Marketing is ubiquitous in the business world. Hence, every savvy business student must keep up with all the new developments in this ever-changing landscape.
To help business students stay a step ahead, paper writing service EssayPro has compiled the top five marketing trends in 2021. Read on to see what they are!
Personalization
For decades, mass marketing has dominated consumer outreach efforts. But things are changing. Buyers now respond better to one-to-one marketing as compared to the former.
In 2019, 72% of consumers say they only engage with personalized marketing messages. Customized messages show the customer that the brand understands them and their needs. And this has become a non-negotiable prerequisite for most buyers.
Today, pricing is no longer the only factor that drives buying decisions. Personalized customer experiences are the new cool.
The Power of Social Media
The popularity of social media apps has opened up new avenues for marketers. One of the biggest sites today, Facebook, currently has more than 1.3 billion monthly users. This is a glimpse into the potential social media apps have to grow revenue.
Today, the exposure a business gets from social media is far higher than any other advertising channels. But it’s not only about the number of people online. Several marketing tools make social media marketing even more powerful.
Marketers can leverage the following to improve their conversion rates:
- Geofilters
- Interactive content
- AI and data-driven consumer targeting
Social media platforms provide significant value in marketing campaigns. They expand the brand’s reach and provide advanced consumer targeting. Hence, it is a trend worth exploring for every business. Social apps have also brought about new ways to connect with buyers. This includes the following techniques and more.
Influencer Marketing
With the advent of Instagram, Youtube and Tiktok, influencer marketing is on a whole new level. Today, more and more brands are putting familiar faces in their ad campaigns.
As shown by a recent study, the strategy pays off. The research revealed that 63% of consumers trust influencers’ recommendations. In fact, they are willing to trust them more than the brand’s own sales pitch.
User-Generated Content
Millennials and Gen Z make up most of the global population and social media users, too. In the US alone, they now hold over $350 billion worth of spending power. It translates to significant online revenue potential. Leveraging user-generated content is undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to get a share of this lucrative market.
Enthusiastic customers made Coca-Cola’s ‘share a coke’ campaign a success. Sales improved by 3%, and on Facebook, user traffic increased by 870%! User-generated content using tools like hashtags provide valuable recommendations to potential buyers.
Conversational Marketing
Messaging applications have enabled businesses to increase responsiveness to customer queries. Conversational marketing creates a personalized experience and convinces consumers to spend.
About 82% of consumers report they require quick responses to their requests. Nowadays, when you visit a website, you will notice there is more interactive content. Brands are using a conversational approach to push visitors to try their solutions. Gone are the days of pushing loads of information that might be irrelevant to the viewer.
Chatbots
Chatbots are very effective in conversational marketing. Brands are using business accounts in social messaging apps to communicate with consumers. Such accounts are now turning into sales funnels. Applications like WeChat and Whatsapp have even integrated payment systems.
Lyft leverages AI-powered chatbots to communicate ride details with customers. Besides its app, the service links to Messenger amongst other top platforms.
Chatbots are also used in websites to attend to visitor’s queries 24/7. This helps customers get answers quicker without hiring more people. According to Oracle, around 85% of customer service is soon to use chatbots.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
Speaking of interactive content, AR and VR have gained traction. Pokemon Go brought together global players at 45 million users at its peak. The results? The AR gaming company was able to advance location-based advertising.
Recently, IKEA built an AR application for consumers to test out furniture in their homes. IKEA Place uses the smartphone camera to show how pieces would look in the room before one makes a purchase.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization has grown to embrace emerging technologies. Some important areas for students to take note of include.
SERP position zero
The popularity of voice assistants like Siri and Alexa has increased voice searches. In 2021, voice searches could make up 30% of internet searches. SERP (search engine results pages) position zero gives consumers answers without opening links. Leveraging voice search engine optimization enables a brand to be the top result.
Visual search
Searching for products and alternatives using images has become a common practice. To come out on top, brands are optimizing their websites and online stores for visual search. Around 61% of consumers believe visual search improves their online shopping experience.
Video content marketing
At least 72% of businesses report that using video improved their conversion rate. The high ROI is why business students should keep up with this new hot trend.
Currently, around 85% of internet users in the USA watch online video content monthly. This opens infinite opportunities for businesses. Now, they can incorporate video in their digital advertising campaigns using VOD platforms, CTV/OTT channels and social media platforms.
Programmatic Advertising
Developments in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and data analytics have improved digital advertising. Programmatic advertising utilizes these technologies to automate and simplify ad buying and selling. Unlike traditional approaches, it saves both time and money when purchasing display space. All bidding processes for the available ad inventory will occur in real time.
Today, there are several programmatic advertising solutions out there. The introduction of Google Ads Smart Bidding is a notable development. This shows how programmatic ads are becoming the new normal in mainstream advertising.
The Takeaway
Business and marketing are inseparable. It’s in the best interest of every savvy business student to keep up with marketing trends. One can not gain an edge or any real value from showing up at the business school. Successful business students go the extra mile and explore all the related fields.