Six Digital Marketing Trends to Look Out for in 2021

We don’t have to tell you that 2020 didn’t go according to plan. However, the good news is that a new year is upon us, and that means there’s a new opportunity to take a fresh look at digital marketing tools and strategies. Prepare your business for 2021 with our top six digital marketing trends.

Short-Form Video

Since the creation of the now-defunct app, Vine, short-form videos have taken over social media platforms. With Vine long gone (RIP), TikTok has taken reign as the number one short-form video app in 2021. Yet, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram have quickly added short-form video features to compete.

Short-form videos are used for more than just killing time by watching silly cat videos or viral dances. For businesses, it’s an opportunity to connect with their target audiences and bolster brand awareness. According to Deloitte Digital, American consumers who watch short-form videos grew to 74% in 2018, with 84% of Gen Z and 81% of Millennials watching this content. Deloitte also found that nearly 40% of Americans spend more than one hour per week watching short-form videos on social media. As a result of those statistics, short-form videos are predicted to rise in the new year.

Creating short-form video content is more than just creating a fun little video – it needs to be relevant to the brand or company it is posted from. A disconnect from the brand and the content produced alienates target audiences. The content needs to make sense relating to the brand, whether it is a minute-long instruction video on how to use a product or a 30-second video explaining why a brand’s services improve an individual’s life.

[Related: Video Marketing is Your Company’s Next Best Tool]

User Privacy Protections Changes

In 2021, a consumer’s privacy protections will be a major topic in the marketing world. The implementation of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) meant that brands advertising on Facebook could no longer target millions of consumers in California. As a result, it negatively affected their ad strategies and return on investment (ROI). The California Consumer Privacy Act limits how companies are allowed to handle consumers’ personal information. The act shined a light on a growing concern for user privacy protection and can serve as an outline for other states in the United States.

Apple’s iOS 14 update includes a privacy protection feature that will halt automatic background data collection for personalized ad tracking in 2021. This update will undoubtedly throw marketers and business owners for a loop.

Going into the new year, businesses should keep a close eye on consumer privacy news and begin to think about creating a new ad strategy. Privacy protection updates may affect marketing strategies and how audiences are targeted. If your business needs guidance, reach out to a marketing professional to help combat strategy issues.

Marketing Automation & Bigger Campaigns

Individuals have been looking for tools to make their job easier, and marketing is no exception. In 2021, business owners will be looking for ways to make social media management, email marketing, and other tasks easier so they can focus on making a sale.

Marketing automation uses software to automate marketing tasks. Tasks can include email marketing, social media, and ad campaigns. Marketing automation isn’t just for efficiency but can also create a personalized experience for customers. Business owners can take advantage of marketing automation to eliminate downtime while reaching out to new potential customers.

Marketing automation can be used for bigger online advertising campaigns. This includes creating a full-fledged marketing plan with scheduled email marketing campaigns, timely social media management and more. While automation helps, it often comes with new challenges including high software costs and in-depth software training that many business owners can’t afford themselves.

If you’re not looking to do all of the work yourself, rely on the digital marketing professionals at Catapult for a helping hand. Call us to see how you could be using marketing automation tools with us to increase sales and save you time.

Voice Search Marketing

Nearly every device has voice search capabilities – smart phones, Google Home, Amazon Echo, and more. Since Siri came out on the iPhone, marketers have been exploring voice search marketing. We predict that trend will continue into 2021 as more individuals use voice search on their devices.

Marketers have learned the difference in search results between typing a term into a search bar and speaking it out loud to Alexa. Marketers have found that using long-tail keywords in voice search gets more accurate results to the user and that business owners need a specific plan to target voice search. Talk to our SEO specialists at Catapult for more on voice search optimization.

[Related: Voice Search Optimization: The Future of SEO]

Niche Marketing

People are searching for more specific keywords. For example, instead of searching “shoes,” individuals search for “red Nike women shoes size 7 for running” to find exactly what they’re looking for online. This type of searching can serve to benefit businesses going into 2021. Niche marketing is a strategy that devotes attention to a unique target market. It’s an opportunity to stride into the #1 spot on Google with less competition. Rather than marketing to everyone who can benefit from a product or service, you focus on one extremely specific group. This niche of customers would include those who would be more likely to buy.

A targeted niche market could be based on the following:

• Geographic Location
• Profession
• Culture
• Habits
• Behavior
• Demographic
• Need

Visual Search Capabilities

A visual search is a form of artificial technology that allows users to search online using a picture instead of words. Companies such as Google, Amazon, Pinterest, and Bing have already added this feature. It’s been reported that by early 2021, early adopter brands that redesign their websites to support visual and voice search will increase digital commerce revenue by 30%. Brands can start to improve their visual search visibility by:

• Building image search into web inventory
• Focus on boosting organic image visibility
• Advertise on Pinterest
• Submit images to sitemaps

Make the most out of 2021 for your business with our predicted digital marketing trends. Contact Catapult Creative Media’s digital marketing gurus today for more on how you can increase business in the new year.

Allison Bruhl is a Copywriter at Catapult. She has a degree in mass communication with a concentration in journalism and a minor in Spanish. In her free time, she does photography at local concerts and music festivals.

Work with Catapult Creative Media Inc. Catapult Creative Media Inc. is a digital marketing and design agency serving clients over the United States but is proud to call Baton Rouge, Louisiana home. Founded in 2007, Catapult provides digital, social, and mobile marketing solutions backed by relevant strategy and measurable results. Catapult works the web to their clients’ advantage, launching them to their next level of success.