The digital marketing industry has seen an influx of growth over the past few years. More businesses than ever are adapting to the digital arena brought on by the global pandemic. This change of pace has spurred new digital marketing trends that have replaced previous outdated strategies.
Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain which recent digital marketing trends they’re most excited about and why. Here’s what they believe the future of marketing will look like, and how these trends have already impacted their own efforts.
YEC members share their expert insights.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. AI Writing Assistants
I’ve been getting excited about AI writing assistants which are mainly tools that can produce ghostwritten content. There’s Narrative Science, Wordsmith and Automaton, for example. All these AI assistants work by combing databases and finding patterns in order to make educated guesses on what the content is about. Advantages: an illusion of higher quality and less personal bias in articles, they’ll likely churn out more articles than there would be human writers, will lower prices for clients, less stress on writers. Disadvantages: potential loss of author voice (depending on how much control is given to the software), possible breach of integrity when personal biases become part of the production. Regardless, AI writing assistants should be an interesting trend to watch in digital spaces. – Brett Farmiloe, Markitors
2. Video Marketing
Our firm has invested in video marketing, to revel in the potential. Watching a video for a product or a service not only improves brand recall for the consumer but also gives them a chance to immerse themselves in the experience. They receive a few minutes of either entertainment or information and are incentivized to share it within their networks. You can also use the elements of storytelling to weave an unforgettable narrative. For example, one UPS commercial, inspired by a YouTube channel that rescues dogs from the street, showed a driver taking in a stray dog. The transformation associates UPS with positivity and care. A small business doesn’t need as high a budget to reach the same emotional connection. You simply need a good script and actors. – Duran Inci, Optimum7
3. Giveaways
I love the idea of using contests and giveaways to drive traffic to your website and boost conversions. They’re fun and generate excitement with your target audience, encouraging them to take action and interact with your brand. The great thing about contests is you can set rules to boost engagement, such as requiring social shares or comments to get entries. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
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4. Audio Social Apps
I have never seen the ability to create momentum behind a product or service like you can with audio social apps such as Clubhouse, Greenroom or the new social app Fireside. Even market research can be done with the press of a button and you can hear from your potential clients in real-time about what they want or don’t want. Even finding out what problem to solve and add on to your current portfolio. Plus being able to speak directly to your customers builds a strong bond and rapport where no other social platform can. We have created services and even businesses based on the demand and what people want. – Daniel Robbins, IBH Media, Bintana Sa Paraiso, His skincare
5. Accessible QR Codes
I’ve been getting excited about QR codes as an access point to products. During Covid, the rise of restaurants using QR codes to display their menus on people’s phones means almost everyone knows how to open a cellphone camera and scan a QR code. This is a rising trend that is going to become more and more popular. Companies like Apple are adopting this with app clips. You can scan a QR code on something like a scooter and it will pop open a segment of an app so you can interact with that product without downloading the entire app. I think many more things will soon be able to be accessed with a QR code, and that will be a big shift in how people get their products into the hands of customers more easily. – Cody Candee, Bounce
6. Social Media Shares
Social media content that spotlights our clients, stakeholders, partners and collaborators is an amazing way to get at least one share of your content. We have changed the way we measure success in a post from just reviewing likes and comments to how many shares we are getting. This approach is a game changer and really builds relationships. We focus on talking about their achievements, stories and congratulating them. It is simple and works. – Saana Azzam, MENA Speakers
7. The Rise Of Audio Content
There has been a shift in media consumption. Written rules the world and the internet but something has changed for some time now. Writing isn’t the only major option for media consumption. We’ve moved to audio and video. And the trends can be seen in books being preferred in audio form and blogs becoming podcasts. You might get into trouble reading a book or watching a video on company time but an engaging podcast can get you through your shift. It has informed my decision to create content on audio and video platforms instead of writing articles alone. The dividends have started paying off already. My YouTube show “Coffee With Closers” has been a platform to interact with entrepreneurs whom I admire and am friends with while creating content that’s valuable to business prospects and people in general. – Samuel Thimothy, OneIMS – Integrated Marketing Solutions
8. Leveraging SEO
SEO PR is very exciting and is allowing for proven ROI from building high-value PR links on major news outlets. This concept can drive more organic users and obtain highly sought-after publication backlinks. It’s certainly worth the time to learn more about it and implement it into your marketing strategy. You can work to learn this yourself or reach out to professionals to help implement it. – Tyler Quiel, Giggster
9. Social Media Stories
Stories on social media such as Instagram have taken over as a fast strategy for growth. Benefits of using stories include building the know, like and trust factor which helps with sales. Stories are a quick, low-pressure way to communicate without worrying about editing or design. When people show their face on stories they can upload daily and speak directly to their target audience. This trend is so powerful that it serves as a tool to conduct market research and sell directly to clients. The results are so effective that I ask my audience to use the hashtag #showyourface and tag my account @dietitianboss on Instagram for accountability. Every day my audience tags me and I re-feature them in my stories. The act of showing up gets both my clients and company recurring business. – Libby Rothschild, Libby Rothschild
10. Optimized Podcasting Platforms
A digital marketing trend that I’ve recently been getting truly excited about is the increase in podcasting platforms working to increase the integration of podcasts with content marketing channels like blogs, social media posts and email lists. Podcasts have transformed into one of the best ways for brands to target their ideal client avatars with pinpoint accuracy, enjoying tremendous boosts in credibility and brand exposure to key audiences. Even better, niche podcasts can be very affordable to market through. When combining podcast marketing with other methods of content marketing, the entire marketing campaign is more effective, with far better integration of promo codes and links for fine-detail tracking and better insight into cost per acquisition of each channel. – Richard Fong, ProcessingCard.com
