Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends You Need To Know

The digital world is perpetually changing everyday, which can make digital marketing a big challenge some days. But keeping up to date with evolving trends is essential for staying above the charts and remaining relevant in the industry. Don’t worry- we got you covered. 

Here are 5 digital marketing trends you need to know and how you can implement them in your marketing strategy:

Infographics

According to a Forbes article, 90% of consumers prefer interactive and visual content over traditional, text-based or static media. To stay relevant in the industry, it is important to edit your digital content strategy to reflect the demand. One way to meet this demand is to create more infographics.

Infographics are a great way to increase engagement in your digital strategy for two reasons:

a. Data visualization is easier to understand, comprehend and remember that data text alone. 

b. Infographics are much more aesthetically pleasing than text alone, and therefore have a higher shareability factor. 

Let’s reflect on those two statements. But first, do you remember in grade school when you had to memorize information for an upcoming test? Which were you more likely to remember- a handy study chart with the facts in an infographic alignment, or words on a paper?

For the majority of us, the answer is the former. The same is true for your ideal customer today. They are more likely to absorb information if it is in an infographic format than by words alone. Think about how your customer consumes information.

Secondly, not only are infographics easier to remember, but also they are more easily shared than words alone. Consider your digital presence and social media- it is mainly on image based platforms- because visuals perform best. Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok rely solely on images to create an aesthetically pleasing platform that users gravitate towards. And in turn, these visuals are more easily shareable with their wider community, giving you in turn a wider reach. 

Conversational Voice

The next digital marketing trend you need to know now is adapting a conversational voice. This trend may feel awkward to you at first, especially if you are used to writing in a formal, business tone.

But the fact of the matter is the formal voice is seen as archaic, and robotic. Customers don’t want to feel like they’re speaking to a robot with a script. They want to speak to a friendly, helpful voice who is ready to meet their needs right away. 

Although the conversational voice is casual, it can still be professional. Refrain from using colloquial slang, and always remember to use proper grammar and spelling. But nowadays, it’s better to avoid the outdated “sir, and ma’am” in correspondence.

The trendy voice is to select a gender-neutral term that is friendly and informal, such as “friend.”

Artificial intelligence Automation

Although the next digital marketing trend may seem to contradict the previous trend, it actually works together seamlessly: artificial intelligence automation. It seems like everything is automated nowadays, and that’s because of customers’ expectations. In our instant gratification world, customers expect an urgent level of service.

This, of course, is nearly impossible to do because people cannot work 24/7. But machines are capable of answering questions at all hours of the day. 

We’ve seen huge advances in AI in the last few years. And with the global pandemic, a lot of jobs that were deemed essential have instead turned automated. It is no small wonder then that AI automation has entered the marketing industry. Now simple tasks can be automated, leaving digital markers free to concentrate on creative strategy. 

When opting for AI automation, remember to keep the human aspect of marketing in the back of your mind. Use technology to enhance, rather than replace your marketing efforts. This can look like AI predictive analytics, to help you learn more about your customers and personalize their shopping experience. 

Video Content

The next digital marketing trend you need to know is video content. According to the Cisco Annual Internet Report (2018–2023) video content accounts for 82% of all online traffic. The results speak for themselves: if you’re not incorporating video content into your strategy, you are missing out on reaching a core audience.

Think about how you can implement video content into your digital marketing strategy in more creative ways. For example, create product demos, webinars, and other live video events. Although it is more time consuming, the ROI for the video content is worth it. 

Hyper Location

Finally, the last digital marketing trend you need to know is all about hyper location.

These days, it’s all about personalizing the customer experience, and one way this is accomplished is by collection of geolocation data. Although this is certainly not a new concept (Instagram has utilized the geotagging feature for years now), it is still an essential strategy for connecting with customers on a local level (especially during a global pandemic when many customers are unable to visit your physical store or connect with you).

Hyper location creates a sense of closeness and community. And now that nearly everyone has a smartphone, customers can be targeted as soon as they are found to be in geographic proximity to a store. 

This trend has been updated for the 2022 customer- instant, personalized messaging for customers who are more likely to make a purchase based on their location.