Data, Cloud, & AI - 5 Current Trends in Digital Marketing
5 Current Trends in Digital Marketing
The possibilities for generating data continue to grow and offer immense opportunities for digital marketing - if the data is used correctly and the appropriate strategies are derived from it. These five trends should be on every marketing agenda.
Digital marketing is one of the most important topics for any company - not just since the ongoing Corona pandemic, which continues to further drive digitalisation. Companies will have to leverage the opportunities offered by data this year more so than ever as part of their digital marketing strategies.
Trend #1: The Accelerated Growth of Data
The amount of data that companies have access to is growing rapidly. According to a global survey conducted by True Global Intelligence last year, two-thirds of companies expect the amount of data available to them to increase almost fivefold by 2025. Data sources include automated manufacturing and digitally networked production, as examples. In addition, new digital communication channels are constantly emerging through which employees exchange information across company boundaries. The marketing sector is also changing: Data now forms the basis for digital marketing. Companies use it to provide their customers with information and product offers that are precisely tailored to their target groups - for example, by means of fully automated and individually tailored campaigns across multiple channels. The trend towards more data and data-based marketing will continue far beyond 2021.
Trend #2: Multi-Cloud Solutions
Corporate data is increasingly being moved to the cloud because of its easy accessibility and large storage capacities. Most companies utilize the services of three US cloud providers: Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Which of the three providers companies ultimately choose depends largely on the purpose of the data usage. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is often used when a large amount of data is involved. Google, on the other hand, is a popular choice when artificial intelligence is to be increasingly used. And with Microsoft, companies can rely on the services of a long-standing and experienced software company. Whichever cloud solutions companies choose, they all offer a high degree of flexibility and IT scaling options. In addition, companies save costs by using cloud services, as they do not have to invest in their own, more complex IT infrastructures. These solutions will therefore continue to be expanded in the future.
Trend #3: The Democratisation of Data
The topic of data democratisation continues to be on the rise this year. For SMEs in particular, it is important to plan for the time after the Corona pandemic to position themselves well for the future. The concept of data democratisation is aiming to provide as many users as possible with access to relevant company data, taking into account appropriate rules in terms of data security and data privacy. An optimised IT structure in which large portions of users have access to well-prepared, easily understandable data helps to make promising data-based decisions. However, critical voices are also mounting that see a danger for data protection when a large number of people can gain access to company data. It is important to consistently implement all the requirements of the GDPR within the company. Sensitive data must be securely protected from misuse or data theft.
Trend #4: The Increasing Importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Machine learning, decisioning, natural language processing (NLP) or neural networks - the various types of artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming more and more widespread in German companies. Companies use AI in conjunction with their corporate data to optimise their work processes, for example in production. AI technologies are also becoming increasingly popular in the marketing sector. AI-supported systems make it possible to better understand target groups and recognise online trends more quickly. Digital, AI-supported marketing is therefore one of the current trends. The marketer's task today is no longer to simply collect data about customers, but to evaluate the data as efficiently as possible and derive recommendations for action from it. When AI and data analysis methods are used correctly, companies can use their resources better through the learning process and significantly increase their conversion rates. Due to the decisive advantages, there is no sign that the AI trend will disappear in the next few years.
Trend #5: Digital Assets as Value Drivers
In the digital age, digital assets, i.e. all data and digital content for which companies have rights of use, are becoming increasingly important. These can be images, videos, audio files, text files, graphics, or other data stocks. Due to rapidly growing data stocks, especially since the beginning of the Corona crisis, it has become clear that digital assets management (DAM), i.e. the efficient administration of assets, is becoming increasingly important for companies. The sheer number of digital assets and the complexity of digital marketing, in which various file formats are used, makes a functioning asset management indispensable for them. The usage of DAM, for example, allows usable material to be found quickly and unusable material to be sorted out quickly. This is a clear added value for companies that guard large data stocks.
Conclusion: The current crisis has once again made it clear that digital transformation is more important than ever for companies. This includes digital marketing in particular, which in 2021 is all about data. If companies don’t only use this data, but also transform it as a value driver for themselves, they will not only create a competitive advantage, but will also secure long-term success.
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