2021 Digital Marketing Predictions We’re Betting On

After the year that 2020 turned out to be, it may be difficult to predict how 2021 will go. However, as the days continue to pass and we get closer to 2021, there are still a few digital marketing trends that you can bank on heading into the new year. Here’s a list of 2021 marketing trends that the marketers at Valve+Meter Performance Marketing predict.

Personalized advertising certainly isn’t a new trend, but it’s a growing one that will only get stronger heading into 2021. Consumers have grown weary and tired of receiving general email and advertisement blasts about the newest products and sales they aren’t even interested in.

That’s why a shift in focus has occurred over the last few years about how to target past and future customers best. Personalizing your advertisements to appeal to different demographics and customer segments can lead to much better results than sending the same group of products to your entire prospect list. Showing customers products similar to those they have purchased and showed interest in will alert them to more relevant products that they are more likely to purchase.

Chatbots are on nearly every website today, regardless of the business or industry that they are in, and for a good reason. Chatbots are an effective way to provide immediate support to visitors on your website. However, they’ve become much smarter and more helpful to visitors in recent months.

Some websites are beginning to implement chatbots with hundreds of thousands of familiar words, phrases, and questions they can quickly answer with accurate information. More and more websites will begin implementing these smart chatbots, as they’re a great way to quickly answer customer questions without providing a real-life customer representative.

That’s not to say they should replace customer representatives, as they are crucial to any company. Providing customers with an actual customer representative, in addition to smart chatbots, is key to showing customers that promptly and effectively answering their questions is important to your company.

Another digital marketing trend that will continue to gain steam is implementing interactive content on your website to increase your customer engagement and the time spent on your website. Interactive content can look different depending on the business and the industry.

For example, a guitar manufacturer might upload an interactive quiz for potential customers to find which of their guitars would best fit the needs of the individual taking the quiz. The quiz could ask questions such as “Are you looking for an acoustic or electric guitar?”, or “What type of body do you want for your new guitar?”.

Creating a simple quiz with 10 or so questions can ultimately show your visitors which guitars are best for them and could further incentivize them to buy the guitar if they feel as though it’s a good fit for them.

Local SEO continues growing across the board, especially in industries that only operate in specific areas. It’s a great way to ensure your content is seen by those it’s relevant to.

For example, a cleaning service company that only offers services in the Indianapolis, Indiana, area shouldn’t be trying to rank nationally for its services. Instead, they should focus on trying to rank in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas.

Ranking nationally is great, but if somebody in Minnesota stumbles across your company, it will be useless to them. Your business needs to focus on getting relevant views from visitors that might turn into customers.

Some local SEO tips include:

• Creating a Google My Business account
• Writing location-specific industry pages
• Writing blog posts that are relevant to your area
• Getting high-quality backlinks
• Getting regular reviews from satisfied customers
• Optimizing for voice search