There is an always interest in Digital Marketing trends every year to understand turn this industry takes in the digital era due to technological advancement and specific user targeting and overall enhanced user experience.
Marketers and Interested People are constantly scanning out new trends and technology to understand its usage effectively and apply into their own business to get the first mover advantage and to get ahead of the game.
It also excites learners and digital marketing aspirants who look digital marketing as their future career these people are the one who are keen to learn and understand overall digital marketing and its tool at a conceptual and moreover at a practical level. If you want to understand digital marketing as a whole at a practical level we highly recommend you to Get 1Hr Free Digital Marketing Demo Session to understand how digital marketing can boost a business and how you can track these trend and implement it to enhance businesses.
You may have gone through our previous blog which was the Part-1 of Digital marketing Trends in 2021 if not you can click here to check that out.
Latest Digital Marketing Top Trends in 2021
1. Augmented Reality
This is one of the best digital marketing trends marketers have started using to enhances users interactive experience in a real-world environment where the objects in the real world (existing and Proposed) can be made by using computer-generated information to bring the perspective In real life to uplift the user experience.
Experts believe that there will be a rise in the use of Augmented Reality than the use of Virtual Reality in the near future as Augmented Reality is more interactive and believable in the world of digital marketing. Many Famous brands have started to use Augmented Reality and have uplifted user experience and brought up sales as it gives them a ‘wow factor’ and it makes the brand stand out from others.
Augmented Reality has been used by many companies and industries to enhance their user experience.
For example
1. it is used by a furniture company so that their users can imagine how the product looks in their home before even it comes to check if it matching the background or not many customizations can be added as well.
2. It is also been used by shoe Companies as users can just try out the shoes and swipe to try other ones as per their choice and preferences without even going to any store at their home using AR.
3. It is also been used by Builders to show how their building will look like after it’s finished, even they can show the flats to prospective customers to enhance their vision into the future.
You can imagine the game of user experience have levelled up simply by using augmented reality as a part of their marketing strategy which uplift user experience, uniqueness and increases the chances of sales. Though creating models of your product which you can embed in Augmented Reality may come at a good cost. But the impression it leaves on the customer can be justifying to stand out from the rest.
2. Hyper-local SEO
Hyper-Local SEO is one of the most helpful digital marketing trends especially for small businesses new/existing or even startups. For a better understanding of the same, there is a slight difference between Local SEO and Hyper-Local SEO, as the name says it Local SEO Focuses on targeting the audience at City or District level but whereas Hyper-local SEO targets Streets, a particular area or region. Due to this, It has become way easier for a small business owner to understand and experience the power of Digital Marketing.
Hyperlocal SEO being the Google’s algorithmic push focuses on a person’s current Name, Address & Phone number. Aka NAP to get very personalized results to daily queries such as closest ATM Near me? Or Nearest Gym from here?
There is a significant growth in footfall in the stores due to adaptation of the same. It helps businesses to create a strong presence in a regional market. With people using more voice search results it has just helped the user to reach their nearest store/shop. It is a great relief for traditional and small businesses as far as they are concerned about their online presence.
You will ask us that how we can set up a Hyper-Local SEO for their business? It’s Simple. Follow the steps below:
1. The Main Tool to start your hyperlocal SEO strategy is to simply set up a Google my Business Account.
2. Fill out all required details Name of the Shop, Kind of Business, Contact Number, Address, Opening Times.
3. Make sure you pinpoint the location of your business on the map so that users can easily visit the place.
4. Make sure you Upload relevant business Images of your business to increase trustworthiness and presence.
5. You can create a website for your business if required as comes as an added feature part of Google My Business and that too free and helps you adds professionalism so that you can share your websites with others as well as it enhances the presence of your business too.
Hyper-Local SEO is been used and it has been pushed using Google Ads but considering the fact that it’s time small businesses and startups can emphasise this factor as it does make a huge difference between you and your local competitors.
Reviews on your Google my Business Page matters a lot. Here are few facts to consider regarding the same.
– 86% of Consumers Read Local Business Reviews
– 57% will only purchase from the business if it has 4 or more Stars in review
– 40% of consumers only consider reviews within the past 2 weeks
3. Quora Marketing
Let us understand what Quora is, Quora is a question and answer website where users ask and answer questions. The site has over 100 Million monthly visitors, which makes it one of the largest social networks on the web.
Though it has very limited Monetizing or Advertising Capabilities, Quora has become user’s favourite destination when it comes to finding answers to their queries and so it has attracted a lot of digital marketers as well and it has become the company’s Quora Marketing strategy to provide relevant information as while answering questions asked by the users.
Questions and Answers on Quora have become a trustable form of information as people tend to trust another person more who has been there or have experienced certain scenarios instead of brands because it has a human touch to it and the audience feels like they are talking to fellow users. This makes a personal connection for which quora is famous as people are smart and tend to identify mass marketing by brands. Answering People’s genuine questions relate to your business and adding a reference link to your business’s website can help draw traffic and attention to your business that’s why it has become a great digital marketing trend in 2021 to follow.
4. User-Generated Content
UGC stands for User Generated Content which is a self-explanatory term alternatively know as User Created Content is usually can be in any form of content, it can be an image, a text, audio or even a video at times which are being posted on social media platforms such as review platform, social media etc.
UGC is content related to a brand that’s created by someone who’s not an official representative of a business. It’s usually when a brand organizes a contest and to win the same user has to upload an image with their product or sometimes the user has to tag few other friends to be eligible or has to use a hashtag in their image post.
People enjoy participating in these types of activities especially for their favourite product or services or even if the brand is being promoted by their favourite social media influencer. UGA campaigns are a creating submission by their customers as per the challenge by the company. UGC has a high click-through rate as compared to a normal promotional campaign. Only a few brands have used the power of UGC and have strategically used it to their advantage. A good example would be GoPro, it has told their users to share the videos and images which has been shot via GoPro equipment. They have successfully created a craze in the audience by getting many mentions in the stories and posts to get featured in the “Video of the day” or “Photo of the day” Challenge.
Let us understand 5 Ways to Encourage User-Generated Content on Social Media
1. Create Buzz for Your Brand. If you want your fans to talk about your brand on social media, you need to give them a reason to do so
2. Run Contest/Quizzes on Social Media
3. Leverage the Power of Hashtags
4. Offer Rewards
5. Ask Questions
5. Geo-fencing (Location Based Marketing)
Geo-fencing is Location Marketing using geofencing technology, it’s like a virtual boundary is created where customers are automatically targeted when they cross the boundary into a geo-fenced area. You could get a text message on your phone or you may see a social media advertisement or even an app notification. Basically, when your mobile enters or exits a particular geographic boundary it is known as geo-fence and when you see advertisements according to your geography you can consider that the respective advertiser has used geo-fencing location-based marketing.
This can be used when an app or any software uses your RFID, GPS, Wi-Fi and/or cellular data is been tracked and not restricted. It has become a powerful tool that allows marketing teams to deliver their brand’s messages to the right customers at the right times.
Imagine you are travelling to a random destination towards Lonavala as soon as you enter a specific region e.g. Near Lonavla Toll Plaza here for the brand it would be your entry in their Geo-Fence some brand e.g. Imagica. Can advertise its offer of 30% off on your Social Media or even can send you a text message. You will surely give it a thought if your purpose of travel is to enjoy the day. These types of marketing are powerful as they can drive traffic instantly.
According to Recent Research,
– Mobile ads with geofencing have double the CTR (click-through-rate)
– Geo-fencing is adaptable with 92% of smartphones.
– 90% of SMS are read within 3 minutes.
– 53% of shoppers visited a retailer after receiving a location-based message.
– Market Research Future has analyzed that geofencing can help elevate customer interactions, it’s undoubtedly one of the beneficial digital marketing trends and hence it is gaining popularity. The global geofencing is expected to grow approximately by USD 2,387 million by 2023 at 27% of CARG between 2017 and 2023.
Why it has become mandatory to keep up with these Digital Marketing Trends?
Digital Marketing has become a dynamic field and one has to be updated with every trend which changes how digital marketing has to be done. In order to stay ahead of the game, one has to be understood and implement the trends. One way to understand Digital Marketing as a whole is to opt for a Practical Digital Marketing Course which emphasizes Implementation and total understanding while consider new marketing trends as well to get updated and stay ahead of the game. There are other top trends of Digital Marketing that will be discussed in the next blog.