T R E N D S

The threat is far from over, but
with the roll out of vaccinations
and the easing of restrictions, the
global economy is slowly but
surely moving towards recovery.
The chaos of 2020 caused by
the pandemic turned the
world upside down.

With all the quarantines, social
distancing, and lockdowns,
consumers eased in into a new
way of interacting with brands,
businesses, and other people.
Technically, these new ways of
commercial and business engagements
are not new, as the world was eventually
heading in this direction – Covid 19 only
sped up things a bit.

One of the biggest casualties of
this New Normal is brand loyalty,
as evidenced by the fall from grace
of many well-known brands.
Businesses however should not be
discouraged and make the fatal
mistake of cutting back or totally
ceasing their content marketing efforts
because of the pandemic.

With the obvious shifts in the
consumer base, brands and
businesses should likewise shift gears
and adopt new and more effective
ways of interacting with their targeted
customers through their content.
The following is an overview of top
content marketing trends that have
been making waves during the first
half of 2021 – and are expected to
continue making a big impact in the
marketplace in the periods to come.

Back in 1996, Bill Gates wrote
an essay that established
content as the “king” in any
digital marketing strategy.
Fast forward to present times as
we witness video content
establishing itself as the
undisputed content king of kings.
1

So, it is not surprising why up to
With social distancing protocols and restrictions
limiting physical interaction, brands and
businesses turn to video as an alternative way
to “face” their audiences, but in a virtual way.
as their most important content marketing
tool in the age of the pandemic.

80%
12.2 billion
1.9 billion.
minutes of video content
Just look at the following Video Content trends:
Video content drives up to 80% of
internet traffic. Last year, a whopping
were consumed by users.
This figure is expected to reach an
even greater astronomical figure as
the number of internet users
consuming video balloons to

Among the various types of video content, livestream video has gained the
most ground. During lockdowns, consumers have turned away from the
more polished, edited and pre-recorded video content, and have grown
preference towards interactive virtual events that happen in real-time.
During lockdown periods,
Facebook live usage and
viewership increased by 50%
In a similar manner, influencers
have turned to Amazon Live in
the promotion of their products
LIVE LIVE

As much as 70% of B2B buyers
rely on video content during their
purchasing decision process.
Likewise, big brands and more
established businesses are keen
on creating and producing their
own TV shows to establish what
their brands stand for

Mobile-Friendly Content
Reigns Supreme
The pandemic forced people
to distance themselves away
from physical interaction.
They have no recourse but to turn to
their mobile devices as their main
avenue to socialize, work and
communicate with other people, as
evidenced in the following:
2

PURCHASE
The use of mobile devices is at an all-time high
with more than 5.11 billion unique users all across
the globe. The average US adult spends more time
on their mobile devices (an average of 3 hours and
54 minutes a day) than the amount of time they
spend watching television.
Up to 79% of mobile users in the United States
made online purchases through their mobile
devices. This trend is similar throughout the globe,
with mobile commerce expected to reach figures of
up to $432.24 billion by the year 2022
Video is the dominant type of content consumed by
mobile users, accounting for 63% of all mobile
traffic. By 2025, it is expected that video will form
up to 75% of all mobile-friendly content

A Greater Preference Towards
Personalized Content
Many consumers feel that social
distancing and virtual interactions make
engagements lose their personal touch.
People are naturally self-centered, so it is
quite normal for them to lean towards
brands, businesses and people that can
reach out and connect with them in a
more personalized manner.
3

70% of these consumers
84% of consumers
Consider these trends:
Consumers buy from brands
they trust, and as much as
And who do they trust more? Those
brands and businesses who can
personalize their communications
more, and up to
say that treating them like a person
will definitely win their business over.
place more importance now to trusting
a brand than they do in the past.

Let’s E-A-T!
One of the biggest buzz word in 2021 is E-A-T, or Expertise, Authoritativeness,
and Trustworthiness, as focusing on these three key elements in their content
may result in their brands and businesses ranking high in search engine results.
4

While technically not an official
ranking factor, Google has explicitly
stated that they are giving high
importance on the expertise,
authority, and trust of a website in
presenting their content.
The deeper and more in-depth a
website can be in their high-quality
content, the higher its chances of
taking the top slot in SERPs.

Optimizing Content
for Voice Search
The emergence of AI-assisted
voice-activated tools like Siri, Alexa and
Cortana provided online users with a
well-accepted alternative for making
online searches – particularly for users
who are actually tired or lacks time to
type what they wanted to look for.
5

Comscore predicted that by 2021, as much as
50% of all voice searches
will be conducted through voice search –
and these is clearly evident in the number
of people worldwide using smart speakers.
In the United States alone, one out of four homes
own at least one smart speaker of any kind.

A few years ago, hearing the terms
Artificial Intelligence, A.I., or AI-powered
seem like something that came out of a
science fiction novel or movie.
In these current times however, the
inclusion of AI technologies, including
the generation of content, is emerging
and may soon become a norm.
The Emergence of
AI-Powered Content
6

Research labs like Deep Mind and the
OpenAI Company are at the forefront of
developing artificial intelligence for various
applications, like the innovative GPT-3 tool
that has been tested to generate content
of a really decent quality.

Big names in the content industry like Yahoo, Fox and the Associated
Press are now delving into machine learning and artificial intelligence in
their bid to generate good quality content automatically.
As more AI technologies and algorithms emerge, expect to see AI
playing a more significant role in generating content for marketing.

The lessons learned during the first half of 2021 revealed the current
preference of consumers that lean towards more personalized
engagements, higher trust on brands they engage with, and the use
of new and emerging technologies.
The uncertainty people felt during 2020 has forced marketers to rethink
and re-strategize how they can connect with their targeted customers.

Moving forward, what the pandemic has taught brands, businesses and people is
that in order to survive, one must be ready to adapt to changes – and this applies
on how they communicate and engage with customers through their content.

Want one for your business? Go to:
www.digitalmarketingphilippines.com today!
Created & Designed by:
Sources:
1. https://fortune.com/2020/10/21/brand-loyalty-retail-trends-covid/
2. https://medium.com/@HeathEvans/content-is-king-essay-by-bill-gates-1996-df74552f80d9
3. https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/
4. https://wistia.com/about/state-of-video
5. https://about.fb.com/news/2020/03/keeping-our-apps-stable-during-covid-19/
6. https://www.amazon.com/live
7. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycoun-
cil/2018/05/22/have-you-adjusted-to-these-three-changes-in-the-b2b-buying-process/#71a6c710c445
8. https://digiday.com/market-
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10. https://www.oberlo.com/blog/mobile-usage-statistics
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pact-sends-app-downloads-usage-and-consumer-spending-to-record-highs-in-q2/
14. https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2020/04/06/why-mobile-app-advertising-the-future
15. https://builtin.com/expert-contributors/mobile-marketing-trends
16. https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2020-06/2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Specl Rept Brand Trust in
2020.pdf
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18. https://www.salesforce.com/research/customer-expectations/
19. https://growfusely.com/blog/technical-seo-content-link-acquisition-checklist-for-ecommerce-businesses/
20. https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2019/08/core-updates.html
21. https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/just-say-it-future-search-voice-personal-digital-assistants/1392459
22. https://martech.org/roughly-1-in-4-u-s-adults-now-owns-a-smart-speaker-according-to-new-report/
23. https://deepmind.com/
24. https://openai.com/blog/gpt-3-apps/