A decade ago, the world of digital marketing was far simpler and since smartphones were a rare sight, users had only a handful of websites to choose from. Fast forward to 2021 and users are left with a dearth of options to pick and choose from. Such has been the evolution in the digital space that customers can access your website or gain information on your brand based on your Digital Marketing strategy. Customers now want to obtain more information on your brand or business, before they contact you.
1. The Role of Social Media:
Just a decade ago, social media was far simpler and was used as means to get in touch with friends and family. But over the last few years, social media has become a formidable weapon in shaping the future of digital marketing. A decade ago, sponsored ads and posts on social media were a rare sight. Nowadays, Digital Marketing firms are not just able to post ads and sponsored posts on social media, but can track patterns, gauge the market and user sentiments and get a better understanding of human behaviour. At Being Digitalz, we utilize precision marketing methods via social media to gauge and analyze the direction in which market trends are heading. When it comes to social media, there are a few social media platforms that can give us a clearer understanding of buyer and market sentiments.
Facebook:
Arguably one of the most successful social media platforms, the popular social media website has seen an evolution like no other. Goner is the days where you used the social media site to “poke” your friends and relatives. As the platform has added more features into its arsenal, and with users now becoming more vocal than ever, it has become a formidable platform for brands and businesses to make changes in digital marketing strategies on the fly.
Twitter:
The popular micro-blogging website is extremely popular among celebrities and social media influencers. The site provides one of the best platforms to deliver short and concise messages, as it initially started with a 140 character limit per post when it first started. The character count was subsequently increased to 280 characters in due course of time.
Instagram:
One of the fastest and most popular social media platforms, Instagram was acquired by Facebook way back in 2012 and has become one of the most popular websites for brands and businesses to run promotions and host giveaways. Such is the popularity of Instagram, that the application was downloaded a million times in just the first 3 months of its launch. Currently, there are over 1 billion active app users every month and the number is only increasing with every passing day.
2. The Importance of Content-Based Marketing:
Just a few years ago, the content was written to be more search engine friendly, but soon, marketers realized the shortcomings and flaws in that strategy. Nowadays, the amount of content consumed by users has surpassed all expectations, and it has brought about the need for content to be more reader-friendly as well, as opposed to being written solely for better search engine results.
Nowadays, users consume content from websites, social media, emails, etc, and to ensure that you are reaching them at the right time and with the right strategy, you need to keep up with the current market trends. Not only has the way that brands post content changed, but the type of content posted and shared has also seen a massive transformation. Content marketing has changed as the way content is consumed is also constantly evolving. People are now using various platforms and they expect specific content from brands in every niche. Check out our our blog on for more valuable insights : 5 Content Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
3. The Evolution of Search Engine Optimization:
Just a decade ago, SEO practices were far different than what they are today. Back then, Google couldn’t identify keyword stuffing and eliminate that specific content. However, with the changes introduced by the popular search engine, with its Panda update in 2011, it has finally been able to identify and eliminate content that is stuffed with keywords, aka Black Hat SEO Tactics. Their Panda system started rewarding brands that provided valuable information to their users, and content became one of the most important parts of SEO, as brands and businesses that posted the best content were rewarded with top ranking on the search engine results.
Over time, local businesses were able to identify the benefits of opting for digital Marketing services and decided to jump on board. As local searches became one of the major focuses throughout 2014, the same became possible with the help of Google’s Pigeon update in 2014 and it reshaped and defined local searches. Google began identifying and rewarding websites that were well optimized, with better search engine result rankings and SERPs.
In 2014, Google algorithms began prioritizing websites with HTTPS as their encryption ensured that the data shared on the website cannot be accessed by a third party and user information was kept confidential. Today, the safer your website, the more your users will trust you, and Google will, in turn, rank your website higher, which then boosts your SEO score.
4. A Website That is Mobile Compliant & Friendly:
Today’s technology-driven world means that information is available at the user’s fingertips. Since the dawn of smartphones and how they have changed and currently dictate the way people access the internet, it has become extremely important to have a website that is not just mobile-friendly, but one that enhances a user’s experience.
Ever since smartphones started to become the preferred device to access the internet, it has had a profound effect on digital marketing in today’s world. By launching mobile apps, information that was once accessible on desktops and laptops became easily accessible on smartphones and soon, it became the most preferred mode to access websites and information.
This also led to the rise in Mobile-based advertising, and this is especially evident when you access your social media accounts from your smartphone. Nowadays, it is nearly impossible to post or share anything on your social media account, without stumbling on an advertisement. Just last year, Facebook reportedly earned $16.6 billion through mobile-based ads that were driven by Instagram stories.
In 2018, Google started identifying and prioritizing websites that were mobile compliant, with the help of mobile-first indexing and various websites and businesses had to rush to make these changes. Websites that failed to fall in line were penalized, as a way to force businesses to comply with mobile-friendly and mobile-based websites.
Later in 2018, Google started prioritizing mobile websites with faster load times as a crucial factor in their SERP.
5. Personalized Campaigns:
In the last few years, Digital Marketing has come to become an integral part of every brand and business. Experts state that the changes brought about in the world of Digital Marketing in the last few months alone are worth a decade’s worth of change. For a brand or business to stand out in 2021 and beyond, they must come up with personalized marketing strategies which include personalized content, emails, social media posts, etc. To understand the significance of personalized strategies, we will take a closer look at some of the vital statistics.
* According to a survey recently conducted, over 80% of customers prefer to do business that offers them personalized services and experiences based on their preferences and needs.
* Close to 60% of users dislike generic advertisements and are turned away at the sight of a personalized ad campaign.
* Brands that come up with personalized ad campaigns on average generate a click rate of close to 65% and an impressive conversion rate of 34%. These numbers are proof that personalized campaigns work wonders and achieve impressive results.
6. Transparency is The Name of The Game:
It is a well-known fact that consumers trust brands and businesses that are transparent and more often than not, they recommend brands to their family and friends that follow the same practice. Earning the trust of a customer is one of the biggest challenges faced by a business and with an effective marketing strategy, a brand can build a sense of trust among its consumers. With changes in changes in digital marketing strategies, brands that had otherwise stagnated can start witnessing an upward trajectory in terms of brand value and the trust that users are willing to invest in your business.
Due to various security breaches, brands have lost the trust of some of their most loyal followers. This was more than evident when the Cambridge Analytica scandal exposed Facebook to share the personal information and data of thousands of its users with third-party companies. Users were instantly taken aback, as Facebook was always perceived to be among the most trusted brands in the world.
In today’s times, consumers like to be aware of who accesses their information and data and they expect complete transparency from brands that they invest their time and trust in. The more transparent a brand, the more the brand will reap the benefits and will build trust among its followers.
In an era where consumers like to be in the driving seat, the evolution of internet marketing strategies can help businesses build trust and loyalty towards a brand or business. American author and business executive Seth Godin state that when consumers get used to transparency, they are then more interested in the quality of their product and service. And once people start moving in that direction, the cost and consequences of being an unethical provider can get so high, that you will either need to change your ways or fade away.
7. Efficiency Holds The Key:
An agile marketing team is bound to be efficient and can come up with strategies on the fly. ROI is one of the best means to gauge and measure the effectiveness of the strategy deployed. Here, Agile marketing can be used as a means to measure how efficient an organization is at achieving its goals and how efficiently can the organization bring about changes in marketing strategies.
One of the major reasons why Agile Marketing is on the rise is because, through the use of Social Media, brands have spent the last few years understanding how these platforms operate and how to communicate with users.
With the help of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, brands have gained a crucial insight into what can work and the kind of content that appeals to and resonates with the consumers. Through social media, brands have been able to communicate with consumers quickly and can prove to be one of the key factors in establishing brand credibility.
Conclusion:
The digital Marketing space has seen a tremendous evolution in the last few years, especially in the last decade, and is one of the most exciting sectors to look out for. The year that is 2021 is shaping up to be quite the year for various sectors, and especially the Digital Marketing space. One thing is certain, brands will have to be more accepting of change and will have to learn how to adapt, to the emerging trends. Whether you are a brand or a business owner, you most certainly need a marketing strategy to help your business and brand excel and we at Being Digitalz can come up with marketing strategies that are tailor-made to suit your business needs. So feel free to reach out to us at +91 99678 10264 or you can drop us an email at contact@beingdigitalz.com and we will be more than happy to assist you with all your Digital Marketing needs.