13 Marketing Trends that Will Impact Your Small Business

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Some years ago, marketing was all about getting your business name out there and waiting for your sales to increase. Today, everything has changed and marketing is about compelling storytelling, designing an effective brand, and measuring your success. Creating an image for your brand and waiting for it to grow is no longer enough. 

Companies took it to the next level helping you with branding tasks by inventing creative tools like. For example, an online logo maker helps you build your own logos. Also, website builders, help you design your website with a few clicks. Additionally, you have writing tools for artificial intelligence paraphrasing and so many more.

Marketing and SEO tactics have been revolving around creating adverts that target specific demographics and audiences and using the best social media platforms to promote products and services. However, marketing requires business owners to invest in branding, take risks, and listen keenly to their customers online. Here are the 13 marketing trends that might affect your side hustle and small business.

  1. Branding Your Business the Professional Way

Contrary to popular belief, branding a small business entails more than just designing a stunning logo. Even though it’s an essential component of small business branding, the logo is not the brand. A brand is the perception of a small business and all the components that contribute to that view.

Essentially, branding consists of words and visuals, but it goes beyond that. Additionally, it discusses the layout of your company’s website, social media posts, how you greet and welcome guests, and even how you serve meals. The first time a consumer interacts with your company, both tangible and intangible factors influence how they feel.

First, branding your small business will help your target customers identify the business easily. Research shows that people take note of strong brands naturally. Also, your business will not remain in the minds of your target audiences for a long time if it does not have any cohesive branding. 

Secondly, branding will help build trust for your small business. Every customer expects to see branding each time they look at your business and missing it might be a red flag. Without good branding, you will have nothing to show for your small business. 

  1.  Video Marketing is Crucial 

Video marketing has been around for many years and it is not going anywhere soon. Actually, it stands as the future of marketing. Data from Google shows that YouTube is the best social media platform for people targeting people between the age of 18 years and 49 years and Facebook reports that video posts on the platform receive around 6 times more engagement than link posts and photos. Twitter has also witnessed a 160 percent increase in video views. That means you are missing out on a lot of videos that are not part of your marketing strategy. 

  1. Content Marketing is Still King 

Content marketing has stood as one of the vital elements of digital marketing strategies for a long time. Today, it is a more powerful way of connecting with customers, engaging with them, and building their trust. Unfortunately, bad content can be fatal for any marketer. All you need to benefit from content marketing is effective storytelling. 

  1. Companies are Prioritizing on Social Responsibility 

Even though 31 percent of marketers claim that social responsibility is not effective, around 45 percent of businesses are planning to invest in it. One reason behind this is that social responsibility, transparency, and ethics are important to modern-day consumers. The interest in purchasing products from socially responsible brands grew during the global events of 2021, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The trend is likely to continue in the future. So, you have to prioritize social responsibility too. 

  1. Experiential Ecommerce is Taking Root 

Experiential ecommerce is important for all companies that sell their products and services online. From software-as-a-service platforms to subscription sites and online retailers, the implementation of experiential pathways is a necessity to accommodate user expectations. 

  1. Marketing is more about the Customer Needs and Less about the Products 

Modern marketers are focusing more on customer needs and not selling more products. Data availability and access to the internet have allowed businesses to create personalized experiences based on how their target customers behave online. The ability to understand the behavior of customers has enabled companies to build better relationships with them. This has led to brand loyalty and big revenue opportunities for the companies. 

  1. AI is driving the Marketing World 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already eating the world and disrupting the operation of many businesses. While you might not realize it, you are already in contact with a form of AI because businesses are using the technology to collect data, analyze it, and observe the behavior and economic trends of their audiences. Technology is highly used in digital marketing when speed is important. 

  1. Data is the Oil of Modern Marketing 

The internet and data collection software tools have allowed businesses to collect and propagate data naturally. That means every business can use the data of their target customers to unearth actionable insights and predict future business trends. Data can help you understand your target customers and personalize your offerings. 

  1. The Rise of Millennials

Millennials are currently the largest generation in the world and therefore companies are working hard to win them. A report that McKinsey & Company published showed that millennials spend over $1 trillion per year and their income is likely to increase to $8.3 trillion by the end of the year 2025 compared to the $6.4 trillion for the Gen X’ers and the $1.1 trillion for the Baby Boomers. Therefore, you have to adjust to the tastes, values, and habits of the millennials for your side hustle to grow. 

  1. Growth of Influencer Marketing 

It is hard to attract more customers by your look or name because marketing involves more than that. Many businesses are, nevertheless, using influencers to reach more people after their purchase decisions. Influencers can reach many social media users easily and interact with them. That means you might need to hire one to expand the reach of your business. 

  1. Mobile Optimization is More Important

It is evident that many consumers are spending many hours on their mobile devices. Studies have proved that around half of online website traffic originates from mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones. And due to the growth of buying power of Gen Z audiences and millennials, mobile-optimized experiences are important for the success of every business. 

  1. Permanent Social Media Posts are Overtaking Ephemeral Content

Ephemeral content only lasts for 24 hours unless it is archived or saved. While businesses might continue using this type of content in the foreseeable future, permanent social media content, including standard videos, posts, and live events, has been proven to be more effective in marketing campaigns. 

Surveys have shown that around 44 percent of global marketers are investing more in permanent content and 8 percent of the marketers say that this type of content generates nearly 8 percent more Return on Investment (ROI) compared to ephemeral content. Thus, ephemeral might not be a good choice if you are planning to boost your ROI.

  1. More Businesses are Using SEO to Get Search Traffic 

Marketers are working hard to ensure that their social media and website content is discoverable on search engines like Bing and Google. And even though Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has existed for a long time, its strategies are now getting ingrained in modern marketing strategies. 

Statistics show that around 28 percent of all marketers use SEO. Of the 28 percent, 50 percent call it effective and 89 percent are planning to continue using it in the future. That means you have to invest in SEO if one of your goals is to direct search traffic to your website.