#12 – 2021 Marketing Trends

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What would marketing be without trends…and wine.

Here it is, folks. The episode that – like most of the episodes – no one asked for!

We scoured Google SERP for the top marketing trends lists of 2021. Some of your loosely favorite publishers from strategy to SEO to immersive tech, we skimmed the lot of them.

“56% of bloggers generate a better ROI on their content when they spend over six hours creating a single blog post”
Single Grain

In no particular order, we pulled together our top list of marketing trends for 2021 listed below. These were recurring themes from multiple lists, or sh*t we thought was important based on our own experience and expertise.

Top 2021 Marketing Trends

Virtual events are here to stay. Don’t worry, your trade shows will come back. But companies noticed in 2020 they can reach a wider audience and make more money by holding virtual events. (mind explodes)
Video – duh. Not new to any lists, but how we consume it definitely is. From OTT to Tik Tok – and all the competitors to come out of the Tik Tok explosion, video is still and will be fire.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Again not new. But standouts in this area include long-form content, voice search and image search. They’ve been up-and-coming for a while; their time is coming if not here.
Brand Values. Stand for something, or stand for nothing. Focus on your customer. Prioritize agility.
Social Media. Inclusivity & diversity are HUGE (as they should be); from the people you hire to the people you feature in your posts to captions on your video. Users want to buy from brands that align with their values.
Audio. We don’t know why this didn’t make the top of more lists. But audio? Big. I mean, you’re on a podcast site right now. Clubhouse? Oy doy. People have been loving audio for years, but now it’s “trendy”.
Augmented Reality (AR). Put aside your Snapchat filters, and think ecommerce applications for beauty brands and home décor companies.
Data. This is not a rabbit hole we’re falling down, but if you’re not using data to drive your marketing decisions by this point. I don’t know what to tell you.
Artificial Intelligence (AI). This honestly has it’s claws into everything from chatbots to search and social algorithms to CRMs, etc. etc. etc. Anything that helps you automate your day-to-day is assisted by AI. Embrace the robots, but don’t lose yourself.

There can be a lot more added to this list; and, probably top 10 lists under each topic. Because there are. (See below). However, just because Google says I should theoretically spend six hours researching how blockchain works to write an episode on it, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen (anytime soon).

What do you think? Let us know what you think of the top trends for 2021. Comment below or email us.

For all the fun details, check out the episode wherever you listen to podcasts.