Business owners are busy people. A successful business owner must stay up to date with their own business and practices while keeping up with more prominent trends in the economy and their target audience. Understanding and staying informed on current digital marketing changes can help companies fine-tune their strategies for the best possible sales numbers. Learn more about the top digital marketing trends of 2021 so far.
Automation and Machine Learning
The digital marketing industry made great strides in the past six months regarding automation and machine learning. These innovations are on a path to continue as Google favors “smart” trends and ways of doing things in the digital marketing world.
One example of automation and machine learning breaking into digital marketing is smart bidding and smart campaigns on Google’s pay-per-click advertising side. Smart campaigns work by introducing targets while continuously analyzing touchpoints in campaigns. The campaign will adjust when the data is sufficient to support the change. Companies could use enhanced bidding in the past, but now, businesses can focus on more specific campaign goals, such as:
- Return on ad spend
- Maximizing conversion value
- Increasing conversions
With these or any other goals in mind, Google automates the strategies used in PPC campaigns, making it easier to choose a strategy based on goals. This shift toward automation gives companies more levers to pull.
Mobile Spend & Cross-Device Conversions
While this trend began in 2015, there was a huge increase in mobile spend as more people transitioned to work from home or were impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic during 2020 and it shows no signs of slowing down over 2021. In the past decade, people slowly shifted to a mobile-first model of online shopping. Many conversions are coming from mobile, but companies still need to focus on cross-device and cross-platform conversions.
For example, a person may experience their first exposure to a product or brand through an ad on a social media platform. That same person may do a little research on their mobile device and visit the brand’s website through a PPC ad before ultimately converting on a desktop computer through organic search.
Customers’ buy cycles are increasing partially because people have more time and more tools to convert with the current global pandemic. It is a trend that is growing in 2021 and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Current Events
When it comes to making conversions, a brand needs to connect with its customers. More than ever before, consumers are concerned with the beliefs of brands they support and want to support businesses that align with their values.
People are increasingly in tune with current events and injustices happening in the world. Word gets out on social media almost instantaneously. As such, consumers want brands that are involved and vocal about their values.
Brands must figure out their identities and how to interact with their customers in ways that build rapport and trust. People are turning off to the idea of orchestrated PR statements and want brands to get real and be honest with them.
Customers trust the visible brand they see more than the opinions of somebody they’ve never met on the internet because people tend to go with their gut feeling based on a brand’s identity. Brands should stay true to themselves and not fret the negative comments as much as before as long as they value transparency with their customers above all else.
There are plenty of things brands should keep in mind as they continue into the depth of the new year. Digital marketing trends can change on a dime, as we learned in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Keeping up with trends is crucial and having a digital marketing agency that acts as a partner is the best way to navigate the twists and turns. Contact Logical Position today to find out what we can do to help your company reach its full potential. We are a Google Ads Premier Partner and PPC marketing agency with experience in a wide range of industries. Contact us today for a free consultation on any of our services.
