The year 2020 was dramatic for many reasons. Many businesses went through the roof as people spent more time online. Even in a chaotic world, digital platforms saw unprecedented growth. The reason is apparent as people had more time to spend online and no other way to interact with the world. 

The changing digital landscape also evolved the digital marketing scene. The popularity of virtual platforms made every PR firm redesign its campaigns, replacing in-person experience. Some of the popular trends you should include in your digital marketing campaign to make them more effective are listed below. 

Live Streams 

The pandemic locked everyone inside their homes and put a stop to public events and gatherings. With no option at hand, most people started tuning into live-streams to interact with their favorite celebrities or attend online events. The rise of live streaming offered the brands an opportunity to reach out to their customers and interact with them directly.

Live streaming on Facebook increased by 50 percent during the lockdown, while viewing on Instagram spiked by 70 percent. The use of TikTok also saw an upward growth. And, there is a good chance that live streams will continue their growth in 2021. 

As a PR professional, you can integrate Livestream into your marketing strategy using tools like LinkedIn Live, Facebook Live, Vimeo and Periscope, etc. Livestream selling/ shopping is another trend on Facebook and YouTube, helping the brands reach more customers in real-time. 

Influencer Marketing

It is a new trend that has taken over traditional ways of promoting a brand or product. Influencers are no celebrities but ordinary people who have a significant following on their YouTube channel, Facebook, or Insta profile.

You must have seen your favorite influencer talk about a particular beauty product they used and suggest you try. This marketing is used heavily in the makeup and fashion industry. Influencer marketing is sure to stay in the years to come and will shape the PR industry. 

As these people look more relatable and approachable, the viewers instantly develop an emotional connection with them. So, whatever they suggest and say is believed by their followers. You can also employ the power of influencer marketing for building brand awareness, targeting specific consumers, and maintaining a personal connection with them.  

Artificial Intelligence 

Artificial intelligence is at the heart of many businesses and industries, and it has started to make its presence in the PR industry. In-house teams and PR firms are cashing in on the benefits of artificial intelligence for driving favorable results. 

AI helps you choose the time and subject lines for your marketing campaigns. You can help brands reach their target audience and create consumer-specific content using the wide range of data collected from social media, website traffic, and customer interaction.

Tools like Smart Compose by Google, and AI Writer can help you in the content creation area. As you know, influencers have become an integral part of marketing campaigns. 

You can use AI to sift through all the influencer content to determine which blogger or influencer to approach. AI helps you reach your goals faster by saving a lot of your time and efforts.

Voice And Visual Search

Voice search has been there for quite some time. It came in 2011 with the introduction of Siri, and further down the line, with the introduction of Google assist and Alexa, more users got accustomed to using voice search. To use this as a marketing tool, you’ll have to create content in a conversational and natural style matching the consumers’ queries. 

Voice search optimized content allows businesses to reach new audiences as, most often, they lead to some other results. However, it’s not just voice search that will top marketing strategy in 2021; visual research is another creative search method that has seen a rise in the last few years. 

Tools like Google Lens help consumers look for the product they have seen and find them through visual search. Even PR firms are focusing more on visual search using image Alt texts and image sitemap.

Short Videos 

Short videos have become a widespread form of entertainment. These short, crisp videos don’t take much of your time and are easy to consume. TikTok has already become a rage in Gen Z. Seeing its success, Snapchat and Facebook also implemented a significant redesign. 

The boost in social media consumption due to short videos attracted many brands and every PR firm to focus its marketing strategies on these channels. In the second half of 2020, social media accounted for about 25 percent of total marketing budgets. It’s a great tool to target younger customers who spend most of their time watching or making these videos. 

Digital marketing trends will move more towards automation and personalization of content. It will help brands offer their consumers personalized content and shopping experience.