New challenges call for new strategies. This is what COVID-19 has taught us in 2020. Moving forward all businesses employing digital marketing are looking towards updated strategies to gain from the trend of more people spending most of their time on their devices as compared to pre-pandemic times. So here are the digital marketing trends for 2021.

Ephemeral Content

Ephemeral content is images and videos accessible to the audience for a short period, i.e mostly 24hrs. Ephemeral content creates urgency in users to watch the content immediately before it disappears completely. The media-rich content inspires people to take action immediately. Popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have joined the bandwagon already and the trend continues to infect other platforms. This kind of content also leverages the power of short videos, which excellently capture the attention of the audience.

Local SEO

India has already embraced the idea od vocal for local, so has the digital marketing community worldwide. Pre Covid-19, most businesses were fine by relying on foot traffic. But the times have changed. The consequences of Covid have stopped many from exploring and encouraged people to support and purchase locally. Hence, businesses need to build their local SEO. Creating a business profile on Google is the first step. It is important to always update accurate information, payment methods accepted and the services you offer. There is no harm in asking your customers to leave a review which helps new and potential customers to choose you instead of the competition.

Voice Search

The predicted amount of voice searches in 2021 are 5 billion and likely to rise by each year. It’s time businesses optimize for voice queries. Direct and conversational searches are in right now. Voice searches not only help your audience but also can boost the traffic of your website. Smart voice search optimization means to track the questions people search on Google and create your content accordingly.

AI-Powered Chatbots

Nowadays, AI-powered chatbots have gone beyond answering frequently asked questions. They are now capable of understanding customers’ behaviours and wants by tracking their search history, past conversations, etc. It is estimated that 69% of consumers opt to use chatbots compared to any other form of communication like calls to speed up the process. These advanced features of AI-powered chatbots are only available to businesses who invest in chatbots that have deep learning and conversational abilities.

YouTube

YouTube is the second most popular social media platform. According to Google, people who watch YouTube ads to completion are more likely to purchase or get to know the brand. Since this revelation, many marketing firms have started running ads on YouTube. Businesses have increased their budget to opt for non-skippable ads so that the viewers are exposed to their brand. YouTube has a buffet of ad options like non-skippable instream ads, bumper instream ads, sponsored card ads, overlay ads, etc.

Advertising on YouTube also boosts brand awareness, influences people’s buying decision, and alters brand reputation.

Mobile SEO

There are 469.3 Million mobile users in India alone. Mobile SEO has been vital for the past few years and will continue to grow. Your website needs to be appealing and easy to look for information regardless of the screen size. Google has also considered mobile-friendliness as a part of their algorithm which means its time businesses optimise their sites for mobiles. A mobile-friendly website also decreases the bounce rate.

Avoiding Ad Blockers

We all know ads are annoying to most customers. This is why many people have ad blockers integrated into their browser. But we as digital marketers know how important ads are to introduce a brand to the audience. This has given rise to a shift in recent marketing strategies. Many digital marketers started investing in marketing techniques like sponsored posts or influencer marketing, which are very effective, especially with younger audiences.