Last year’s events have caused most of our day-to-day activities to shift to the online, and it seems like most of us have already gotten used to it.
Just a few years ago, online shopping wasn’t regarded as a viable method of buying products. But now, most of us choose shopping online over going to the local store.
With such a sudden change in the market, companies needed to adapt their marketing strategies to make the most out of the online medium.
With that said, let’s take a look at a few digital marketing trends that are flourishing this year.
1. Progressive Web Apps
A progressive web app (PWA) is a software application delivered through the web, using common technologies like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. In other words, PWAs are websites that look and feel more like mobile apps.
Digital Silk, a top web design company in New York, says that PWAs will be widely adopted in the future as they combine the user-friendliness of mobile apps with the speed and reliability of traditional websites.
And with over 50% of all web traffic being generated by mobile devices, you can see why this trend is on the rise.
2. Featured Snippets
Rather than aiming for the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), businesses now tend to shift their SEO efforts towards ranking for featured snippets.
As opposed to other search results entries, these snippets are separated by a small box and are located at the top of the SERP, right below the ads, enhancing visibility.
What’s more, featured snippets are usually accompanied by a video or image, increasing the chances of getting users to click through even more.
To be ranked in a featured snippet, you’ll need to focus on long-tailed keywords. That’s because when ranking a website in a featured snippet, Google will target pages that provide in-depth answers to specific questions.
With that said, creating a FAQ page that provides users with concise yet thorough answers will likely get you highlighted in the featured snippets section.
3. Voice Search
With the high demand for quick answers to on-the-spot questions, voice search has been getting increasingly popular.
76% of smart speakers’ users perform local voice searches weekly. And with over 50% of all households in the US owning smart speakers, optimizing your website for voice search should be on your to-do list.
Just as with featured snippets, Google will target long-tail keywords so it can provide users with the exact answers they are looking for.
Again, a FAQs page will likely bring you positive results. Not only that but if you’re running a local business, make sure to use geo-targeted keywords.
4. Chatbots
Although they’ve been around for a while, chatbots got popularized during the pandemic due to the influx of new digital buyers. They are now beloved both by companies and their customers.
Firstly, businesses spend a yearly average of $1.3 trillion on customer requests and chatbots can reduce this cost by 30%.
Secondly, chatbots are much faster compared to human agents. They can answer requests within seconds, whereas regular employees can take much longer.
Not to mention that sustaining a 24-hour customer support service is much easier with chatbots. In other words, they are both cheaper and more efficient compared to human employees.
5. Customer Segmentation
Customer segmentation means that instead of targeting a general audience, you should rather split the said audience into smaller groups based on demographics, buyer behavior, etc.
Customer segmentation allows businesses to create small yet more effective marketing campaigns that specifically target these groups.
For example, instead of creating a single email list for your entire audience, it might be better to create one for small spenders and another for big spenders.
This will allow you to create two separate email campaigns, with each one focusing on their specific audience, potentially increasing conversions as a result.
6. Interactive Content
Interactive content is great for getting people to engage with your business. For example, if you’re running a car dealership, you could integrate a car loan calculator widget within your website.
This will not only provide more value to visitors and give you more information about them, but they will also spend more time engaging with your website, which will help you with your SEO.
In social media, interactive content like quizzes or polls is great for gathering information about your audience, which you can use to improve your marketing campaigns.
Furthermore, interactive content will get users to establish a personal connection with your brand. That’s because you’ll let them know that their opinion matters.
7. Ad-Blockers
With over 42% of users on the internet using ad-blocking tools, many websites and marketers are losing a considerable amount of traffic. It’s pretty safe to say that trying to convince users to turn off Ad-Blocker just to continue viewing the website doesn’t work.
With that said, businesses have given up on this strategy and shifted their focus towards other marketing methods.
8. Video Marketing
Video marketing seems like it’s going to be one of the most important marketing trends this year and it will most likely remain so for the following years as well. But why is that?
Well, firstly, users will spend 88% more time on a website that contains a video compared to one that doesn’t. This means that video content is great for boosting your website’s ranking in search engines.
In terms of social media, live videos are getting increasingly popular. 82% of consumers prefer watching a live video from a brand over advertisements, blog posts, etc.
Furthermore, live videos produce six times as many interactions as any other type of video content.
With that said, a growing number of companies are starting to integrate live videos within their social media marketing campaigns.
You should follow suit by hosting interviews, product demos, and most importantly, by showing your followers what’s happening behind the scenes.
This humanizes your brand and as a result, your audience will get to trust you more and connect better with your business.
Final Words
All in all, last year’s events heavily influenced the digital marketing landscape and their effects will linger for a while.
By keeping up with the trends we covered in this article, you’ll hopefully get to increase your website traffic, increase sales and generate more leads.
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