The “future trends” that you’re likely using today may already be outdated next year. Digital transformation has become a must for every business over the past couple of years due to the pandemic. With that said, everyone’s timelines accelerated and new issues in areas like SEO and email marketing sprung forth.

Whether you’re a veteran marketer or a small business trying to keep up, you should know these digital marketing trends that will elevate your strategies. Here are x trends in digital marketing that you should add to your arsenal right now.

1. Leverage In-Email Sales and Targeting

Whether you’re using your Gmail app or sophisticated email marketing systems, it’s hard to deny how powerful email has become. It has evolved far beyond its original informative and redirecting use in marketing. Now, in-email purchases and more sophisticated customer targeting are starting to become commonplace.

To initiate a purchase, most companies try to use their email marketing efforts to redirect users to product or services pages. These landing pages are then designed with lead capture in mind, usually by removing any distractions within the page. Then again, any extra step reduces the chance for a successful conversion.

With in-email purchases, companies can make the email a captive landing page. It also has less friction compared to a traditional email newsletter that redirects an audience as it is one step less in the process. Email campaigns then offer a more app-like experience, especially with better interactivity and embedded video.

2. Video Marketing Can’t Be An Option Anymore

Even if you try to manage business finances and save costs on marketing, it’s hard to deny that video is not simply an option anymore. Almost every big social media platform is trying its best to capture the magic of video marketing and Youtube is not the only game in town. There are more places fighting for its top spot as a streaming platform.

Tiktok, for example, has been thoroughly used for its effective video marketing potential. As humans absorb and remember images and sounds much better, video offers better digestibility than written content. A short video allows for easier consumption and more memorable marketing campaigns.

Video content is an important part of content strategy and it’s here to stay. Any business that actively avoids this trend will likely suffer from a slower marketing cycle. In many cases, it is likely better to go all out with your video content than pinch pennies and not do it at all.

3. Personal Commerce Supersedes Personalization

For the longest time, marketing evolved into an age of personalization where everything is laser-targeted to the audience’s profile. The primary weakness of this approach is its way of targeting, which still relies on a wide combination of customer information to work. Now, the age of personal commerce is starting.

In the age of personal commerce, consumers are looking to curate their own experiences and expect marketers to figure things out from their pattern of behavior. Buying patterns in the past, as well as browsing patterns, can determine what customers will buy next. Everything will come from the data they share through several channels.

In many cases, this is not about having brands meet their customers in places where they stay on the internet. If companies will keep taking customer data from social media, it’s important for businesses to leverage what they know. Understanding buying cycles is more important than ever and it’s crucial to know what customers will buy next.

4. Voice Search Is Ripe For Use

Voice search has grown more valuable over the past few years. Less than a decade ago, voice search was an emerging technology that had very limited use. It was imperfect at the time but it is now one of the most viable marketing channels out there.

The improved accuracy, the addition of artificial intelligence, and wider adoption are making the use of voice search take off. The improvements in precision make the search less frustrating and easier to optimize for. The growing use case for voice search makes it a more viable marketing channel, even for smaller businesses.

With voice search, brands would need to adapt their keyword research to reflect a more natural flow of words. Preparing a website that is ready for this technology does not need a lot of resources. Rather, the marketing team would need to anticipate the right keywords for their needs.

5. Virtual Events Are Here To Stay

In the face of a pandemic, businesses needed to adjust according to what limited resources they had. With the loss of face-to-face marketing, virtual event marketing became a necessity for every business. They are here to stay post-pandemic, mostly due to their accessibility, necessity, and the return of investment that they provide.

Beyond the pandemic period, many companies will keep utilizing virtual events. They cost a mere fraction of what it is to organize a big event but still get the eyes needed into products and services. With that said, the likely future of virtual events is using it as an auxiliary for audiences who have no way of joining the event.

The key to a successful virtual event is working on the creativity and engagement of the event itself. The use of more engaging speakers, richer content details, and a fun time can create a rather enjoyable event.

6. Social Media Culling Is A Must

Many companies rely on their social media channels to reach out to their audience and run their marketing campaigns. With that said, we all know that social media channels use resources, and not all these channels are created equal. Regardless, there’s a need to declutter and reduce the channels, especially for small businesses.

Any business would need to take advantage of the major social media channels they have, especially those that produce results. It’s also high time for them to leave social channels that don’t move the needle anymore. Staying relevant means minimizing resources used for channels that don’t bring results and moving resources to high-engagement channels.

If you’re not sure which channels you have to cull, look at the ROI of the social channel. What do you get out of the channel and is it worth the resources that you’re pouring into it? Examine the level of engagement that you get and make sure that it’s up to the level that you need, whether it’s for sales or site traffic.

The Bottom Line

Digital marketing trends give brands a general idea on the right direction to take. While it’s not always a must that businesses follow the trend, it is there for a reason. Riding high on its tide can push your marketing to the next level.

Follow the trends we listed for you and use them to get an edge in your field. Agility in your digital marketing strategies can bring you a long way towards creating a trend for your business.