Top Digital Marketing Trends for 2021
The global pandemic forced many of us to rethink how we do business. But the rapid digital transformation that necessitated safety-focused work-from-home setups also boosted the type of creative marketing strategies that digital marketers are known for. Faced with the need to reach their target audiences in new ways, businesses turned to existing and emerging digital marketing options that they may have never considered previously. As we shift into 2021, we’re likely to see an expansion of interest in the marketing channels that won the day over the course of 2020, including SEO, short-form video content, SMS marketing, nostalgia marketing, and LinkedIn.
1. Growth in SEO Avenues Make Search Engines a Priority
Search engine optimization (SEO) has been an essential digital marketing avenue for years. Jostling for the top spot can be tricky, but it ultimately pays off big for businesses and websites that are able to get there, especially for high volume keywords. Hitting the #1 spot in a Google search results in 10 times as many clicks compared to the post in the #10 spot, with huge drop offs beyond the 5th position on the results page.
Voice Search
SEO’s importance isn’t going anywhere soon. But the type of SEO marketers focus on is expanding. For 2021, there’s going to be a much larger focus on alternative methods people are using to make online queries. Among the biggest to watch is the expansion of voice search SEO. Multiple sources, including Google and Gartner, either report or predict voice search usage around 30% (or more) for smartphone users.
Notably, voice search impacts not only the structure and type of queries people use but which search engines those voice searches are sifted through. People using voice search tend to use shorter, more direct phrases, use voice search for local-focused queries, and will typically avoid more sensitive topics.
And although Google commands over 80% of the search engine market, the popular Amazon Alexa service and its family of connected devices utilize Bing for queries. As 2021 commences, businesses may need to prioritize voice search SEO and learn how to optimize SEO for Bing and other search engines.
Instagram’s Alt Tag Feature
Although Instagram posts and content have been indexed on search engines for some time, the service was primarily optimized for its mobile apps. Consequently, that meant it wasn’t well suited for the type of backend SEO that helps marketers shift content up the results page.
However, in 2018, Instagram began allowing content creators to add alt tags to images. That’s a game-changer for businesses that want to use Instagram as a marketing tool as it gives Instagram posts wider SEO presence than in years’ past. The service is expected to reach over 117 million users by 2021, making it a hard-to-ignore option from an SEO.
2. Short-Form Video Will Extend Its Market Share
Businesses that haven’t already may want to start putting more time, effort, and marketing resources into short-form video content. Made popular years ago by the long-defunct service Vine, and given renewed strength by the likes of TikTok and Reels, short-form video content is set to grow even more in 2021.
As Adweek noted in a December article, “Consumers Are Obsessed With Feel-Good Short-Form Content Right Now”. Given the stress from the on-going pandemic, which experts predict will still be with us well into 2021, short-form content should be a top priority for businesses looking to reach consumers where they’re going.
These services are absolutely massive in their reach. TikTok now has over 100 million active monthly users, many of whom are young. And YouTube, which plans to roll out a short-form content service called YouTube Shorts, maintains twice as many monthly active users, making it fertile ground for marketing purposes. Still, advertising methods that might work on Facebook or Twitter aren’t always directly translatable to short-form video consumers.
Businesses that hope to ride the wave of TikTok, Reels, and YouTube in 2021 will need to learn the “language”, so to speak, of what does and doesn’t work for viral-focused content branding within that medium. Obviously, it’s doable. Just take a look at Chipotle with its Halloween #boorito challenge, or Kroger’s innovative #TransformUrDorm challenge.
Short-form video content marketing is one of the newest mediums, so businesses should plan carefully before rolling out any marketing efforts there.
New to advertising through short-form video on services like TikTok or Reels? Contact Madison Ave Media today for a complimentary consultation.
3. SMS Marketing Is Moving Out of Obscurity
In a previous post, we pinpointed SMS marketing as the best marketing channel for 2021. That may seem like a bold statement, but SMS marketing is one type of marketing businesses don’t want to sleep on any longer, especially with a large swathe of Americans continuing to work remotely in the coming year.
To put it plainly:
96% of Americans now own mobile phones, over 80% of which are smartphones
SMS delivers superior click-through rates (CTR) and response rates versus email marketing
SMS marketing is device agnostic, meaning smoother access to customers
Unlike email marketing, SMS marketing doesn’t get filtered to different folders
Opt-in services and shortcodes dramatically reduce worry about getting marked as spam
All of that has been true about SMS marketing for years. But SMS is finally starting to get more attention thanks to emerging, innovative apps like Community, which help create a personalized feel to SMS marketing efforts.
We were already married to our phones before 2020. The global pandemic made our devices an essential lifeline. That’ll extend into 2021, making SMS marketing a critical channel for businesses to consider adopting.
4. Consumers Turn to Nostalgia to Push Away Troubling Times
Difficult economic situations before the global pandemic had already heightened the market for nostalgia. The pandemic certainly exacerbated that. Bodies of research point to the way nostalgia helps us cope with negative situations and crises. And since most of 2021 is expected to look very similar to 2020, nostalgia marketing will continue to be effective.
Thankfully, nostalgia marketing is fairly simple in concept and execution. It involves understanding what different demographics loved about their childhood, and designing marketing content around those passions.
Millennials are the biggest market for nostalgia marketing. Pop culture references from Teenage Mutant Turtles to Pogs help give the generation the warm and fuzzies that lead to better conversion rates. But every generation (including the younger Gen Z and Xennial crowds) appreciates childhood references, so long as they’re authentic. Therein lies the rub with nostalgia marketing and with using it effectively in 2021. Careless name dropping never plays well with any crowd, so businesses will need to tread lightly and focus on authenticity to make it work.
5. LinkedIn’s Conversational Shift Benefits Brand-Building
The largest professional network is slowly developing a more conversational tone, and that’s going to be great for businesses from a marketing standpoint. The service has added a host of new features that are geared toward building out and fostering conversations, many of which move well beyond just connecting with and talking to other professionals.
Spend enough time rubbing elbows in the professional network, and you’ll find professionals (and by consequence, the brands they're associated with), getting deeply personal on everything from social issues to politics.
For 2021, think beyond LinkedIn’s original mission. It’s still the top spot for connecting professionals. New features like Live, Reacts, and Polls are about deepening those connections through conversations.
Brands taking this route will need to be careful, though. Just as we mentioned authenticity for nostalgia marketing, it applies here, too. LinkedIn’s efforts are designed to build communities and relationships. That means blunt marketing is not going to be your friend. That means you’ll need to de-emphasize the transactional and lean into genuine, no-strings-attached interaction.
Start Planning Your 2021 Digital Marketing Strategy
It’s hard to predict exactly what 2021 will bring. Good vaccine news and the looming end of our dark pandemic winter will help put many people in brighter spirits. But there have been fundamental shifts in how we work, live, play, and consume media that are likely here to stay.
That being the case, it’s important for businesses to plan their marketing strategy proactively instead of retroactively. Take advantage of these trends early so you can position yourself better as they continue to expand.
Effective marketing requires getting into the line of sight of the intended target audience multiple times before they’ll commit. Make your SEO, short-form video, SMS, nostalgia marketing, and LinkedIn efforts effective the first time, and every subsequent time, for greater success.
Starting new digital marketing initiatives in 2021? Contact Madison Ave Media today for a complimentary consultation.