s purpose is, and share it.

Ready for 2021?

Hopefully, you can use all of this information going forward in your marketing strategy to make 2021 the most successful year for your business yet.

If you don’t have a marketing strategy to support your business and you’re looking for a helping hand when it comes to all things content creation, social media, SEO, analytics, and email marketing, get in touch with us and we’ll create a bulletproof digital marketing strategy for you.