Digital Marketing Trends in 2021
The global upheavals of 2020 will be felt profoundly in the digital marketing landscape of 2021. Brands face a whole new terrain of consumer behavior, reshaped by leaps forward in technology and mass social movements.
Live-streams and an increase in influencer content
Stay at home orders meant events were canceled, and consumers were unable to attend in-person events. They weren’t even able to socialize with their friends and family.
This led to an uptick in the number of people tuning into live-streams, whether it was a branded live-stream, a live video from their favorite celebrity, or an online workshop.
On Facebook, live viewings spiked by 50% during lockdown periods, while viewings on Instagram surged 70%. TikTok use shot up in 2020, and there’s a good chance we’ll see this upward trajectory continue to play out in 2021.
Human-drive content like influencer live-streams can create trust, and tap into the 'in-the-moment' connection that 2020 consumers crave.
Amazon Live really got going during the pandemic. Influencers took to the platform to promote their favorite products during live events.
Appearing as high up as possible on relevant Google searches has long been the “Holy Grail” of SEO. The challenge is to rank for the “featured snippet,” providing just enough information to peak interest and get the user to click for more context.
Customer Segmentation
Manual categorization is becoming obsolete. From 100 or so engagements, the big digital ad algorithms can micro-segment the perfect audience. The goal is, of course, more engagement and customer retention, leading to lower ad costs and higher customer lifetime value.
Google Ads Bidding
Automated bidding on Google Ads debuted in 2016, but we expect it to come into its own in 2021. Automated bidding can tweak and optimise the ad better than any human digital marketer.
Shoppable Posts on Social Media
Social media platforms to explode as a channel for eCommerce sales, with easier and easier Integrations to allow users to complete their purchase without leaving the app.
Voice Search SEO
Voice search is the next frontier of SEO. More and more users prefer to talk into their search bars instead of type, whether they use voice-activated AI assistants on their desktops or use their smartphones like walkie-talkies.
Image Search SEO
Image-searching represents another stream of traffic for digital marketers to hack into and insert their client brands into.
Special Events
The popularity of Snaps and responded with analogs like Instagram Stories and Facebook’s MyDay.
In 2021, digital marketers will get creative to tap into the consumer attention devoured by ephemeral content. The structural disadvantage of ephemeral content is that it can’t be reused, making it harder to automate. But with so many eyeballs on ephemeral content, it can’t be ignored.
