- Digital marketing is core to many businesses’ strategies, and the technology that supports these efforts is continually evolving.
- Some existing trends will continue, including the growing importance of long-form educational content, chatbots and live chat, and voice search.
- New emerging trends include Google’s push for a cookieless future.
- This article is for small business owners and digital marketers who want to know about major trends and what to focus on in their marketing efforts.
While many principles of marketing remain the same each year, the tools businesses use to achieve marketing success vary greatly over time. Newspaper advertising was once commonplace. Now, digital advertising and artificial intelligence play critical roles in the marketing tactics of businesses.
Every year, there are more technological trends for entrepreneurs to keep an eye on. Business owners who stay ahead of the curve might even find new heights of marketing success. Here are 10 trends we believe small businesses should take advantage of this year.
Let’s take a deeper dive into these trends and how they can benefit your business.
1. Authentic long-form content remains king.
In content marketing, the trend has been toward long-form, educational content that aims to help users rather than sell to them. That trend will only continue, with developments like Google’s Helpful Content Update, which rolled out late last year. The content that will perform the best is content that thoroughly answers the questions people have and guides them toward the right decision for their circumstances.
Sharing about topics that interest your customers is a great way to build brand awareness and customer loyalty. You can build trust by showing you care about more than just a sale. Whether your content takes the form of a social media post, a blog or an email blast, ensure a balance between highlighting your products and providing valuable, actionable advice.
Long-form authentic marketing is a great way to boost interest and engagement among your target audience.
2. Short-form video content is coming for the crown.
Although long-form educational content remains potent for blogging or podcasting, short-form video content is increasingly popular. Thanks to the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels, users are increasingly attuned to short snippets of entertaining or informative video content. Brands can use this trend to speak to their audience quickly and effectively amid a sea of other video content.
As users’ attention is pulled in many directions at once and attention spans shorten, clever short-form video content can get a brand’s message across in a matter of seconds. To capture the widest swath of your audience, deploy long-form content for users who want to dive deep and educate themselves, but create short-form video content for users who are scrolling to kill time.
3. Adoption of chatbots and conversational AI will increase.
Chatbots, as well as more sophisticated conversational AI, will continue to make their way into the market and become increasingly accessible for small businesses. These tools can answer customers’ basic questions at all hours