The Hottest Digital Marketing Trends of 2021

So here we thought we finally made it to 2021 and a lot of us had high hopes this year. But let’s be honest, we really weren’t expecting a lot but who knew what 2021 had in store for us would be this appalling? So while it may feel like you wasted your life in 2020 and spent most of your days working from home in your sweatpants and watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S for the millionth time, there was actually a lot happening in the digital domain. In fact, it is now safe to say that digital marketing has gone mainstream.

So while the rest of the world was busy making Dalgona coffee, the internet was ablaze, fueling some pretty massive events like social activism and disruptive marketing.

So, what’s coming in hot or even getting hotter in 2021? Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to talk about in this article. I have compiled a list of 6 digital marketing trends:

• Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, TikTok- this is what people want to consume today. So brands need to invest in creating micro-videos because that’s where the large attraction is.

• During the pandemic and post-pandemic people have gotten addicted to the digital world and the E-learning environment is rising. People are consuming content through webinars and live shows. Now, this is what the trend demands- if you want to drive sales, if you want to build an engaging audience then you need to invest in good webinars as well as Instagram live sessions or Facebook live sessions or for that matter, YouTube live sessions, so that’s where the investment is going to be.

• The pandemic has given rise to a lot of influencers. Many people invested their time and effort in creating a YouTube channel and at the same time, a lot of people consumed content on YouTube channels which basically means that there’s a lot of scope for advertisements on YouTube this year because there’s going to be a lot more consumption of the content on YouTube as a channel. So, YouTube advertisement innovation is the key.
• What have you been doing during the lockdown? Watched a movie on Netflix? Maybe on Amazon Prime, maybe on Zee5, or any other OTT platforms. Well, the consumption of content has happened for entertainment on these channels, which basically gives opportunities for businesses to create or co-create content on these channels. You’re more likely to see brand-based innovations inside the storytelling that’s going to happen on these OTT platforms.

• Socially conscious marketing will be on the rise — equality, sexuality, mental health, sustainability. If a brand defines the purpose it’ll have a larger fan base on social media. This year is a year of inclusive content.
• How often do you find yourself talking to Alexa: “Alexa, switch off the light”, “Alexa play Summer Of ‘69”. Voice-based search and voice devices have brought in a lot smarter integrations in 2021. So you might want to optimize your website for voice search as well as see how you can integrate smart devices at your home.

• Well, this trend is a little shady because I’m assuming and predicting that LinkedIn will have a very thin line with everything that it’s trying to replicate from Facebook and Instagram. People have no boundaries there, they are certainly sharing a lot more personal information on LinkedIn and there’s certainly a lot less differentiation on that platform. However, this year we can expect the LinkedIn advertisements to get cheaper.

On an ending note, let me just ask you why are these trends so important? Well, these trends are important because if you’re not adapting to the change you will be where you are in your journey. So, learn new things and implement them right now because that’s important for your business.

The year 2020 was certainly very challenging for digital marketers because a lot more cash crunch was observed and multiple businesses suffered a lot of loss. So, kudos to you if you did not give up!