With 2020 proving to be a particularly trying year for everyone, there were numerous developments in the digital industry, with everyone confined at home with their phones in hand. In other words, we became more technologically savvy. In this article, we'll go over some of the most crucial digital marketing trends to keep an eye on in 2021, so that you can compete at a higher level in today's digital world.

Featured Snippets

Though Google first released "Featured Snippets" in 2014, coming into 2021, it has become a top priority for marketers. According to the statistics, when there isn't a featured snippet in the search results, the CTR for organic search results is 26 percent, however when a featured snippet is there, the CTR drops to 19.6 percent. Having your content appear in the featured snippet can significantly increase your click-through rate. So, if you haven't been paying attention, now is the time to start.

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation has always been crucial, but in 2021, enterprises, digital marketing companies, agencies, and bloggers are paying close attention to it. But what is digital marketing automation anyway? Marketing automation is nothing but using technology, software and tools to automate your marketing activities in a machine and data-driven approach to actually measure your marketing efforts in the end. And why do marketers care about it so much these days? Here are some figures to consider: Using marketing automation software, 4 out of 5 users saw an increase in leads, and 77% saw an increase in conversions. Businesses that use marketing automation see a 451 percent increase in qualified leads on average. It not only saves you time and effort, but it also improves your return on investment. As a result, whether you've just established your business or have been in the market for a while, it's past time you realized the value of digital marketing automation.

Voice Search Engine Optimization:

According to a survey conducted by SemRush, over 1 billion voice searches are performed every month. They gained a lot of traction with the emergence of voice recognition technology like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant for the sake of convenience. According to Forbes, 58 percent of shoppers use voice search to find local companies online. With these statistics in mind, it's critical that local companies improve their webpages for voice search recognition. According to Google's research, the keywords utilized in Voice Searches are long-tail and conversational.. For example, if a person wants to search for the best Mexican restaurant in Texas, instead of typing "best Mexican restaurant in Texas", they'll use a more conversational tone like  "which is the best Mexican restaurant in Texas?" while talking to their smartphone. As a result, it's critical for local businesses to focus on voice search optimization in order to attract more traffic, as some predictions indicate that the number of people using voice search will reach 8 billion by 2023.

Local SEO

The pandemic, which impacted us all hard, dealt a significant blow to the local businesses. But, as things slowly return to normal, searchers are looking for enterprises that provide convenience, and trust without requiring them to travel too far from home. Hence, Local businesses must be at the top of their game when it comes to local listings. You must be discoverable. People should be aware that you are there for service simply down the road. The best method to achieve this is to optimize your Google My Business listing. It's become essential to learn how to improve your Google My Business page for your restaurant's website. They don't buy from you if you're not up there.

Learn how to create a Google My Business listing for your company and how to optimize it to reach more customers.

Social commerce

In the year 2021, keep an eye on social commerce. But what precisely is it? Social commerce is the act of selling a product directly on social media platforms without requiring the buyer to leave that site and go to another, but rather to complete the transaction there and then. At the moment, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest are at the top of their game. According to Insider Intelligence, retail social commerce sales in the United States will increase by 34.8 percent to $36.09 billion in 2021, accounting for 4.3 percent of all retail ecommerce sales. Conversational chatbots powered by AI technology play an important role in this process since they provide customers with a real-time, personalized experience. In other words, D2C is the future! 

Short-form videos 

It is undeniable that content in the form of video is highly valued by viewers. According to a Wyzowl study from 2020, individuals share videos twice as much as any other type of material. It was also discovered that 84 percent of respondents were persuaded to purchase a product or service after watching a brand's video. As a result, videos that are less than 2 minutes 30 seconds (by HubSpot) are deemed short videos which are typically thought to be an excellent method to engage with clients, are a great method to do so. In the year 2021, TikTok and Instagram took advantage of the ideal opportunity to launch their video and reels features, which have received a lot of attention. Consumers adore user-generated content (UGC). In fact, it has a greater impact on their purchasing decisions than content created by brands or influencers. Brands can create engaging films without wasting a lot of resources. It is a trend to really watch out for in 2021.

Wrap up

We've just covered some of the most crucial digital marketing trends to watch out for this year. In 2021, we strongly advise all marketers to pay attention to these.. If you have any further trends to add to, please use the link above to join our restaurant marketers group! Please do not hesitate to contact us.