Trends can come and go. But not staying ahead of them in the digital marketing realm could lead to unintended consequences. You could lose your audience, leading to loss of revenue and brand cred. Getting in front of what’s coming now requires a strategy. Some trends have staying power, not to mention long-lasting ripple effects. Of course, all strategies start with knowing and assessing what’s happening around you. We’ll look at a few leading digital marketing trends and four strategies for staying ahead of them.
1. Align Content With User Intent
You’ve got keyword research by your side when you create content. However, placing those keywords throughout the materials you produce isn’t enough. What audiences — and search engines — look for is whether the content is satisfying and helpful. Does the material fully address what people want to know? Or does it mostly spew words without saying much? While you shouldn’t abandon keywords altogether, you want to establish your brand as an authoritative voice. One way to do this is through
content pillars, a content marketing strategy that builds topical authority. If you’re an insurer, say, you could start with a high-level, long-form piece that covers a core topic like auto insurance. Then, you create shorter sub-pillars to support that broader subject. These sub-pillars delve deeper into different aspects of the subject, such as collision or comprehensive insurance. Underneath each sub-pillar are more narrowly focused blog posts, perhaps answering specific audience questions (e.g., “Do I need collision insurance on a 10-year-old car?”). Meanwhile, all these pieces link to each other, helping to direct readers to more of your content. A content pillar strategy shows audiences and search engines you know your stuff. Furthermore, thorough discussions on subjects tend to attract 3.8 times more backlinks, resulting in increased visibility.
2. Leverage AI for Personalization
Research from McKinsey & Company shows that
71% of consumers expect personalized experiences. And 76% become frustrated when companies don’t meet their expectations when it comes to personalization. These statistics clearly reveal the importance of personalization in digital marketing and customer service. However, it’s not necessarily easy to customize customer interactions from behind a screen — especially at scale. That’s why AI and machine learning have become tools for companies to provide the level of personalization consumers crave. Technology can do it faster, more accurately, and adjust alongside shifts in individual behaviors. AI analyzes customer data at speeds humans can’t keep up with. The tech also helps automate the delivery of personalized content to boost engagement and conversions. Examples of this outreach include interactive content, customized offers, and personalized suggestions. You see this with major online retailers and streaming platforms. A music platform might leverage AI to automatically compile customized playlists, for instance, while a retailer’s app will highlight can’t-miss deals. It’s all about getting consumers to see the enhanced value your brand offers and building a virtual relationship.
Social listening is an effective way to know what’s coming down the pike before it happens. The comments customers post on social media pages alone can reveal insights you may not get from industry reports.
Social media comments are a form of market feedback, both positive and not-so-positive. Content others share and talk about on social platforms provides additional visibility into trends or collective sentiment. While a social team can devote some time to social listening, it takes a lot of work. You’ve got to constantly monitor multiple social forums, popular online “hangouts,” and platforms. Your job doesn’t stop at the monitoring part, either. There’s the compiling, filtering, and assessing stages to think about Digital Marketing Trends. Thankfully, social listening tools exist to make it easier. These tools scan several social platforms at once, streamlining the information for you. You can also configure social listening tools to focus on specific market niches and topics. The insights you gather could help you make more timely campaign, product, and customer-related decisions.
4. Experiment With Different Content Formats
A willingness to try various content formats helps you discover what works for your audience. It also keeps you on your toes, allowing your brand to gain experience with producing trending formats. Take, for instance, the rise of short-form video. Being hesitant to give it a whirl is understandable — doing new things can be intimidating. And there’s the possibility a specific format or platform that supports it may not make sense for your brand. However, there’s no denying the data about the popularity of short-form videos. Statistics reveal that
73% of consumers prefer short-form videos over other formats for learning about services and products. Experimenting with various short-video platforms and how-to or behind-the-scenes shorts can gain exposure for your brand. If you don’t venture in, you could miss opportunities to grow ROI. Data shows that short-form video has an ROI of around 30%. Besides video shorts, you can look at other formats like podcasts, interactive materials, and livestreaming.
Staying Ahead of the Digital Marketing Trends Curve
Anything involving the online world is constantly changing. It can be challenging to predict what trends you need to jump on and which ones you don’t. Coming up with effective strategies means
paying attention and finding ways to leverage what’s happening. At the same time, you want to ensure your plans align with your customer and brand needs. Strategies like creating content around user intent, putting social listening tools to good use, and investing in new content formats will help drive results.