Top Trends That Will Dominate 2021

The way businesses had to rapidly adjust their strategies to ensure that they mitigated the risks of the pandemic and survived the financial and operational crisis will shape the trends for the coming year. Digital transformations and pivots are creating more opportunities in manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, retail, consumer products, media, and technology. Improvements in technology will further change the dynamics of the business world. There is no doubt that there will be greater penetration of digital technology and automation in every industry as businesses seek to stabilise their supply chains and revenue streams in the coming years.

Here are the digital and technology trends that will define the next normal:

Top digital marketing trends for 2021

The latest core update by Google

The December 2020 update has been one of the biggest changes rolled out by Google recently. SERPs for most site categories reached a 9.4 volatility mark. SEO experts will need to invest in high-quality content, use structured data, and fix SEO issues to improve thee user experience and recover from any significant changes in search rankings.

Social media will become a more important medium for purchase

Social media has played a huge role during the pandemic- from being used for information dissemination, customer service, customer communication, and as a source of entertainment. Social commerce will continue to grow in 2021 with more people using it for shopping rather than just a networking site. 

Virtual events will continue to be important

While virtual events, webinars, and video conferences grew in prominence out of necessity, this trend will likely continue to dominate 2021 because it offers greater accessibility, lower investment costs, and higher ROI.

AR will be used for virtual engagement

AR will grow in the next few years. Companies like Facebook own patents for Oculus and dozens of other augmented reality technologies. Marketers will need to learn and upskill themselves to incorporate AR into their digital experiences.

Focus on local SEO and local targeting

With the disruption of global supply chains, companies had to rethink their suppliers and customers. The shift in consumer behaviour with a focus on local brands means that marketers have to put greater emphasis on local consumers and suppliers and use local SEO to attract new customers.

Top technological trends for 2021

Edge AI

Edge AI is the future of artificial intelligence. It uses ML algorithms to process data produced by a device at a local level. There will be more implementation of edge AI as it reduces cost, reduces latency, and improves data security.

AI Ethics

AI bias is the outcome of the machine learning process when the algorithm produces systematically discriminated results due to poor data being fed into it. Companies will have to invest time and effort to build more ethical AI by creating transparency in processes and collecting better-quality data.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has the power to revolutionize companies striving for digital transformation. It is an incredibly efficient system that can automate all rule-based tasks.

Beacon Technology

Beacon technology is being deployed by various industries such as logistics, transportation, the medical field, and IT.  This technology is being used to improve offline attribution of Google Ads and Google My Business listings, out-of-store marketing, advanced data collection, and better user experience.  

5G

5G is set to go mainstream in 2021. It offers 20x faster download speeds, and 25x lower latency, and enables 10x more devices to be online in a square kilometre. 5G would enhance the customer experience of data-intensive content like AR and VR. 

Edge computing

With the explosive growth of IoT and 5G, edge computing is helping companies accelerate data collection, storage, and processing. The rise of real-time applications that need processing at the edge will drive the technology ahead in the years to come.

Internet of Behaviour (IoB)

In future, the Internet of Behaviour (IoB) will become the ultimate marketing and sales weapon in the hands of businesses thanks to its ability to provide an in-depth, personalised understanding of the target audience. With IoB, companies will be able to optimise their marketing and sales funnel whilst enhancing their customer experience.

Total Experience (TX)

Total Experience (TX), which is a combination of customer, employee, and user experiences, has become vital to organisations because it reduces the drag, cost, and redundancy of serving both internal and external groups meanwhile unleashing improvements company-wide. More companies are expected to adopt a holistic approach to TX to create more efficiency in their overall operations.

Hybrid Cloud

The new generation of the hybrid cloud is enabling organisations to build and manage data deployment on both private and public clouds. It provides better flexibility, agility, and scalability with reduced capital investment. 

Final Thoughts

The goal for businesses in 2021 is to become proactive rather than reactive. Being ahead of emerging trends is critical for organisations to maintain an edge over the competition. At Alkye, we offer a wide array of digital marketing and tech services to clients that add value to their business, grow their digital outreach, and enhance their digital experience.