The Future Of Growth: The Top Digital Marketing Trends Of 2021 Explained

Digital marketing is an evergreen industry where change is the only constant. As we move into 2021, it’s crucial that we, as marketers and entrepreneurs, stay on top of the latest industry developments. This way, we can adapt our marketing strategies by embracing the technologies and tactics of tomorrow while phasing out the duds.

As the founder of two digital marketing companies, clients often pick my brain about where I think the industry is headed. Here are my top digital marketing trends for 2021, with particular emphasis on emerging marketing channels that I’m confident will stick around for the long haul. 

Advanced Chatbots

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology develops, chatbots will be more useful as both customer support tools and marketing channels. In years past, for many audiences, chatbots came across as annoying, inauthentic and disruptive. But as AI and machine learning improves, chatbots are growing better at offering helpful solutions specific to users’ individual needs.

Recent data from Facebook finds that 56% of shoppers would rather send instant messages than call a support line. If your customers can’t quickly receive an answer to their question about your product or service, they might rather bounce than pick up the phone to call you. A chatbot is the best way to deliver instant answers to prospects and customers, allowing you to close sales that otherwise would have gone astray.

Featured Snippets

In the past, landing the top spot on a search engine results page has always been the No. 1 goal of SEO. These days, landing the featured snippet (or “position zero”) is even more important. 

The featured snippet is a segment of text, usually no longer than a couple of visual lines, that is displayed in a separate box at the top of Google’s organic results. To land a coveted featured snippet position, try these helpful tactics:

• Answer the searcher’s question directly (less than 75 words).

• Place the answer at the very start of the article.

• Ask the searcher’s question in the body text and one subheading.

• Elaborate on your answer using the rest of the article.

• Cite authoritative sources when backing up your claims.

Read more: www.forbes.com