Did you know that on an average the words ‘digital marketing’ were looked up about 60,500 times in the past month while the question ‘what is digital marketing’ had a search volume of a mere 8,100?
That is the difference between 10 years ago and today!
Businesses were booming, trades were being conducted and the economy was flourishing a decade back as well but the term ‘digital marketing’ had not made its place amidst the traditional ways and patterns of commerce.
Something called Digitalization was sweeping the market but the common man was not yet aware of what it entailed or where it led.
It was after 2015 that a rise in the trend of Digital Ideas and Applications was witnessed. And though the past year, 2020, was one of the worst times our generation has faced in the past century, there was yet a silver lining.
On one hand, many people lost their jobs and means of earning during this period, but on the other, the survivors found the cyber platform. Digital marketing had been gradually but surely paving its way to the big and small names of varied industries and got a much-awaited push through the pandemic months.
At a time when holding a physical marketplace was not just tough but extremely dangerous, many firms, corporations, and even local shops shifted to the digital platforms to conduct their business or to at the very least promote it.
This rise in the stature of digital marketing resulted in a lot of previously unexpected gains to an extent to which it in itself became a trend.
What is Digital Marketing?
To those new to the field, let me quickly reiterate.
Wikipedia defines it in the simplest terms as “that component of marketing that utilizes the internet-based technologies alongside digital media platforms to promote its products and services.”
These web channels include everything, from search engines to social media platforms to mobile applications.
The publicizing of one’s products and services to garner attention and awareness from the public and encouraging them to avail said solutions, all by the means of cyberspace, is the basic aim of Digital Marketing.
Trends to Capitalize on This Year
Out of a flood of predictions and ideas, I bring to you a select few that, if followed correctly, can help you propel your business to new heights in no time.
Influencer Marketing
Influencers are people who have, through their art, profession, or hobbies, garnered a huge following on various social media platforms, including some key ones like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
This kind of marketing primarily is a word-of-mouth technique. However, since the person advertising your brand on these platforms is a public figure, their vote of confidence can mean that much more for your business. You can choose this ambassador based on the mutual niche you share in the market which can further enhance their promotion’s effect.
For instance, choosing a YouTuber who reviews tech gadgets to hype up your new tech-based product or its auxiliary can help your brand move forward. On the other hand, introducing that same product through a dancer’s or stand-up comedian’s account might have an adverse effect instead.
Conversational Marketing
This tactic places you, the marketer in a one-on-one setup with your prospective customer.
According to statistics, about 82% of customers expect and want an immediate response to their queries, and conversational marketing helps you alleviate that concern. It puts you in an old-school arrangement – where you can get to know the consumer’s requirement and query alongside convincing them how your product can help them best – online!
Content Marketing
Marketing your business through the written word, be it a long-form article, blog, report, review, or a social media caption can be a wise choice in today’s times.
As per the Content Marketing Institute as well as from personal experience, it has been observed over time that it has lower up-front expenses and higher long-term benefits as compared to other paid forms of marketing.
It has also been noted that visual representations of these contents are highly appealing to the reader which is encouraging the enterprises to include more and more infographics alongside their text. While understandably creating these charts could be a tough task, various infographic layouts by Mind the Graph can be found online that make this tedious job simpler.
Visual Search
With the upcoming technological advancements, visual search is rapidly gaining popularity. Google Lens, Pinterest Lens, and CamFind are taking the market by a storm with the ease they provide in searching for an object of desire.
All your customer has to do is point their camera lens towards a product they’d like to find more about or use the Pinterest Lens to find a picture similar to the one they’re currently viewing – and boom! The results are ready to be served.
These searches support product descriptions, reviews, catalogs, e-commerce websites for the purchase of the same, and so much more, just like your basic internet browser.
Voice Search
When a visual search is already a thing, how could voice search be farther behind?
Google, Alexa, and Siri have come a long distance from their basic functions as a desktop search engine, a smart speaker, and a mobile assistant. Now all your consumer has to do is speak out loud to them and request to make a search. No more typing in the search bars of desktop and mobile search engines.
As per a survey by Google, 72% of people who own a voice-activated speaker say that their devices are often used as part of their daily routine.
Augmented Reality & Immersive Technologies
As per a prediction by Gartner, by 2022, more than 70% of big and small enterprises will be experimenting with Immersive Technologies.
When Virtual Reality (VR) is sweeping everyone off their feet with good sci-fi ideas, Augmented Reality is much more feasible in terms of usage in marketing techniques. Some experts have even forecasted that AR will continue to overshadow VR for a long time.
Multiple brands are already successfully using AR technology as a means of Digital Marketing and Sephora and IKEA are among some great examples.
While Sephora Virtual Artist shows a buyer how a certain shade of makeup might look on their face, IKEA Place lets you snap a picture of your room and test various kinds of IKEA furnishings to get the look-and-feel of each.
Wrapping Up
There are many varied forms and trends of Digital Marketing out there, but finally, it has to be based on your business’s requirements and what suits it best.
Don’t try to impose an idea on your trade just because it is trending. Ensure that it is what your customers would appreciate.
Rolling out the right techniques can help you grow multifold but using the wrong ones can affect you adversely too.
Choose wisely!
About the Author
Fabricio Pamplona is the founder of Mind the Graph – a tool used by over 400K users in 60 countries. He has a Ph.D. and solid scientific background in Psychopharmacology and experience as a Guest Researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (Germany) and a Researcher in D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR, Brazil). Fabricio holds over 2500 citations in Google Scholar. He has 10 years of experience in small innovative businesses, with relevant experience in product design and innovation management.
