What’s Trending in Marketing for January 2021

Knowing what’s trending in marketing is a great way to keep your marketing efforts fresh and to find new tactics that can help improve your marketing strategy. We know it can be difficult to keep up with these trends, so we’ve gathered some current marketing trends that are worth paying attention to:

Noteworthy Marketing News

Audio Social Media is Booming

In a time of social isolation and screen fatigue, audio social media is all the rage. While audio communication has been around for a while, new apps are making voice the way people connect again. Clubhouse, Discord, Wavve, and Twitter’s developing Audio Spaces are trying to win people’s ears and shape the future of social media. Read more on Wired.

Facebook Asks Users to Opt Into Activity Tracking Ahead of iOS 14 Changes

Facebook’s business has been growing steadily during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that might change in 2021. The company disclosed that the new privacy features in Apple’s iOS 14 update could lead to a slowdown in advertising revenue. In order to combat the potential adverse effects, Facebook has announced plans for users to still allow tracking for personalized ads. Users with iOS 14 will receive a prompt asking to use their app and website activity. Facebook is testing the effects of this update now before Apple makes it mandatory for all apps in the spring.

NBCUniversal and Twitter Announce New Worldwide Digital Content Partnership

NBCUniversal and Twitter have been working together since 2013, but they recently announced that they are deepening their partnership. They want to meet global, national, and local audiences where they are. This new agreement will bring NBCUniversal’s premium digital content, from real-time sports to red carpet livestreams, to Twitter, meeting the growing demand for premium social content. See more details on Marketing Dive.

Budweiser, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo Sit Out in Advertising Their Trademark Beverages at This Year’s Super Bowl

With the first-ever COVID-era Super Bowl just around the corner, major brands like Budweiser, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo have announced that they will not be advertising their trademark beverages. These brands usually spend millions on commercials, but they have decided to reallocate those funds towards COVID-19 vaccine awareness and other resources.

Latest Color Trends Show that We Are All Hoping for a Redemptive 2021

Calm. Sanctuary. Transcend. Illuminate. These are all words popular companies like Sherwin Williams, Behr, and Pantone are using to name and describe their 2021 colors of the year; these companies, as well as many others, chose their colors to speak to the events of 2020. In light of those events, it seems to be clear that everyone is looking for stability, peace, and restoration in 2021, even in color.

You Might Like: 5 Marketing Tactics You Should Be Using in 2021

 

Improving Your Marketing Program

Why Call to Action Phrases Are So Important in Inbound Marketing

Call to action phrases seem so innocuous. They are just a few words on a link or a button. Yet, CTAs are some of the most powerful and important elements on your website to support your Inbound Marketing efforts. Without them, your conversion rate is not going to be anywhere close to where it should be. Learn why here.

The Future of Email: What to Expect

Although one of the oldest forms of online marketing, email marketing is consistently one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies there is, and it will continue to be so well into the future. Therefore, it’s worth thinking about the future of email in order to begin adjusting your email marketing strategy accordingly. What to expect.

Ten Ways to Use Google Trends to Increase SEO-Jan 25

Most people love free SEO tools. Google Trends is one of the most underused free tools; it is a place marketers can use to get their finger on the global pulse. Learn how to increase SEO using Google Trends here.

Recent Marketing Reports, Updates, and Trends

Social Media Ad and Video Spend Skyrocketed in Q4 2020

One thing to learn from 2020 is how quickly advertising behaviors change. Last year, people began to spend a lot more time on smartphones and other devices to stay connected and entertained, and this increased time online led to a lot more streaming and shopping. Marketers then began to make big investments into tactics to engage homebound customers. By the peak of the holiday season, worldwide spend on social media advertising was up 50.3%, in comparison to the same time in 2019. In North America, there was a 92.3% YoY spike in social media ad spending, much of that via livestreaming content. For 2021, it is expected that directly “shoppable media,” such as livestreams and shoppable ads, will be the fastest-growing advertising categories. Livestream-generated sales are estimated to double to $120 billion worldwide this year. This data is critical for marketers to create campaigns that will continue to resonate with consumers. More details here.

Influencer Marketing: Social media influencer market stats and research for 2021

Insider published their “Influencer Marketing in the Age of COVID-19” report, and it is clear that influencer marketing isn’t going anywhere in 2021. By this time next year, the estimate is that influencer marketing will be a $15 billion industry, up from as much as $8 billion in 2019. As fast as this industry is growing, it is also changing, so it is imperative that brands learn to adapt and evolve their strategies. Influencers are no longer exclusive to those with millions of followers. Some of the most influential influencers are those with only thousands. This means that niches of all kinds are being covered. Influencers are becoming vital in helping brands connect with their target audiences in authentic ways that produce immediate results. You can access the full report on Insider.

Ads on Facebook May Not Be That Important for Brands, After All, Study Shows

In a recent Forrester study, 46 companies that participated in last year’s Facebook ad boycott were examined to see the effects of not buying advertising on Facebook. Out of those 46, only seven companies saw their revenue decrease in Q3 as compared to Q2. The other 36 companies saw their revenue increase from quarter to quarter. In 2019, Facebook made just shy of $70 billion from ad revenue. This means a lot of companies are trusting Facebook to bring in online customers. But analysts are beginning to question the value and payoff that Facebook brings to its companies that use its advertising services.