Digital marketing is consistently changing, and we are all expected to keep up with it. With technology advancing and being incorporated into industries all across the UK, it’s important we understand how we can use them to our advantage. However, this is made much easier when you actually know about the trends to stay on top of!
With every industry, there are trends that come and go but some stick around, and these are the ones you have to implement into your everyday marketing strategies to stay afloat in this digital world. To surpass your competition, though, incorporating new trends and approaches is vital.
Read more: Digital Marketing Trends You Need to Look Out for in 2021
E-mail marketing
We all know email marketing has been around for a while, but it has always involved including links to the email directing their readers to either blog posts, products or landing pages. However, with in-email purchases, it means subscribers never even have to leave their inboxes.
They are able to make purchases exactly within the marketing campaign. It allows for the campaign to mimic more of an app experience, with engaging videography and other interactivity. This allows for more sophisticated marketing, and customers being flooded with promotional emails will be a thing of the past, (hopefully!)
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
Another relatively new trend is using Progressive web apps (PWAs.) PWAs are web apps that are built and enhanced with modern application programming interfaces (APIs) to deliver strengthened capabilities and reliability which can reach anyone, anywhere on any device. Although largely used by bigger companies, this option may now start to be more lucrative for smaller businesses too.
Having a well-designed, responsive site can massively help the user experience, making them more likely to read the content you are providing them with. The chances are if your website looks run down and is unresponsive, customers are unlikely to purchase your products or services. It’s a poorly missed opportunity if the reason your marketing isn’t succeeding is solely because your site is difficult to navigate!
Unlike traditional apps, PWAs don’t need to be downloaded from the app store, all a customer needs to do is search for you on Google and they will be directed straight to your website. The user doesn’t have to worry about waiting for or using extra data (as many of us do) and most importantly you don’t have to worry about losing them in the App store.
The web browsers also provide an option to the customer so that they can save the PWA on their home screen as a shortcut, which will actually send them push notifications too, if they agree. This instant access provides your site with added exposure, making staying on top of this trend even more worth your while.
You may also be interested in: Proactive vs. Reactive Marketing
Use of drones to complement your digital marketing strategy
Drone technology is undoubtedly taking over the technical industry, but that’s not to say that marketers can’t use it to their advantage. In fact, they would be silly not to. It gives marketers the ability to create compelling audio-visual content which can offer customers different perspectives that were never before possible. Or they would only be possible for particular marketers with significant budgets.
Our very own client, GVT, recorded some of their own drone footage of their Peterborough office which you can see here:
You may think you shouldn’t participate in this trend or can’t relate it to the work you do. But the drone industry is said to become the next high-growth market. If you have ever taken a video or even a photo of the work your business does then you can most certainly use drone software to your advantage.
And once the regulatory system frees up more airspace for drones, drones’ commercial applications will cause rapid escalation in this industry.
There are also methods of digital marketing that are a little less ground-breaking as the aforementioned but are still new options for smaller businesses to try out.
Using artificial intelligence to accelerate your digital marketing
What is the point of creating fresh content daily, publishing it on all your desired platforms if the content is not meaningful or targeted for your specific audience? The answer is obvious. One thing you probably already know is that it is important for marketers to know their audiences.
Artificial intelligence can analyse behavioural and demographic data to learn information about the personal preferences of a user. Personalisation is the key to driving engagement, being able to use this data to target your audiences can massively improve the success of your marketing. If you’re not already using this, or was but replaced it with a newer, younger trend, bring it back into your digital marketing plan!
Another classic trend that needs to stay in the digital realm is Chatbots. Chatbots enable your brand to engage in conversations with your customers in order to create better relationships and ultimately drive more sales. The instant access to customer service adds to the ease and efficiency of them when it comes to consumer products and services.
Read more: Chatbots: The virtual employee of the future
As our generation becomes more and more used to on-demand services, we must strive to include this within marketing too. People expect quick help and solutions to their problems, and what better way to do that than to have a chatbot in the corner of your site to do it for you?
There are some trends in digital marketing that age like fine wine, this strategy has been around for some time, but its value only seems to grow each year.
It is becoming more and more important to ensure that your app provides your customers with a personal and smooth experience, this enables your particular app to stand out of the crowd. After spending time on app building, testing, marketing, and monetising, personalisation is one of the singular best ways to help your user enjoy their experience with your app.
Artificial intelligence-integrated apps will most definitely improve the performance of your app, customers in today’s world expect businesses to value their collaboration and for them to give them the most support so they have better experiences with your app.
As you may anticipate, these expectations are only going to grow so it’s key that marketers come up with relevant, targeted, and personalised solutions for them.
It may be tempting to throw out the old and be in with the new, but that doesn’t necessarily apply when it comes to using digital marketing for businesses. Implementing both the older, more classic strategies along with the new updated ones is arguably the best way to complete your marketing and reduce the amount of competition that you receive.
Framework Marketing are a national digital marketing agency rooted firmly in the construction industry that helps construction companies grow further than they could ever imagine. Interested in knowing more? Get in touch here!
To read the latest Framework Marketing blog post, click here.
