6 Key Stats that point to the future of marketing

There is no better time to reflect on the future than at the end of the year. The pandemic of 2020 and 2021 has presented many challenges. It has also brought many opportunities, inspired amazing innovations, accelerated tech trends and transformed the way customers and brands interact. Although the future of marketing is unpredictable, one thing is certain: it won't get boring.

These 6 amazing statistics will show you what's next for marketers across every industry.

Let's get started!

Quick Take-Aways

• Search is the foundation of nearly all online experiences. To be seen by their target audience, brands must rank content.

• Video content is rapidly becoming the most popular type of content.

• Most consumers prefer voice search to typing when searching for information.

• Brands that offer a better experience are more popular with consumers.

• Brands prefer to work with micro-influencers, who have smaller followings but more engagement.

• Podcast listening is growing and offers brands a cost-effective way to share their expertise.

Six Stats That Point to the Future of Marketing

Search engines are the starting point for 93% of all online experiences.

This isn't a new concept. Forbes reported that 93% percent of online experiences start with search in 2017. It's important to take search engine optimization seriously if you haven’t started. Over the last few years, the world has become increasingly digital. If brands don't concentrate on organic search traffic, they will soon be invisible.

Recent brand behavior has shown that marketers are increasingly recognizing the importance of content in their strategies. Statista conducted a 2020 survey and found that a large number of marketers have increased their reliance upon content such as blogs, social media posts, and videos, since the outbreak.

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More than ever consumers are searching online for information about brands that they wish to interact with. While I don't think offline strategies will disappear (they will), brands who want to gain new customers must ensure they can be found on Google.

By 2022, 82% of all internet traffic will be made up of video

Video is content's crown jewel. Cisco predicts that 82% of online traffic will be generated by video by next year. Consumers also prefer video content.

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In response to consumer demand, there are many exciting video marketing trends. While live video, social media stories and vlogging are not new to Gen-Zers or influencers but they are for brands that market to customers. It's a new world.

Video gives brands the chance to be more approachable to customers and highlight their brand personality. Even the most boring (dare we say, traditional) products can be video. Brands can use video to make their products more human and show potential customers why it's valuable.

3M is an industrial giant. They launched the Science at Home series in May 2020 featuring 3M engineers and scientists who demonstrated how science experiments could be done at home by children during the pandemic.

Children watching engaging content from a brand that is specialized in insulation materials and PPE. Great video marketing at work.

71% prefer to speak rather than type their queries.

Siri, how are you? It was something we all laughed about a decade ago, when Siri made her debut. What if people started walking around talking to their smartphone's bots every day?

We are now in 2021 talking to our phones, cars, TV remotes and in-home speakers. Interestingly, almost three quarters of all consumers prefer to speak rather than type when requesting information.

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What does this all mean for content marketers? What does this mean for marketing in the future?

Brands will have to optimize their content for voice. Here are some ways you can do it.

• Target question keywords – “How” or “what” are top two voice search trigger phrases. Target questions customers might be asking when searching for your products or services in your keyword strategy.

• Use conversational language to make your content more natural. People search as if they are talking when they use voice queries. To create complete sentences and phrases, align your content with this style. Filler words such as “the”, “to” and “for” can be used to match the style of searching.

• Long-tail keywords are better – Voice search is quick and simple, so people can be more specific. Long-tail keywords should be longer and more specific to rank well for these kinds of queries.

86% of customers are willing to pay more if they have a better experience with their customer service.

Brands that provide a seamless customer experience will be the future of marketing. The rise of the pandemic has led to new trends, greater convenience and deeper interactions for consumers. Brands have improved their customer service by introducing omnichannel commerce, AI-powered customer care, and highly personalized communication.

Customers expect more from it now that it is here.

86% of buyers today say that they are happy to pay more for better products and services. Brands that have relied on competitive pricing to retain customers will need to think differently about how they can do this.

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Micro influencers account for 65% of influencers, and 77% prefer to work alongside them.

Although we've all been spending a lot of time at our homes recently, it's clear that TikTok is not just for teens. More than half of the 1 billion+ users on TikTok are over 30. TikTok is now being used by brands to communicate with customers, while influential marketers are making huge bucks promoting their products.

Although you may assume that celebrities and influencers with millions are the best (and some of it is), the most trusted influencers in the micro category are those with just 100K followers.

The engagement rate with micro influencers is significantly higher than that of their mega influencer (1,000,000+ followers). Brands are paying attention — 77% prefer to work alongside micro influencers due to their greater engagement with and resemblance to their audience.

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There are micro-influencers on every platform. But TikTok is the most popular. Here, product promotions can be seamlessly integrated into videos in authentic ways. It's easy to see why micro-influencers are being used by brands in an age where people can find ads online in seconds and then scroll on.

Podcasts are listened to by a third of Americans.

Podcasts were largely ignored by the mainstream media for a while. They gained popularity with series like Serial and This American Life, which told stories. Now? Podcasts are available for just about every topic: true crime, sports and religion, news, etc.

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Brands are taking part in the discussion now. They cover topics that show their brand authority, increase their visibility, grow their reach, and build a loyal following. HubSpot's The Growth Show, a weekly show that examines ingenious ways people can grow their businesses, is a great example.

Podcasts can be very cost-effective. Although podcast production is possible, it's not necessary to have a high-end computer or microphone. However, a good audio recorder and microphone can be all that's needed to produce a podcast with great audio quality. Your customers won't expect that you are NPR if you are covering high-demand topics. It's all about value, just like any other type of content.

Create a content strategy that delivers

While we may not know the future of marketing, one thing is certain: Brands must be publishing consistent, creative and optimized content to grow. Marketing Insider Group's team of SEO experts and writers can provide ready-to-publish content every other week for up to a year. ).

To learn more, check out our Content Builder Services.