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Latest Digital Marketing Trends in 2021

This blog will take you through the emerging trends in marketing:

• Artificial Intelligence
• YouTube Shorts
• Programmatic Advertising 
• Visual Search
• Voice Search 
• Conversational Marketing and Chatbots
• Influencer Marketing
• Personalization
• User-generated Content
• Virtual Reality
• Augmented Reality
• Conclusion

Learn everything about Digital Marketing here.

Covid-19 has hit the world so hard that it has been difficult to revive the economy. The pandemic has changed every aspect of life including shopping trends. Many companies are now relying on digital means to keep in touch with customers. This has accelerated the expansion and prevalence of online shopping. So, it is important to know the current marketing trends in the digital world to adapt to the rapidly evolving field of Digital Marketing.

Let us begin!

Artificial Intelligence

The world has been keenly watching the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI). The most common rendition of AI that everyone comes across is the AI chatbot that solves different queries in apps and websites.

According to research conducted by MIT, the top reasons for organizations to incorporate AI into their system are given below.

So, you might be wondering about the importance of AI.

AI helps organizations segment data effectively. It helps to dissect, organize, and analyze various behavioral and demographic data along with data available from analytical software. The accuracy and efficiency of AI are much better as compared to the work done by humans.

Another empowering feature of AI is the element of personalization. AI makes it very easy to provide people with a lot of new content. But is the content really useful and helpful for the viewer? This is where the superpower of AI, which is personalization, comes into play.

When using AI, myriads of minute data can be studied and content can be personalized according to the data. This will result in longer engagement of the customers. AI uses complex algorithms to learn about particular customers from patterns of their data history. 

Since it simplifies manual work, AI can help organizations to save a lot of money, which, otherwise, has to be spent on employees doing things manually.

Planning to become an AI engineer, know how to become one here!

YouTube Shorts

YouTube shorts are the new way of presenting short-form video content. YouTube shorts occupy the entire mobile screen and the maximum duration of the video can be one minute. YouTube will reach out to those creators whose videos have generated the most views and engagement. Such content creators will be rewarded.

If a business is able to make attractive and engaging content, it will have the advantage of creating brand awareness, which can help the business to win the hearts of the general public. Even if these objectives are not fulfilled, if the content is engaging, then there is a possibility to earn some revenue through YouTube shorts. So, YouTube shorts can be an alternative source of income for a business.

The easy-to-use interface of YouTube shorts, which is similar to popular platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram reels, makes it people’s favorite. This new trend can be advantageous for a business for a number of reasons. The reach that these short videos created for a business are pretty high.

In comparison to other platforms, such as TikTok, YouTube shorts are less vulnerable. TikTok has been subjected to censorship and restrictions. However, YouTube is one of the oldest and most trustworthy sites. As a result, it is less susceptible to such limitations. YouTube also saves you from losing valuable and time-consuming content of your Youtube channel due to bans or regulations.

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic ad buying is another technology that relies on software to buy digital advertising. In traditional methods, there are manual negotiations, proposals, and court tenders. 

In programmatic advertising, the display space in the search engine on the website is bought by using machines and algorithms.

So, people are relying on programmatic ad buying a lot recently, because it helps in better planning and optimization. It also helps in efficiently targeting advertisements.

Let us see an example of programmatic advertising –

A company ABC that sells surfboards and employs programmatic advertising – the platform distinguishes online customers by considering various factors such as:

• Location (male or female between the age of 18 to 45 years)
• Geography (people available within a distance that is about three to five minutes from the beach)
• Interests and hobbies (surfing, place of residence)
• Consumer behavior and patterns (identifies people who search about surfing during their lunch break)
• Time of the day (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.)
• Weather and climate
• Device (smartphones and laptops)

The software then uses actual data to determine the ideal online audience for the campaign and purchases digital ad inventory in an auction-based manner on everything accessible across multiple devices and in locations where the audience might be interested. 

Advertisements are customized to each customer’s specific interests and habits. The establishment of intelligent connections, generation of insights, and optimization of performance are all part of the process.

Visual Search

This is one of the latest Digital Marketing trends that takes users to a next level of experience. The users can now either upload a picture to search for similar products or pictures or the users can simply use their devices to capture an image and then search for similar ones.

A popular visual search is the Pinterest Lens. It is a visual search tool with which anybody can take a photo of an object and the app will guide them to similar products and also to places where the user can buy the product online or search for similar products and more related items.

Google Lens is another visual search engine by Google. Google Lens is pretty smart.

Let us take a look at the features of this latest trend:

• It helps you to find similar products, and information about where to buy them can be obtained when you search for apparel and home goods.
• If you use your camera to scan a barcode, Google Lens will help you find out more information about the product and also about the stores from which you can buy it.
• When you scan a business card, Google Lens directs you to save the contact or address on your device.
• Another amazing feature of Google Lens is that it helps you get a summary of a book and read reviews whenever you scan or search for a book through visual search.
• Google Lens will access your calendar and help you set an event to your calendar when you scan an event flyer or billboard.
• Another interesting aspect of Google Lens is that it helps you to read more about the artist when you scan a painting in a museum.
• Landmarks or buildings will redirect you to see historical facts, operation hours, and more details.
• If you are using Google Lens to scan a plant or animal, you will be directed to the details of the species and related breeds of that particular organism. Is that not super cool!

Check out our Digital Marketing Tutorial!

Voice search

Everything is now at your fingertips, thanks to technological advancements. As a result, there is a voice search. It has been people’s favorite. When a user talks into a smartphone or any other device equipped with a sound sensor and detector, the device may, now, display the speech in written form.

Smart speakers, such as Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri, and Google Home, are now familiar devices. According to Universal Access in the Information Society (UAIS), 50 percent of all online shopping will be conducted through voice results by 2022.

However, keep in mind that these gadgets only display the first result on the search engine result page (SERP). It is no longer enough to be in the top five spots; so, it is necessary to be in the top position to reach out to potential consumers, as the voice search will open only the first result. Hence, the competition for the first position in search engines is pretty high. Topper takes it all.

Explore our blog on the most frequently asked Digital Marketing Interview Questions! 

Conversational Marketing and Chatbots

Time has changed. Brands too have changed from a self-proclaimed entity to a communicator who listens to the customers’ problems. Brands, now, focus on giving individual attention to customers, so that their needs are acknowledged. In order to do this. brands rely on smart technology.

Chatbots are the most modern technology. They initiate and continue conversations with a lot of customers simultaneously at a very minimum cost.

The use of chatbots accelerates and eases the process of solving customer issues and helps brands to create a genuine relationship with as many customers as possible in a limited amount of time.

Chatbots have to be curated carefully to give the best customer experience. 

Given below is our chatbot example. This chatbot efficiently connects with our experts and perfectly guides interested people to the right expert.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is the latest trend where a seller relies on an influencer or public figure to promote a particular product. Let us look at the advantages of influencer marketing.

An influencer paves the way to the hearts of their fans. This process builds trust and credibility.

Influencer marketing promotes better targeting of customers. If the niche of an influencer resonates with your products, then you will be led to the right audience to promote your products. Hence, there is a greater chance of conversion and lead generation as the audience you will get will be the right one.

Influencer marketing is successful at influencing purchases since it isn’t forceful as an influencer’s followers have voluntarily opted to receive content from them.

As a result, when you convey your message to people through an influencer, it does not come across as forced.

So, you might be wondering why influencer marketing is among the latest Digital Marketing trends. The answer is that influencer marketing improves SEO.

A website’s domain authority is a number based on how comprehensive, valuable, and meaningful its material is. A website would probably have strong content if other high-authority and reputable websites hyperlink to it.

So, getting a backlink from the high-authority website of an influencer will be an important aspect in improving your website’s domain authority, thereby helping you to grab the top positions in the search engine.

Influencer marketing also adds to the quality of your content. These days, influencers put in a lot of effort in creating good quality content, and this is reflected in the businesses promoted by them.

The suitability of influencer marketing, irrespective of the size of the business in the market, makes it the favorite choice for brands. When it comes to influencer marketing, emerging start-ups and small and medium enterprises get an equal opportunity, similar to industry giants.

But it is important to find the right influencer; this can be done by in-depth research into their reach, category, level of engagement, and values promoted by them.

Let us not forget that AI also makes a difference in influencer marketing. AI can, now, determine who can be the right influencer with better engagement and fewer fake followers. The role of AI in influencer marketing is shown in the picture below.

Personalization

Personalization is the key for any brand and any kind of marketing to win people’s hearts. Personalization includes personalized content, products, emails, apps, and services.

The fundamentals of personalization point out to giving attention to people’s unique choices.

Deep learning, machine learning, and AI can, now, digest huge amounts of data. Technology is now capable of learning even the minute details and behavior patterns about people and can even predict the products and services that might be liked by people. Personalization is where AI meets app customization.

According to Statista, as of 2019, there were 2.9 million applications and 1.84 million applications in Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

It is becoming extremely crucial for applications to deliver highly personalized and seamless experiences to consumers. Personalization distinguishes an app from other apps in a similar category. 

After exploring app development, working on debugging, promotion, and monetization. Personalization is one of the most effective strategies to ensure that your users enjoy their time with your app.

If the first interaction is not pleasant, then most users will delete the app. Even if an app passes that criterion, the app must strive to guarantee that it is used so that it does not sit idle on users’ phones.

We also simply cannot ignore the Digital Marketing trends in personalization created by brands such as Netflix, Starbucks, etc.

User-generated Content

People like taking part in activities, particularly those involving their favorite items or services. User-generated content (UGC) relies on the customers’ enthusiasm. UGC encourages customers to create something unique with the product in question and share it with the rest of the world.

UGC campaigns encourage customers to be creative about the product or services during campaigns where the customers participate in various fun challenges. This is an intelligent strategy to receive a higher click-through rate.

These types of campaigns are highly effective because they require less time, effort, and resources as compared to other campaigns. These types of campaigns are also a great resource to gather unique and authentic promotional materials. 

The fact that these promotional materials are given by customers of their free will can always impress new customers. This will also create better engagement and lead to high conversion rates.

If a company is asking their customers to make a creative video or content promising them to publish it on the company’s site, this will always engage and encourage the customers leading to high retention.

This also creates trust among new customers as it indirectly builds word of mouth.

Virtual Reality

The use of computer technology to create simulated worlds is known as virtual reality (VR.) By wearing a head-mounted display, VR allows you to experience and interact with a 3D environment that is not real. By accepting inputs from the computer, the gadget generates a 3D virtual environment that is immersive and seems authentically real.

YouTube VR is software that is built for virtual reality. You are already familiar with YouTube. In YouTube VR, you can watch any video in a virtual reality environment. Like the YouTube app, you can subscribe to channels, create playlists, and view history.

This technique has a plethora of applications. People can utilize it for recreational purposes, training, or even medical applications. It can be used by older individuals to relive their youth. The options are limitless.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is considered one of the top Digital Marketing trends. What is augmented reality? is an intriguing question.

Augmented reality enhances the real-world experience with the help of a computer-generated perception.

Augmented reality adds different digital elements to the surrounding reality with the help of a camera or smartphone. This technology is capable of providing a completely immersive experience to users.

So how does this benefit a business?

There is a famous furniture brand that allows users to take a picture of their rooms through smartphones, and the users can then place the furniture in their room virtually through their phones.

Another popular brand is now allowing users to try out sneakers by pointing their smartphone cameras toward their legs. Now, the users can see their legs wearing a pair of sneakers and they can swipe left or right to change to another pair of shoes.

This technology provides users with a fun experience. This technology has a lot of potentials, and it may be adopted by many different organizations in the near future.

Conclusion

We have brushed up on the latest Digital Marketing trends. The creative technical revolution that is happening in the field of marketing, as well as Digital Marketing, cannot be ignored, and it is yet to be conquered. So, sign up for our Digital Marketing course to learn more about the top Digital Marketing trends and technology. 

Still, have questions about Digital Marketing clogging your mind? Discuss it with our expert Digital Marketing community!

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