Like fashion trends, digital marketing trends come and go – so as a business it’s important not to get too caught up or distracted by these and risk losing your strategic direction and focus. However, it’s important to be aware of the latest trends and select those which support and enhance your existing and future plans. Here are our eight top trend to keep an eye on or incorporate into your digital strategy this year: 

1. Consumer Power

The pandemic has given people the time and space to reflect on their consumer choices and needs, as well as the broader impact these have on the world. An organisation’s values and ethos have become just as important as its products and services, and greater transparency has become essential. This presents both a new challenge and an opportunity for organisations who are willing to engage in authentic two-way conversations with their customers.

2. Increased Responsiveness

Consumers have come to expect a quick response rate from brands, even if it’s at 3am or on a weekend. Long gone are the days of waiting 48 hours or more to hear from the customer service team. Marketers are using platforms such as Slack, Whatsapp and even Facebook Mesenger to respond to customer enquiries in real time - or as close to it as possible. We recommend a 12 - 24 hours response timeframe, but it all depends on your specific industry and brand. 

3. Influencer Marketing 

This is one trend that looks set to stay, with many brands preferring to tap into the large following of popular influencers and celebrities, instead of paying for traditional advertising where readership has been in decline for over a decade. Another benefit of influencer marketing is that often, they are savvy and talented content creators, so businesses not only get the benefit of reaching a larger audience but get access to great new content at the same time. 

4. Social Commerce

While the pandemic saw many businesses pivot to offer online shopping - it may not be enough with social commerce revenue expected to reach $1.2 Trillion globally by 2025, according to an Accenture study. Technology is evolving quickly to enable customer payments and experiences to happen entirely on social media. It’s time to integrate your shop and social media with Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok shopping already proving hugely popular in Australia!  

5. Algorithms Rule

Everything works on algorithms - from social media feeds to Google search results, and even display ads. Algorithms track what people engage with most or more often, in order to provide a customised or improved user experience. While this can seem frustrating and harder for brands to be visible, there are no hacks or tricks that can bypass the algorithms, the only real solution is investing in creating content that customers actually want and need. 

6. Privacy, Privacy, Privacy

The 2018 GDPR regulations brought privacy to the forefront of everyone’s mind, resulting in changes to the ways data is captured and used by big players like Apple, Google, and Facebook. The tightening of these privacy regulations have made it more challenging for marketers to target their desired audiences, resulting in new creative campaigns strategies to capture first party data.  

7. Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn

Despite news reports, the truth is Facebook is not going anywhere and for some brands it could be more relevant than TikTok which is rapidly continuing to grow. More recently data is also showing a significant increase in LinkedIn activity. However, we always say it’s all about Strategy First – so don’t just believe what you read, look at who your customers are and where they are and then focus your efforts that platform, not where the news tells you to be. 

8. Prepare for the Metaverse

Facebook’s name-change to Meta, was not just a simple rebranding exercise but a prediction for a future of virtual and augmented experiences. While virtual reality technology takes uses away from the physical world, augmented reality combines or overlays the real and virtual world. It’s important to start thinking about how this technology can be incorporated into your digital marketing as the technology becomes more accessible in coming years. 

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