13 Current Marketing Trends & Predictions for 2021 You Should Be Thinking About

A new version of this article, featuring the latest data and statistics, is available. Check out our report on Marketing Software Trends for 2022/2023.

The pandemic caught many unprepared for the quarantines, lockdowns, and strict sanitary and social restrictions it spawned. It mercilessly exposed structural weaknesses in businesses. Nevertheless, human resilience prevailed, even if it meant rushing solutions left and right (Carnegie Mellon University, 2020). In marketing, new strategies and trends emerge that practically change how we must draw, connect with, and sell to our customers. However, it’s not always enough to just keep pace with these transformations.

How is the pandemic impacting the marketing landscape? We created this compelling list of marketing trends so that you’ll know what’s still hot and what’s not in a drastically altered marketing environment.

The emergence of digital, social, and mobile technologies had been pushing traditional advertising for years. During the pandemic, digital advertising finally overtook traditional advertising.

Specifically, digital ad spending surpassed offline/traditional advertising as the main marketing channel in 2019 (Magna Global, 2018). As expected, global ad spending declined in 2020 to $569 billion, down 4.2%. Of this, the share of traditional media was $233 billion, down 18% from 2019. Digital media, however, were far more resilient, growing by 8% instead, at $336 billion. In the process, digital ad spending accounted for 59% of all global ad spend in 2020 (Forbes, 2020).

Moreover, it is not just in the developed countries that digital advertising is gaining ground. It is also becoming popular in third-world countries. In 2020, Colombia tops the list of countries with the fastest growing digital advertising markets in the world at a rate of 11.2%. Chile comes in a far second with 5.9% growth.

Around the world, businesses are compelled to quickly respond to ever-changing customer expectations. The challenge is how to provide the relevant content in the correct channel of your target audience.

Based on our annual marketing trends research, here are the most important trends in marketing that you must know and act upon.

1. Agile Marketing in the Time of COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak has thrown a wrench into most marketers’ plans. In fact, in pre-pandemic 2020, 45% of corporate event organizers were planning to maintain their spending on product launchers and VIP customer events (Exhibitor Magazine, 2020). Additionally, about 18% wanted to increase their spending.

But because of COVID-19 protocols, 61% are to replace live events with webinars (B2B Marketing Zone, 2020).

Marketing professionals needed to pivot and pivot quickly. Many successfully did. This is why in the coming years, we expect an increased demand for marketing teams to be agile. The same goes for communication professionals.

Marketing planning and marketing communications planning should be done more quickly. This also entails the need to gather data more efficiently. Plus, to be able to pull this off, siloes between marketers and other departments (like finance and accounting) should be demolished.

Integrated Business Planning (IBP) and Agility

Planning siloes are prevalent in many companies (Deloitte, 2018). This not only drags the company down when it comes to speed, but it also does so financially. By having siloes, company policies, plans, and operations can be uncoordinated. Thus, they can, in a high probability, be working against each other.

This is why many recommend a digitally-driven Integrated Business Planning (IBP) framework. IBP practitioners integrated different planning activities together from operations and finance to supply chain and strategic levels. In this way, a company can use various data from functions and use them intelligently to deal with issues or capitalize on opportunities quickly. Moreover, with all planning activities aligned, policies and actions will not get in each other’s way.

For this to be implemented well, digital business solutions are needed for intelligence, monitoring, and coordination. In this way, organizations can plan and react in real-time.

2. Crib Economy and Localization

There are two real estate trends that have and will continue to affect the marketing industry. The first is the rise of second-tier cities that will lead to further localization. Secondly, thanks to people staying more in their homes, a burgeoning “crib economy,” as Avi Dan of Forbes called it, will also likely leave a mark on how marketers approach the game in the next few years (Forbes, 2020).

As Second-Tier Cities Grow, Marketers Need to Localize

There has been a generally growing push among big-city dwellers to move out to the charms of the country, live close to nature, and have a home with the good-old white-picket fence. Even before the pandemic, a significant number of people living in large cities like New York and London were willing to move out.

COVID-19 accentuated this desire even more. For instance, of the 28% that is likely to move out of New York, 71% were influenced by the pandemic. The most visible effect of the pandemic can be seen in the demand for residential properties, as prospective homeowners shift their attention to the suburbs, away from the cities where the pandemic is in full swing. This trend has resulted in the upswing of sales of previously owned homes in the United States, for example, at a healthy 24.7% clip, the highest on record (Bloomberg, 2020).

For brands, marketing and communication strategies will have to change in target locations. This is to take into account an increase in not just the number of target audiences, but also their makeup. Placement and messaging will have to change. Even new products and pricing strategies can also be rolled out. This is especially true when an estimated two-thirds of the consumers shop primarily in neighborhood stores.

A Burgeoning Crib Economy

COVID-19 did not only put the demand on local products on steroids. It also made ecommerce, home deliveries, virtual work, home entertainment, and voice commerce even more mainstream. The pandemic really made apparent that staying at home more cannot only be more convenient and safe but could also increase work productivity. Just take a look at these remote work and telecommuting statistics.

Experts predict that, in the coming years, remote work will become even more normal. This is thanks to its many benefits. Hence, people’s homes will be a larger point of sale. Thus, the burgeoning crib economy will continue to rise. Marketers should take this into account.

3. Content Is King Again

It 1996 when Bill Gates predicted that the future will be one where content will impact market success. Fast forward to 2021, well, that “bold” prediction is clearer than broad daylight. Experts even project that the content marketing industry itself will reach over $107.5 billion in 2026 (Research Dive, 2020).

Content marketing has been the marketer’s main tool for attracting customers and building trust (Digital Marketing Institute, 2018). This is especially true for B2B marketers. In fact, in July 2020, B2B marketers claim that content marketing helped them achieve goals. This includes creating brand awareness (87%), building credibility/trust (81%), and generate sales/revenue (51%) among many others.

And, B2B marketers use many types of content. This includes white papers (47%), research reports (28%), podcasts (26%), digital magazines (16%), and even print magazines (11%) and books (5%) (Content Marketing Institute, 2021).

However, the top content being used are blog posts and short articles. In the coming years, content marketers will likely diversify the content types they use. But, short-form articles and blog posts will remain as the staple.

Content is everything

In today’s market environment, content should form the core of your marketing strategy. With so much information available everywhere, every business already knows how to attract its customers. What’s crucial are the actions they’ll take.

Marketing guru Seth Godin even said that “content marketing is the only marketing left.” The goal is not to just provide people with content and then hope for a positive reaction (Content Marketing Institute, 2008). Rather, it aims to encourage them to share and engage with it.

Whether it’s a blog post or a video product review, your content unlocks the key that connects your brand to your audience. This connection is important to generate rapport and trust with consumers. Always focus on which content produces the best outcomes.

To ensure you’re maximizing your content marketing results, only rely on the best content marketing solutions for your business.

4. Goodbye Funnel, Welcome Flywheel

After years of being the go-to marketing technique, the marketing funnel model was finally downgraded (New Breed Revenue, 2020). Recently, it was discovered to be an approach that focuses more on getting one-time customers, rather than repeat ones.

In the marketing funnel world, customers become outdated once they make a purchase unless they want to repeat the transaction on their own.

On the other hand, the marketing flywheel model focuses more on keeping customers happy (HubSpot). It also concentrates on how to motivate them to come back for more. It leverages businesses to employ client marketing strategies. These include providing unique content, client blogs, in-person activities, and other ways to develop leads for the long term.

The action of the flywheel spinning perfectly captures how it works. This means that providing excellent customer service is by itself its own marketing approach. It also exemplifies how marketing assumes a pivotal role in the whole customer life cycle.

Putting the customer at the heart of marketing

The flywheel framework centers on customer engagement by working on motivating customers to keep coming back. As a result, the pace and power of your flywheel intensify, along with the growth of your customer base. 

Up to now, word-of-mouth marketing remains the most effective marketing method (HubSpot, 2020). Flywheel also pushes the use of WOM. Marketers should design campaigns to transform customers as brand advocates.

Using Flywheel at our marketing core will compel marketers to put a significant focus on providing great customer service. It also calls for the right type of training to adequately prepare customer service teams to provide quality service.

Having a very satisfied brand audience means that they’ll likely promote your products or services on their own. This, again, is WOM in action.

5. AI Grows Further in Scope

Artificial intelligence continues to grow in importance to businesses of any size (Entrepreneur, 2018). With AI, you can easily complete tasks people usually have trouble with and make data analysis more effective.

For marketing, AI can target potential leads fast and efficiently. It can also track consumer online habits and make sense of people’s behavior.

Whether you continue to have doubts and raise some ethical concerns about AI, it is a sound business strategy to explore how people respond to it. Likewise, it pays to know if your competitors are already utilizing it in their marketing campaigns.

Like it or not, AI is already everywhere and we experience it many times every day (The Manifest, 2018). When Google smartly predicts searches, Amazon recommends products or Spotify suggests a song, we’re using AI.

How can AI help your marketing campaigns?

So how does AI fit into the marketing world? As consumers increasingly use AI, businesses and marketers should react to this consumer behavior. 

One is to integrate AI to help your website visitors and brand consumers solve their problems precisely and fast. AI is deployed to enhance and extend our human capacity to connect and help other people better.

There’s also an increasing need for brands to be true and authentic. More than ever, truthfulness in marketing has become very important to today’s consumers. Aside from helping ensure quality customer service, AI can be used to build systems for protecting online reputation.

Another marketing application of AI is for gathering and evaluating consumer data and for supporting data-driven decisions. Deploying a reliable marketing automation software will make your efforts simpler and produce better results.

6. Video Still Dominates Digital Space

A picture paints a thousand words, a video produces millions! After unleashing its power in television and movies, video as a marketing strategy is now conquering the entire digital space (Forbes, 2018). After being part of a marketing program, brands are now producing purely video marketing campaigns.

Every day, people everywhere watch countless amounts of video online. Most of them watch on YouTube.

By 2022, more than 80% of consumer online traffic will involve video watching (Cisco, 2020).

Moreover, half of today’s consumers prefer seeing video content from brands (HubSpot). Whether it’s on a popular video site or a social media platform, video is a force to reckon with.

In fact, 86% of businesses already use video as a marketing tool in 2021 (HubSpot, 2021). This increased slightly from 85% in the previous year. And, 93% of businesses claim that video is important in their marketing strategy. This has been an increase of 20 percentage points since 2015. 

Which type of social marketing to employ?

Today, video is easier to create and is much more accessible. With an easier entry barrier to break, video marketing has become a user-friendly tool for any business, even for SMBs (ProductionHUB, 2017).

Marketers now have creative freedom–and even financial flexibility–to produce story-driven videos that fascinate target consumers. What’s more, as it is very accessible, it has also been a go-to solution medium during the pandemic. Around 60% of video marketers claimed that they expected their budgets to be affected in 2021. Only 30% expect it to be lower while 70% expect a higher budget.   

However, there’s no need to seek the expensive services of an ad agency or a production team. All you need is a smartphone, video editing software, and an internal creative team.

From the consumers’ side, an emerging trend is watching videos in vertical mode. It turns out many people dislike turning their smartphones to the side just to watch videos. This is why Instagram launched IGTV (Entrepreneur, 2018). This new service allows users to produce vertical, longer-form videos.

7. Social Media Remains En Vogue

Today, there are over 4.2 billion social media users worldwide (Hootsuite, 2021), while the average user owns 8.6 social media accounts (Backlinko, 2021). The sheer number of these socially-connected netizens is more than enough to make the business case for this marketing approach.

Social media marketing empowers businesses to create genuine connections with their audiences (HubSpot). These connections are made on a personal level, which helps provide brands the missing human element.

Marketing campaigns run over social media continue to produce significant results. This is the reason why almost every business, from the smallest to the largest, uses these social networking sites nowadays. And, this trend is set to continue even general digital adspend has dropped due to the pandemic. 

This does not mean that digital advertising is not popular anymore. The data reflects that marketers have been diversifying their placements. Overall, however, social media advertising still trumps other channels. And, this is set to remain the same this 2021 and 2022. 

Which type of social marketing to employ?

Since not everything social media is made the same, marketers must identify which type is effective for a particular social network. For this year onward, experts suggest the use of multiple types of content on different social platforms. 

This entails using social media content that is permanent (long-lasting) and ephemeral (fleeting) (HubSpot). When used interchangeably at the right time, for the right audience, your social media content will draw more interest and effect.

Marketers should know when to use ephemeral content like Instagram Stories when sending simple,  short-term brand information. Conversely, permanent posts must be employed to communicate lasting concepts like core brand messages, etc.

Expect a further rise in social media ad spend, led by the increasing popularity of Instagram for this year (Marin Software, 2018). Still, it’s best not put all your eggs in one basket. It’s better to mix things up for your paid or organic social media growth.

Better yet, use a trusted social media management software to boost your social marketing campaigns.

Leading Business Process Management Software

1. Studio Creatio Enterprise. This platform has preconfigured solutions for sales, marketing, and customer service that allow you to use it out of the box. Other than that, it has powerful features for other business processes that you can read about in this Studio Creatio Enterprise review.
2. Promapp. With this solution, you can monitor your business processes even as they change in real-time, letting you revolutionize operations on the go. Learn more about what else you can do with this platform in our Promapp review.
3. Wrike. This is a software where you can manage all projects relating to different business processes like marketing and sales. Discover other capabilities and benefits you can gain in this Wrike review.
4. Nintex. By automating business workflows, this application empowers users regardless of the platform or device they are using. This Nintex review discusses its key features for you to understand the software better.
5. monday.com. This highly customizable software allows you to tailor it to your needs, enabling you to streamline any kind of process such as marketing. Our comprehensive monday.com review can tell you more about its capabilities.

8. Chatbot Enriches Customer Experience

No one can ever dispute the importance of customer service to any business (HubSpot, 2021). However, not every customer has the time to send emails to a company or likes talking to a rep over the phone. These are among the reasons why more and more businesses are using chatbots.

These AI-powered virtual assistants have been improving immensely. They’re already providing fast, correct, and high-quality 24/7 customer service on numerous corporate websites. Of course, this is provided that you set it up correctly. 

Having an under-par setup will likely get you a good deal of negative responses to your customer service. Even large companies have trouble with this. In fact, top brands including the DISH Network, Comcast, and United Airlines are among the top ten companies with the highest shares of negative responses to their customer service.

Augmenting human agents with smart chatbot AI’s will not only help companies with the workload. They can also help with the information accuracy and the speed of service. This is why many companies now go with a hybrid human-AI model for customer service. More and more companies will follow suit.

With a projected annual growth rate of 24.3%, the global chatbot market will reach $1.25 billion by 2025 (Grand View Research, 2017). 

What are the advantages that chatbots bring?

The current generation of chatbots is capable of providing fast, simple solutions to customer issues across the entire spectrum of probable scenarios. Their capability to continuously learn and adapt had removed the need for live chat.

Chatbots offer the impression and commitment necessary for a one-to-one customer service experience. This could be done easily and simultaneously to hundreds of clients. Such a sheer advantage is never possible when deploying a few reps or even marketing teams.

When implemented properly, chatbot technology can seamlessly manage conversations no matter the volume of site users is.

As long as you provide the complete data sources–from explainer videos to knowledge bases–chatbots can efficiently provide high-quality service that customers need.

9. Consumers: Power of  Small Influencers

Influencer marketing has always been a popular marketing method for the longest time. And, if you don’t live under a rock, you’d know that it still was hot in the last two years. In fact, in 2020, influencer marketing has skyrocketed from a respectable 55.4% in 2019 to a significant 62.3% in 2020 (eMarketer, 2020). Experts predict that by the end of 2021, the usage rate will be at 67.9% and reach 72.5% in 2022.  

Big influencers have a big pull. However, their services also have a big price tag. And, customers might see brands sponsoring them to be blatantly advertising. This is why many brands target niche audiences through smaller influencers for the past years. This includes podcast personalities, comedians, local celebrities, and the likes. 

Companies are also starting to choose smaller influencers with smaller than micro-influencer audiences. These are just everyday consumers that are very loyal to the brand for organic reasons. For instance, a brand sponsors an artist who already uses their brush or a fighter that already uses their gloves.

The smaller, the better

The changing consumer landscape had elevated average, ordinary people among us to become uncanny brand champions. This is because their audiences are their peers with, more or less, the same values and interests. Thus, it is easier for them to establish trust when it comes to their judgment of a product and influence purchasing decisions.

People are likely to trust their friends and family over brands. And, this is popular among Millennials, who already surpassed Boomers in numbers. Studies indicate that the majority (70%) of millennial consumers make purchases based on peer recommendations (Social Media Today, 2017).

To capitalize on this hot marketing trend, brands should drive social buzz by creating and posting personal influencer content across all marketing brands. To create authentic endorsements that will generate trust for the long-term. In fact, the smaller the influencer is the better.

At least, this is what communication professionals think as of September 2020. Aside from mainstream journalists, everyday consumers sit at the top of the most effective types of influencers, the experts think.  

However, to better manage your influencer marketing campaign, you must use suitable metrics to nurture micro-influencer-follower relationships. These include CTR, cost per conversion from UGC content, and conversion rate from influencer content.

It’s also recommended to measure this KPI using robust business intelligence tools. This will help boost your marketing campaigns through your micro-influencers.

10. XR-Powered CX: Rise of AR/VR

Extended Reality (XR) technologies, while providing different customer experiences, bring unparalleled excitement to today’s marketing world. Augmented Reality (AR) sees the real world augmented with visual and other sensory enhancements. VR sees digitally-generated scenarios that are life-like. And, Marketers are anticipating a great opportunity to cash in on this new channel that provides awesome potentials for interactive and creative advertisements.

The market size for AR/VR in 2020 has reached $12 billion (IDC, 2020). In 2024, experts project that it will skyrocket to $72.8 billion. This might be a very optimistic estimate. But, the market might just hit it especially as the technology becomes more advanced, accessible, and cheaper in the coming years. 

Marketers are surely to ride on this trend. Wherever the consumers go, they go. 

In fact, the customer segment has been projected to have owned the highest share when it comes to AR/VR spending at $6.36 billion in 2020. The distribution and services segment sits a far second at only $1.9 billion.

Market signs are becoming favorable

Aside from bringing a higher recall rate, VR ads can be intrusive than conventional display ads. In fact, they can be fun. But if marketers can do things right, VR/AR can do more wonders than earlier anticipated.

AR and VR had been with us for years now, but only to support things like events and the online experience of brand users. The slow adoption is mainly due to the overall costliness and non-user-friendly devices.

But as both hardware and software costs continue to plummet down, you can expect more businesses to integrate AR and VR into their marketing arsenal.

A number of global brands are already using AR to create awesome things. Here’s a recent YouTube take of this trend:

11. Voice Search Pumps Up the Volume

Speaking comes more naturally and relatively effortless than typing. This is why voice search makes perfect sense. In fact, it’s a very brilliant technological innovation that it’s already altering how we communicate digitally.

Who doesn’t like to just talk and be able to do what you want, like buying something on Amazon or exploring gifts for a friend online? 

Voice search doesn’t only simplify looking for information online by removing the need to use a device. Most people instantly embraced this new technology since it drastically cuts their screen time. 

In fact, after the COVID-19 outbreak, smart speakers have been used more for music and entertainment (Tech Crunch, 2020). This is especially so for consumers aged 18 to 34 with 52% claiming they used their smart voice devices more.

And, the Amazon Echo, powered by Alexa, still leads that market at around 74% (Statista, 2020).

So, to take advantage of this trend, brands should make the right adjustments on how they frame data to properly respond to this emerging consumer behavior. Rather than adhering to the manual search rules of Google, you should optimize your content by constructing it around questions.

How do I write content for voice search? 

Using direct, conversational queries is the best way to do your voice search strategies. This approach enables your audience to receive better, more accurate answers to the question they raised. 

When you ask a question using voice search, you won’t receive a dozen of links. You’ll only receive one direct answer.

Voice search is already taking the digital world by storm. In 2018, the share of consumers making grocery and retail purchases through voice was only at 3.6%. The number grew to 6.2% in 2019 and reached 6.7% in 2020. If there’s one sure thing this trend is telling what every business should do is this: use 2021 to make your brand optimized for voice searches.

This technology is still young, but experts already offer some best practices for you to implement to take full advantage of its benefits.

These include using natural language over keywords, framing simple, everyday sentences with less technical words, etc.

If you’re a local business, it’s time for you to get listed online. Voice search algorithm prioritizes local companies.

12. SEO Remains Essential

Some might think that because of the rise of video, AI, and AR/VR as prime marketing tools, SEO has been relegated to the sidelines.

Yes, content and other digital marketing strategies are key to engaging with your audience. However, good SEO practices still do the groundwork in connecting your brand with your target audience. This is especially true when they use a search engine to find your brand online. 

Why should I optimize my website?

More than half (61%) of marketers report that their number one inbound marketing priority is to develop their organic presence online (HubSpot, 2021). 

Although it entails more time, organic marketing is way cheaper than resorting to paid ads that tend to provide short-term results. Building an organic presence online generates more precise SEO and more authentic customer engagement (Walker Sands).

Marketers are increasingly pushing for voice and mobile search. However, SEO continues to be dominant in as far as “ordinary” online usage is concerned. 

These two new search engines still have so much work to be done, which provides the mature SEO its distinct advantage, such as a robust SERP with meta descriptions. This is the area that you’ll want to keep an eye on, at least for now and the immediate future.

13. Social Responsibility Towards Community

One thing that COVID-19 accelerated is the perceived need of consumers for brands to be more socially responsible. In our branding statistics compilation, we have found that people want businesses to be proactive in addressing social issues. This is especially true for the challenges brought about by the outbreak.

In fact, in one survey, 90% of global consumers want brands to coordinate with their respective governments to help address the pandemic (Edelman, 2020). And, many have successfully addressed COVID-19 issues with their marketing and communications.

For instance, brands such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola helped spread messages in support of social distancing protocols. With the help of clever creatives, they tweaked their logos to symbolically convey their support.

Source: The Agency Creative

This has been popular with consumers. In fact, it was found that 83% of consumers want brands to connect people to help them stay close emotionally. Moreover, more than half (56%) of US consumers are pleased to hear about brands that take positive social actions during the pandemic like making donations (AAAA, 2020).

Consumers are expecting companies to be more socially responsible. So, expect brands to comply and have CSR as a component to your marketing strategy.

Doing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) the right way

Brands have always played a part in shaping the world. They have a platform and the machinery to take action. And, with great power comes great ethical responsibility.

Companies exist and thrive because they, in a lot of ways, provide value to their stakeholders and communities. They provide jobs, services, and goods among other things. They make life easier through innovations in all areas of human life and experience. This, for many consumers, extends to areas traditionally under the domains of NGOs and governments.

In fact, only 22% of US consumers don’t want brands to engage in local political and social issues. Around 25% want brands to engage more often or always. Also, 25% want brands to only sometimes engage in these issues.

Expect that more and more consumer actions against brands that stay silent or have misdeeds in the eyes of consumers. For instance, a good 44% of consumers claim that they will boycott brands that mistreat animals. Also, 40% will boycott a company for being corrupt or fraudulent.

Authenticity is paramount when engaging in CSR or brand social activism efforts. Consumers, as they say, can smell fake a mile away. So, be sure that your company really supports something authentically before advertising that you do.

What should you do with these marketing trends?

As every fabric of today’s marketing world continues to evolve, businesses must also adjust to survive. Brands must have no other option but stay on top of these revolutionary shifts to successfully connect with their audience.

The challenge is more pressing when your audience is smarter and suspicious of advertising nowadays.

These top 10 marketing trends will keep you at pace with the ever-accelerating change. As a brand, you must integrate these trends to help you really connect with your audience and know what their real needs are.

You must also provide quick solutions and reach them through the various channels that they use. When you are able to share their actual needs and wants, your relationship becomes meaningful to them.

No one knows the future, but we can always prepare for whatever the future brings. The best way to do so is by deploying an efficient marketing solution that can always have your back. It can also help to have a business process management software to assist you in reviewing your overall performance and in optimizing various business procedures.

References:

1. AAAA (2020). Consumer Sentiment Towards Brands During COVID-19. Retrieved from AAAA
2. Adgate, B. (2020). Ad Agency Forecast: Expect The Advertising Market To Rebound In 2021. Retrieved from Forbes
3. Amaresan, S. (2021). 12 Data-Backed Reasons Customer Service Is Key to Business Growth. Retrieved from HubSpot
4. An, M. (n.d.). Content Trends: Global Preferences. Retrieved from HubSpot
5. Baker, K. (n.d.). Social Media Marketing: The Ultimate Guide. Retrieved from HubSpot
6. Balkhi, S. (2018). 4 Artificial Intelligence Trends to Watch for in 2019. Retrieved from Entrepreneur
7. Bartolacci, G. (2020). The Marketing Funnel is Dead and the Flywheel has Arrived. Retrieved from New Breed Revenue
8. Belanger, L. (2018). Everything You Need to Know About IGTV, Instagram’s New Longform Video App. Retrieved from Entrepreneur
9. Bodnar, K. (2020). Happy Customers Are the Biggest Marketing Opportunity of 2020. Retrieved from HubSpot
10. Cassidy, P. (2017). Survey Finds Consumers Crave Authenticity – and User-Generated Content Delivers. Retrieved from Social Media Today
11. Cisco (2020). Cisco Annual Internet Report (2018–2023) White Paper. Retrieved from Cisco
12. Content Marketing Institute (2021). 11th Annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. Retrieved from Content Marketing Institute
13. Craig, W. (2018). The Growth Of Video Marketing And Why Your Business Needs It. Retrieved from Forbes
14. Dan, A. (2020). The Trends That Will Stay With Us And Change Marketing, Even After The Corona Is Gone. Retrieved from Forbes
15. Dean, B. (2021). Social Network Usage & Growth Statistics: How Many People Use Social Media in 2021?. Retrieved from Backlinko
16. Decker, A. (n.d.). The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Trends in 2020. Retrieved from HubSpot
17. Deloitte (2018). Integrated Business Planning Plus. Retrieved from Deloitte
18. Digital Marketing Institute (2018). Creating an Effective Content Marketing Strategy. Retrieved from Digital Marketing Institute
19. Edelman (2020). Edelman Trust Barometer 2020. Retrieved from Edelman
20. Exhibitor Magazine (2020). 2020 Vision: Exhibitor Magazine’s Economic Outlook for the Year Ahead. Retrieved from Exhibitor Magazine
21. Grand View Research (2017). Chatbot Market Size Worth $1.25 Billion By 2025 | CAGR: 24.3%. Retrieved from Grand View Research
22. Hayes, A. (2021). What Video Marketers Should Know in 2021, According to Wyzowl Research. Retrieved from HubSpot
23. HubSpot (2021). The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics for 2021 (Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics). Retrieved from HubSpot
24. IDC (2020). Worldwide Spending on Augmented and Virtual Reality Forecast to Deliver Strong Growth Through 2024, According to a New IDC Spending Guide. Retrieved from IDC
25. Kemp, S. (2021). 15.5 Users Join Social Every Second (and Other Key Stats to Know). Retrieved from Hootsuite
26. Magna Global (2018). Magna Advertising Forecasts (Fall Update – Executive Summary). Retrieved from Magna Global
27. Marin Software (2018). Q3 2018 Digital Advertising Benchmark Report. Retrieved from Marin Software
28. Perez, S. (2020). COVID-19 quarantine boosts smart speaker usage among U.S. adults, particularly younger users. Retrieved from Tech Crunch
29. ProductionHUB (2017). How to Break Through the Video Marketing Barrier to Entry. Retrieved from ProductionHUB
30. Pulizzi, J. (2008). Seth Godin: “Content Marketing is the Only Marketing Left” and 10 New Marketing Lessons. Retrieved from Content Marketing Institute
31. Research Dive (2020). Content Marketing Industry Expected to Reach $107,540.6 Million By 2026, Growing at a CAGR of 14.3%. Retrieved from PR Newswire
32. Sheehey, M. (2020). U.S. Existing-Home Sales Surged in July by Most on Record. Retrieved from Bloomberg
33. Statista (2020). Statista Global Consumer Survey. Retrieved from Statista
34. The Manifest (2018). 16 Examples of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Your Everyday Life. Retrieved from Medium
35. Walker Sands (n.d.). Benefits of Organic SEO Search Traffic. Retrieved from Walker Sands

By Nestor Gilbert

Nestor Gilbert is a senior B2B and SaaS analyst and a core contributor at FinancesOnline for over 5 years. With his experience in software development and extensive knowledge of SaaS management, he writes mostly about emerging B2B technologies and their impact on the current business landscape. However, he also provides in-depth reviews on a wide range of software solutions to help businesses find suitable options for them. Through his work, he aims to help companies develop a more tech-forward approach to their operations and overcome their SaaS-related challenges.