Technology has been evolving over the past few years. The integration of new technology into the lives of people has shifted consumer behavior. Consumer behaviors are unpredictable. To understand the top trends, we can consider market research and the reactions of industry pioneers. We have analyzed the top trends of 2020 to predict the shifts of 2021. Some new and surprising trends appeared this year.
Companies continued to focus on better customer experiences. SEO use for marketing also remained popular. But there were some surprises along the way. The impact of COVID-19 led to an increase in employee advocacy and engagement. The rise of the new consumer generation, despite predictions to the contrary, has been surprising.
Here are some of the key digital marketing trends of 2021 to look and plan for:
- GET VISUAL
Visual content is as significant as readable content. Visual content is eye-catching, and it makes data easier to understand. More consumers are using visual searches in their online searches. This trend is popular among younger consumers. It is only going to grow more popular as more and more information gets digital. 62% of Millennials prefer visual searches over other types of technology. Thus modern solutions are emphasizing on all aspects of a system. Let’s say marketers are experiencing different modes and features to create an ebook for the companies.
A great example is the Netflix marketing campaign for Narcos. Narcos is a show about the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, a Colombian drug king. The infographic’s best thing was that Netflix presented data about the Colombian drug trade using cool infographics showcasing characters from their series. They also used a brand-specific hashtag for information related to the show. Their infographics increased consumer interest in their posts.
- EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Employees are the ‘human face’ of your brand. They set the impression of your brand. So, your customer experience hinges on the attitudes of your employee. You will attract more customers if your employees are helpful. According to a survey, the biggest reason customers stop doing business with companies is employee behavior. It makes sense to put your employee center stage in your marketing strategy.
Companies are beginning to focus on employee advocacy and engagement because of their marketing potential. There are many advantages to using employees in marketing. According to Social Media Today, content shared by employees gets 8x more engagement than content shared by brands.
How can you harness the power of employee engagement? Put your employees first and ensure employee satisfaction. Have in-depth discussions and training on brand image. Make your employees an integral part of your official marketing campaign by using them as models for your products like Aveda. L’Oreal is using hashtags to showcase their community. Their most popular and engaging hashtag was #lorealcommunity.
Many companies also used the work from home situations during COVID-19 to make relatable marketing content. Marc Jacobs showcased employee outfits on their Instagram page with @WFHits. Lucky Brand created tutorials on how to make masks and work from home. All these marketing activities were cheaper than the alternative. Brands are now questioning if they even need expensive marketing campaigns when employee engagement gets better results at a fraction of the cost. We expect to see more employee engagement in digital marketing in the future.
- EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The adage ‘The customer is king’ still holds in the 21st Century. 2020 was the year of the customer experience. Most other trends are just variations of the same. Customer experience is how the customer thinks your company treats them.
Why is exceptional customer experience vital? According to research, 73% consider good customer experience above all other factors when making buying decisions. Can we put a dollar amount on how valuable a good customer experience is? Yes, we can. Companies with annual revenue of $1 billion can earn $700 million more with better customer experience.
The biggest concern for customers is efficiency. Your customers want their products delivered fast and with all the frills attached.
Customers also want quick customer service. Social media handles are great for this purpose. The best and most followed accounts usually have the fastest customer service. Netflix is a pioneer in this field. Their social media handle works quickly and efficiently to untangle any messes customers find themselves in. They also have a free international calling that makes it easier for international customers to present a query or question. Nike also has a separate Twitter account for customer support in seven different languages.
Another trend is consistent customer support. Most brands use multichannel services to interact with their customers. Customers expect the same quality on your Facebook as on your website. The industry standard for consistent customer service is IKEA. You will get the same customer experience, whether you’re in Berlin or New York. This strategy improves customer engagement by 50%.
- PERSONALIZATION
Consider this; you have two equally good products in front of you. Which of them will you choose? Will you choose the brand with a more personalized approach to you or the one that treats you as just another nameless, faceless customer? Brands are betting that consumers prefer customized marketing. And they are right. According to Internet Retailing, 69% of consumers want to have a personalized customer experience. But you are expected to put in the effort.
Gone are the days of Dear (insert name here) emails. Customers are now looking for brands that cab predicts their spending habits and likes for them to recommend products. Just look at Amazon. They are one of the most popular eCommerce companies in the world. What made Amazon so in demand? The answer is simple. It is popular because it is a master of the art of personalization. When customers use Amazon, they see a personalized homepage and get tailor-made recommendations. Sections that showcase products frequently bought are the most popular. Similarly, Netflix watchlist is an exciting feature that customizes recommendations according to your watching habits and the habits of others who have watched similar shows.
Brand marketing will only get more and more personalized soon. Like other trends, this one is here to stay.
- POSITION ZERO
Over time, people are focusing more on getting information quickly and efficiently. The new Google search service comes in handy for this. Previously people would enter their question on the Google search bar that would redirect them to a page showing several results. Then people would select the article that best answers their question.
But, what a wonderful and mysterious thing SEO is. Google has used its mysterious SEO magic to answer queries without a single click with a small snippet. These boxes are called Position Zero. The boxes have a little excerpt containing the required information required along with a relevant picture. Position Zero will be one of the most coveted positions for brands since they might be the only thing a user might see when searching the internet. Research suggests that more than 60% of search results are now Position Zero snippets.
Brands will try to harness the power of SEO to use this for their advantage. We will see an increase in SEO use in the coming days.
- HEY GOOGLE!
Voice-activated searches are seeing an exponential rise in popularity; almost 36 million Americans use Virtual home assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home. There will be a boom in voice commerce as customers start using voice searches to shop for their favorite products. According to research by OC & C, voice commerce sales for the US will reach up to $40 billion this year.
Brands are aware of this opportunity. They are beginning to leverage this trend to their benefit. They are using headless commerce for this purpose. An excellent example of a brand integrating voice commerce is the voice shopping service of Argos. Argos has optimized its voice search feature and made it easy for customers to converse with their application to ask for products.
Alexa offers branded skills that are third party skills that use the services of other companies. So when you ask your home assistant how to clean out spills, she will give you step-by-step instructions for 200 different types of stains using Tide. This strategy has two benefits. Firstly it improves band visibility. Secondly, it makes it easier for customers to buy brands as they are following the instructions.
Brands will be optimizing their content for voice searches and smart speaker advertising in 2021.
- FORGET MILLENIALS
Millennials are getting insignificant for the digital market. Focus is shifting towards the next generation; Gen Z. Gen Z will make up 40% of all customers with a $44 billion buying power.
Gen Z is more diverse than millennials with a different consumer attitude. They are more socially conscious and expect brands to do the same.
Companies will begin to market their products to Gen Z in the future as Millenials will take a back seat for them.
FINAL WORDS
Technology is going to take center stage in the next year. The significant trend is to understand your target audience and give them what they ask of you. And we know the answer to this is good quality content with a focus on extraordinary customer experience. As 2020 comes to an end, this is the optimal time to plan a marketing strategy based on the next year’s trends.
