Four marketing trends that will rise this year
Relying on marketing strategies you are familiar with can be reassuring and reliable. You are almost certain that your campaign will be successful and show the higher-ups its worth. However, customers are king when it comes to marketing. They are influenced by new marketing strategies and trends by their diminishing attention spans as well as the technology and information they consume. Some trends have a quick fade-out. Business executives, however, need to update and adjust their customer outreach and advertising strategies frequently. This is because modifications in an audience’s purchasing patterns, tastes, and values can quickly render the techniques used by marketers ineffective. Keeping up with current innovations can result in more successful marketing and better results. Here are four upcoming marketing trends and the reasons you should be aware of them.
1. Influencers Are Becoming Established Brand Ambassadors
Say you see an online ad for a brand-new car. It’s from a company you haven’t heard of before. Plus, it’s an electric vehicle. You’re curious about the technology and the brand, but you aren’t sure you can trust either. So you dismiss the ad and decide to stick with the vehicle that’s sitting in your garage. Later in the week, a friend starts raving about their new car—the same one you saw in the online ad. They praise its drivetrain, slick acceleration, and comfortable interior. Your friend also says it was easy to convert to electric because the company installed a home charging station. Based on your friend’s intel, you’re now convinced to give this wonder car a try. That’s the power of word-of-mouth advertising. Influencers leverage this impact by promoting a company’s brands and products to audiences who already trust them. It’s a growth marketing strategy that can boost brand awareness and bring in new leads. Although influencer marketing isn’t a fresh idea, companies are becoming more strategic about it. Brands are forming lasting relationships with influencers and turning them into brand ambassadors to drive long-term results.
2. Interactive Content Is Giving Static Posts a Run for Their Money
In a crowded content world, it’s becoming more difficult for brands to stand out. Catching someone’s eye isn’t as simple as it once was, as consumer attention spans are declining. With the average now clocking in at around eight seconds, people are even having trouble watching 4-minute videos all the way through. Instead, it’s the shorter 15-second content that’s winning out. Likewise, static content that doesn’t engage audiences is declining in popularity. Online audiences want to engage with brands through their posts. Instead of simply reading tips, they might want to interact with an infographic or take a quiz. Another type of interactive content that businesses are experimenting with is contests. One method of doing this is to post things on social media. However, some businesses are integrating physical and digital interactions. A company with a retail presence, for instance, might start a scavenger hunt. Customers search local shops for particular goods and take images of those goods. They formally enter the competition by uploading their images to the brand’s social media profile. The business uses user-generated content, retail traffic, and web traffic to advertise itself.
3. Video Posts Are Increasing on Social Media
Speaking of social media, audiences are becoming bored with traditional posts that show a picture and a bit of caption text with links. They’re more drawn to videos that replicate live experiences. Reels that show someone using products in everyday situations are more effective than still photographs. Audiences who crave two-way experiences also find live streaming on social platforms more engaging. Broadcasts of events, behind-the-scenes videos, and live demonstrations of product launches are a few examples. Audiences are more likely to feel present when they watch things happening. Such information is more than simply a sales pitch. Instead, it’s an illustration of how a brand or product fits with the identities and values of its target market. Videos that are interactive and in real time are better at establishing an emotional bond. Customers can discover more about a company’s distinctive goals or personality by seeing who represents the brand. More significantly, they get a taste of what it’s like to join that brand and become a part of its identity.
4. AI Is Gathering More Accurate Data
Successful marketers are aware that innovative campaigns don’t just happen or be inspired by intuition. Data gathered from focus groups, surveys, and customer feedback is the foundation of effective creative execution. Traditional marketing research methodologies, however, often have drawbacks. In contexts that change quickly, the data may become obsolete, and biases may affect the way questions are worded. Additionally, customers could feel uneasy telling the complete truth and nothing but the truth. Fortunately, real-time interactions with chatbots and other forms of AI can reveal insights conventional research misses. Marketers are beginning to take data from messaging platforms and automated technologies, such as website heatmaps, to guide their strategies. AI is also building buyer personas, helping marketers create personalized content and determining which audiences to target. As first-party, real-time data becomes more accessible and accurate, reliance on third-party and historical research may diminish.
Why These Marketing Trends Matter
Without a doubt, trends can appear one day and disappear the next. Businesses must experiment with changing consumer preferences to see what works if they want to draw audiences and produce leads. Winning marketing tactics are starting to take the form of emerging trends like long-term connections with influencers and data obtained by artificial intelligence. You can succeed by incorporating these adjustments into your outreach and advertising strategies.
