You’ve probably been deep in digital marketing practices over the last couple of years. Like us here at Constant Clicks, you are well aware of how dynamic it can be. Trends come and go in the digital marketing industry.
Now that 2021 is coming to a close, it’s high time we look back at some of the trends that dominated this year. What’s certain is that some of these trends are still going to be a part of next year’s key digital marketing strategies.
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Mobile Shopping
The pandemic caused many disruptions in 2020. Midway through the year, however, most industries were able to recover and adapt. The answer was clear – a focus on online shopping. The industry was worth a whopping US$4.2+ trillion this year. That’s mostly because with the lockdowns, people had to resort to online shopping instead of buying in stores.
Marketers saw this as an opportunity to capitalise on e-commerce. Specifically, on mobile e-commerce. This year, over 70% of retail visits were made through mobile devices. People want convenience when it comes to their mobile shopping experience.
That being said, a lot of business owners and marketers focused on delivering a smooth mobile shopping experience for their customers this year. Improvements such as mobile-friendly interfaces and mobile exclusive deals were made on various platforms to drive sales.
Moving forward, it seems like mobile shopping is here to stay. Even once the pandemic is dealt with in the next couple of months, people have already gotten a taste of the mobile shopping experience and its convenience. Going back to the traditional ways might be tough.
A good way to take advantage of this opportunity is by considering Google Ads. Our expert marketers have discovered that a lot of the shopping experiences of people online start with a Google search. By using Google Ads, you can effectively drive traffic and predictable sales to your website.
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Photos And Videos For SEO
There was a point in time when people didn’t want too much media loading from the websites they visit. It makes websites laggy and takes too long to load.
However, thanks to better web development and internet technology, people no longer have any qualms when pages have a few photos and videos inside of them. People are now more fond of a more visual approach to content and ads online. Reading about the product is good, but seeing the product in action is better.
Take Google Ads image extensions for instance. We’ve been using this neat feature to grab attention and drive sales and leads for our clients. These are small images that appear alongside your ads in Google when it appears after a search. It’s effective because it gives people a taste of what to expect when clicking on your link.
A website that loads fast is still highly recommended. Aside from better internet technology, there are a lot of workarounds to making media work on your website without compromising performance.
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AR Technology
By definition, AR or augmented reality is an interactive experience wherein real-world environments interact with computer-generated images or materials. Again, this trend was made possible because of the pandemic.
Since people were limited in going out, the best way to bring the marketplace was through augmented reality. It gave people a more visual view of the products they are interested in buying.
One of the pioneers in AR technology marketing is IKEA. With the help of Apple, the furniture giant has developed an app that allows you to see what IKEA furniture would look like inside your home. From there, you can simply order and have the product delivered to your doorstep instead of having to go outside.
Another major brand using the technology is Gucci. They launched an app that lets you see how shoes would look on your feet via AR technology!
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Smart Bidding On Google Ads
Google Ads is a constantly evolving platform that we’ve been a witness to. One of the most recent upgrades to the PPC platform is the addition of Smart Bidding.
Smart Bidding puts AI in control of your bids for having your ads appear through the platform. It uses advanced machine learning and a wide selection of contextual signals through Google AI. It helps you optimise your campaign and maximise your return on investment easily.
While automated, Smart Bidding can only still do so much. You’re still going to need an experienced Google Ad specialist in the driver’s seat. With Smart Bidding, however, you’ll have better control over your ad spend.
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Podcasts
More and more people are tuning in to podcasts and it’s easy to see why. The medium is accessible, more celebrities are jumping in with podcasts on their own, and it offers people a quick fix of entertainment on the go as well.
Podcasts have been a great platform for marketing because of their reach and they reached their peak last year.
Some brands make their names more prominent online by sponsoring podcasts. Some brands even create podcasts of their own like The Message by General Electric and The Sauce by McDonald’s.
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Short Social Media Videos
Marketers used to fear videos in the past. However, they’ve come to understand that people are more willing to watch entire videos on social media so long as it’s of the right length. For the moment, 1-2 minutes is the golden timeframe for social media videos.
You can easily keep the attention of people in this short amount of time. It’s more than enough to get your message across but it’s also not long enough to generate in-video ads which might turn off some viewers.
When it comes to social media videos, the goal isn’t to entertain. It’s to let your message be known. Be it information on your new product or an advertisement for your upcoming sale – go direct to the point and make the short video worth your viewer’s time.
These are just some of the biggest trends for digital marketing in 2021. It has been an amazing year for businesses and marketers despite the pandemic challenges. Moving forward, you might want to keep an eye out for how these trends develop within the following year as they are still most likely going to be vital practices to consider.