Keeping up with the fast-paced trends of the digital marketing landscape is no easy feat. With new platforms and mediums popping up daily, picking the channels and techniques best suited to your business can be a difficult task. As a digital marketing agency in Sydney, we’re here to shed some light on 4 digital marketing trends to jump on for your 2021 marketing plan.
Without Footage It’s Fiction
It’s simple, text-based content doesn’t cut it anymore. 70% of consumers have shared a brand’s video and 52% of consumers say watching product videos instils confidence in their online purchases, so it’s clear video content cuts through to consumers much more than text-based.
With the rise in consumer consumption of video content across social media (Tik Tok, Instagram Stories, Snapchat and LinkedIn Stories) businesses now have no choice but to embrace video content through the online channel or be left behind as your competitors do so and cut through the noise of traditional advertising to reach the consumer.
Social Media Digital Marketplaces Become Mainstream
It’s no secret social media has revolutionised the e-commerce and digital marketing world in the last decade. As consumers became increasingly trustworthy of their social media platforms we saw the integration of e-commerce into social networks with the launch of Instagram Shopping in 2017.
Built to be more immersive and less transactional, initially Instagram shopping was used predominantly for selling low-value products, becoming a strong platform for cosmetic and clothing brands. Though after three years and recent integration in Instagram Stories, Instagram Shopping has become democratised and employed by businesses operating in every industry and at every price point as a vital platform in their digital marketing campaign.
Instagram Shopping is now used by artists, the fashion industry, services and even high-luxury; who would have thought the day would come when consumers are purchasing $100,000 pieces of Cartier jewellery through Instagram.
Immersive Technologies
Augmented Reality (AR) technologies incorporate digitally rendered objects into reality, whilst Virtual Reality (VR) creates a totally virtual landscape. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, though the feature that’s seeing AR being embraced by businesses is its ease of implementation. Whilst VR requires extensive development and pricey hardware, to use AR all consumers need is a smartphone.
Call it a gimmick, and to an extent it is, AR’s an increasingly powerful tool to enhance the consumer’s experience, whilst simultaneously personalising it. IKEA recently launched IKEA Place, their AR app which uses a phone camera to project a live on-screen virtual preview of furniture within the user’s house. Watch publication and e-commerce giant HODINKEE uses similar AR technology to project the watches they sell into scale 3D models in front of users on their smartphones, even showing what the watch looks like on their wrist.
Whilst this tech moves exceptionally fast, it’s surprisingly accessible to implement and gives businesses a new medium to express their creativity to reach customers. With agencies specialising in developing AR technology springing up, it’s projected that 70% of businesses will be experimenting with AR technologies by 2022.
The Rise of Long-Form Content
The general consensus when viewing digital media is that content is becoming more short-form and reactive. And whilst this is undoubtedly true with the rise of Instagram Stories, Snapchat and Tik Tok which thrive on quick content, long-form content is experiencing something of a renaissance, with podcasts spearheading the revival.
Podcast ads are a fantastic way for businesses to reach niche markets and personalise their products and promotions specifically towards the listeners. Usually incorporated into the beginning or middle of an episode, it’s not unusual for podcast ads to run as long as 5-10 minutes, giving businesses the airtime for the presenters to properly explain the businesses offerings, and due to the intimate delivery nature of podcasts, many elect to let the hosts speak off the cuff about their products instead of reading a script, further blurring the line between ad and editorial.
Sponsoring a podcast who’s listeners are your businesses target market nets huge bang-for-buck, especially with smaller podcasts who often stress the importance of sponsors keeping the show afloat, further aligning goodwill towards your business.
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Author Bio:
Jack Shepherdson:
With a love of advertising and branding, Jack Shepherdson is uberbrand’s Digital Coordinator. Experienced across the digital landscape, Jack specialises in producing digital campaigns and projects.