2020 was a lot. COVID-19, as well as other major social movements, such as Black Lives Matter or the Uyghur humanitarian crisis, impacted and changed the way we work, shop, consume media, interact with others or the world in general. Most of the world stayed inside and learned how to make sourdough bread, businesses went online, we spent more time on social media (hands up if you properly discovered TikTok in 2020) and having Zoom meetings with our co-workers or family.

But 2020 is behind us, and even though 2021 looks unpredictable AF, it’s time to look ahead at the trends that could very well shape our digital marketing strategies in the new year.

So if you’re a sustainable brand in the midst of planning your strategy for 2021, make sure you incorporate one or more of these 8 digital marketing trends.

Video content is key

Did you know 6 out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television? This is huge. Video content has been gaining in popularity in the last few years but last year is when everyone started catching up with the growing trend.

In 2021, video content should be part of your digital marketing strategy, whether it is stories (500 million people use Instagram Stories every day), Instagram Reels (one of Instagram’s biggest launches, Reels can now be accessed directly from the homepage, so expect them to stay and grow even more popular), YouTube, TikTok …

The livestream platform Twitch also gained in popularity and has now more than 15 million daily active users. While we might think of Twitch as platform for gamers, other categories are gaining traction, with content creators simply chatting or streaming live talk shows and podcasts. 

An increasing number of platforms are starting to incorporate video content, so keep your eyes open and choose the platform and content type that will suit your audience and goals.

Audio is getting traction

The pandemic drastically reduced our social interactions, which led to a lack of socialising. Means many of us miss the interactions and the emotional connection we make when talking to someone.

So it’s really no surprise that audio content is becoming popular: podcast listeners for example have grown 37.5% in 3 years. Audio is a very powerful storytelling tool that helps create a strong connection with the person listening. Brian Peters from Buffer, even says “audio is one of the most ‘personal and intimate’ types of media available, allowing people to connect on a much deeper and more meaningful level.“ And people love consuming content that allows them to do something else in the meantime, which is why podcasts are so great!

There’s also a new kid on the audio-content block: Clubhouse, an invite-only audio-based app, has been getting momentum recently. The app allows its users to have in-depth conversations about certain topics and to share knowledge.

This year experiment with audio content, try using more voice notes, or a podcast, or have a look around Clubhouse (if you manage to snatch an invite).

Live events are likely to remain virtual

Again, because of COVID, many events had to be moved online last year, and the truth is, it is likely a lot of events will remain virtual in 2021 as we still don’t know for sure how this year will unfold.

But this is good news! Live virtual events create new opportunities to get closer to your audience but also to attract new potential customers, with online events increasing accessibility and reach.

Educational content is king

Gone are the days when social media was just about sharing pictures of your dog, food or family! Social media these days is all about adding value and helping others with educational, shareable and saveable content.

On Instagram for example carousels allow brands to share information-packed posts, while Guides (one of Instagram’s most recent features) help you curate the information and make it easier for your followers to access it. As discussed above, long or short video content are also gaining traction and need to be included in your strategy in some way: Reels, TikTok and YouTube can all be used to share relevant information with your audience.

SEO is all about user and search intent

2021 is all about making sure your content is useful and answers your ideal audience’s questions, better than your competition. So to satisfy Google and your users you’ll need to focus on user and search intent, paying attention to search results, and making sure you know what your ideal audience is searching for on the internet. One benefit of focusing on answering your audience’s questions is being in the featured snippets, you know the answer box at the very top of the results page that Google thinks is the best and most useful source of information. Not only will this bring you more click and traffic (people tend to click on the links at the top of the results page), it will also help you position yourself and your brand as experts and thought-leaders in your industry.

Social media is evolving

As many individuals are spending more and more time online, social media platforms are also coming up with tools to help businesses sell online. Instagram shopping is a good example of such tools, allowing users to shop items directly from a brand’s posts.

Social media and SEO are also slowly merging: Instagram is becoming more search-friendly, now allowing you to search by keywords instead of just tags.

With so many new tools and platforms to keep up with, sustainable brands need to have a solid repurposing strategy that allows them to create evergreen pieces of content that can be used across different channels.

Email is your friend

It took me some time to get accustomed to and see the benefits of email marketing. In 2021 I could not recommend starting an email list enough. Email marketing is the easiest way to create a strong relationship with your audience. Nearly everyone uses email: 92% of online adults use email, with 61% using it on an average day and 61% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands through email!

My number #1 recommendation if you’re starting with email marketing this year is: personalisation! Think about it, nobody likes to receive generic emails. Personnalisation could be as simple as using your recipient's name in your subject line or copy, or as complex as customising the content to fit the recipient’s needs and interests.