You can’t do much in a post-pandemic world without getting online. The usage spike of online platforms such as Zoom, Amazon, Instagram, and delivery apps is all proof of this new normal. When it comes to promoting products and services online, digital marketing also encounters its own set of challenges and unexpected turns.

These are the top 5 digital marketing trends that I consider non-negotiable in 2021:

1. Data Ethics

Data privacy is becoming a bone of contention among users and with the public getting increasingly concerned about the misuse of their online browsing data, law makers are intervening.

On 1st July 2020, Denmark became the first country in the world to introduce a mandatory corporate legislation for AI and Data Ethics, forcing companies to release public information about how they use their data by as early as 2021. Meanwhile, popular browsers Chrome, Safari and Firefox are all set to block out third-party cookies by 2022, in response to consumer complaints, GDPR laws and regulations, browser reconfigurations and ad blocking tools. These shifts in data usage makes 2021 a good year as any to ready ourselves for a digital world without third-party cookies. We will learn to limit our ads to first-party data only, that is, the data of those people who have directly registered with us and consented to their data being used. Companies are already tweaking their data privacy rules and building internal privacy strategies to ensure their audiences remain relevant and advertisements do not spillover to people who have no idea how and why they got served those ads. 

Because the way you profile your audience categories is proven to directly affect conversions, smarter segmentation strategies will be essential in 2021.

A small number of generic campaigns sent to broad data are out. A large number of smaller, niche campaigns sent to targeted data are in. Micro segmentation strategies and personalized content per data segment are on the rise. A 25 year old Asian musician and a 65 year old European banker may somehow both be part of your target audience but you will need to craft completely different ad campaigns to convert each of them, because their interaction with your sales messaging and conversion journey will likely be poles apart. To achieve the best results, data filters such as age, gender, income status, device type etc. must be used in harmony with other targeting strategies that include online behavior, purchase history, and keywords. The Year 2021 will be about how intricately marketers understand available audience data and how intuitively they use it to create drip campaigns.

True power lies in public opinion. Rating and reviews technology in the hands of consumers is more mainstream than ever, with user ratings of personal experiences with brands available for public consumption.

According to US based developer of consumer engagement technology, Power Reviews, 97% of consumers read product ratings and reviews before making a purchase decision. With high volumes of new businesses and concepts entering markets all the time, causing a flash flood of daily promotions into people’s inboxes, SMS-es, apps etc., people are getting increasingly cautious of newer, less familiar brands and have started checking their ratings/reviews online before buying. Poorly rated brands are already getting weeded out in this system. In 2021 more than ever before, a solid brand building strategy will represent the ability to create a strong offering complemented with a good online reputation through positive ratings and testimonials.

AI technology manifests in different formats: Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), Mixed Reality (MR), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Extended Reality (XR)…the list goes on.

Pre-2020 witnessed some resistance to this human-like machine intelligence taking over our lives, but 2021 will show that AI adoption is essential for businesses to scale and sustain. “Trained” to turn data into actionable insights using the right information to make the right decisions at the right time, AI-powered tools will keep getting smarter and become integrated into our everyday lives. Just like conversational technology, such as Chatbots, has already become mainstream in our daily online experiences, AI will work its way into all facets of life, from education and healthcare to technology and finance (modeling, stock trading etc.). The sooner businesses learn to migrate to generative AI, the better their first mover advantage in customer retention will be.

Some common examples of how brands integrate AI technology are:

• Expedia’s virtual travel booking agent
• Google maps
• Google and Facebook ad targeting
• Facebook image recognition
• Amazon product recommendations
• AIexa, Siri and Google Assistant
• Waymo’s self-driving cars

In 2021, as we continue to experience the after shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, customers will largely remain confined to their homes. Lockdowns, travel restrictions and mall closures mean that businesses must access customers inside their homes through online devices via omni-channel marketing.

According to Business Insider, E-commerce sales were worth $3.914 trillion in 2020 with Asia Pacific and North America leading this growth, followed by Western Europe. To fully harness the E-Commerce potential, businesses must optimize their customer experiences and humanize their brand to earn customer trust. More and more businesses are speeding up the launch of their E-Commerce stores this year while exploring the most user friendly fintech technologies, like Amazon Pay, to make buying online as seamless and painless as possible.

Awareness of these digital marketing trends can be a game changer for businesses to boost sales by understanding shifting consumer behaviors and adapting strategies accordingly. By staying current on the use of evolving technologies and marketing tools, companies can target the right audiences more precisely, engage customers through emerging platforms and personalized content, and optimize marketing spend for better returns.