Digital marketing has advanced a lot in the last few years. And with the outbreak of the pandemic and the mandatory isolation it brought along, the internet and digitization became an indispensable part of our lives.
Unlike ever before, 2020 saw a massive leap in digitalization. Everything went online. Working from home became the new norm, virtual parties came in vogue, even schools started to offer online classes. With so much going on, the marketing trends in the coming times will definitely experience a major shift.
That’s why it’s important for you to keep up with the latest trends in the market. Without that, it can be challenging for you to stay ahead of your competitors. So here are a few powerful marketing trends to follow in order to stay ahead of your competitors. Let’s check out what they are.
1. User-generated Content (UGC)
If you are selling products or services online and haven’t leveraged the power of user-generated content, you should start working on it now. Before buying a new product, most buyers look for social proof. This can be in the form of product reviews, positive ratings, recommendations, etc. But nothing can work better than displaying user-generated content on your website.
Many marketers are already using this strategy in their marketing efforts. And because of how effective this tactic is, it is here to stay as a powerful strategy in the times to come.
Before buying a product, your users always do their research. UGC helps them understand the product better and identify what exactly to expect when they receive the parcel. Also, because these contents are created by your existing customers, they don’t appear promotional. It’s one of the reasons why people trust such content.
Your user-generated content will contain both positive and negative feedback about your product. So when you use them unfiltered on your site, you appear to be more transparent about what you’re offering. It’s a wonderful way of gaining your user’s trust and building credibility amongst them.
2. Influencer Marketing
Another very successful marketing trend that can put you ahead of your competitors is influencer marketing. It’s a wonderful tactic to reach out to new audiences, create brand awareness and increase your ROI.
There was a time when only celebrities could influence people. But today, influencers don’t always have to be celebrities. Instead, they can be prominent Youtube and Instagram personalities who have a huge niche following. Because of their amazing fan base, it’s easy to reach out to a wide niche audience and let them know about your business. The reason why influencer marketing works so well is that it can promote your business without making it appear too promotional. And people love to trust such content.
But to make the best out of influencer marketing, you have to know how to pick the right influencer. Before approaching an influencer, spend some time studying their engagement metrics. Keep an eye on their audience engagement. This will help you inspect their authenticity. You should also look at their technical skills and communicate with them before deciding if they are the right influencers for your business.
3. Voice Search
In the digital world, people are slowly becoming accustomed to the comfort of using technology to make their lives easier. Currently, people love the way Alexa, Google Home, and other such virtual assistants help them play their favorite songs, switch on different types of equipment, schedule their meetings, add items to their shopping cart, etc., without having to type a single word.
This clearly shows how voice search is becoming more and more popular and will take center stage in the times to come. According to reports, 22% of people in the US have bought something online using their speaker, and the number is increasing every day. Also, voice shopping is set to jump by $40 billion by 2022.
So, if you haven’t activated voice search on your website, it’s time for you to do it now. Optimize your images with descriptive file names, proper alt tags, image sizes, and file types so that Google can instantly present them upon receiving a search query related to your business products.
4. Visual Search
Although introduced back in 2001, visual search currently isn’t as popular as the other forms of marketing. But it is one important marketing trend that will play a major role in the digital world. In this form of marketing, people use real-world imagery to conduct their search instead of using texts for the process.
This means that looking for things online has become even more convenient. Users can simply use their Google lens to click a picture of things they want to search, and Google will present hundreds of results that match the uploaded image. The same can be done with Bing visual search, Snapchat camera search, Pinterest lens, etc.
So try using visual search for your business if you want to stay ahead of your competitors. One way of doing that is to ensure that your products appear in visual search results. For that, you need to use structured data for your images so that it’s easier for Google to identify them quickly.
5. Social Commerce
Another brilliant marketing trend that will keep you ahead of the others in the digital world is social commerce. In social commerce, you can purchase a product from a third-party company within the native social media experience. So if you’re on Facebook, for example, you can browse and compare products and then make a purchase right from within your profile without having to go to the product site separately.
With the massive growth of social media and eCommerce, more and more businesses are using social commerce to maximize their growth and profit. And because your users can purchase it without switching tabs, the risk of user abandonment seems to be considerably less.
So there you have it – the 5 important digital marketing trends that will help you stay ahead of your competitors. As marketers, if you want to be on top of the game, you’ll always have to stay ahead of your time and be ready to adapt to the changing trends. Knowing the trends that are dominating the market in the current times or will do so in the future can help you develop a solid strategy to grow your business, boost your conversions, increase your profit, and ultimately have the edge over your competitors.
