Part 3. Future Trend Examination

3.1 Personalised Content

Ted Vrountas of Instapage writes: “When asked to prioritize one capability that will be most important to marketing in the future, one-third of marketers answered: ‘personalization.’ “ (Vrountas, 2019).

Personalised content enables marketers to speak directly to consumers, improving user-experience, driving brand loyalty, and increasing revenue.  Messages with personal tones set organisations apart from competitors.  In fact, Demand Gen found a 20 percent increase in sales when content was personalised.

Effective personalised content requires sufficient customer data, that’s organised and segmented.  The more information held about customers, the more personalised messages become and this technology is continually evolving into the future (Brenner, 2021; De, 2020; Vrountas, 2019).  A downside to personalised content is that consumers may feel privacy is breached (Kokemuller, n.d.).    

As artificial intelligence (AI) develops, it will work hand in hand with personalisation.  In fact, AI-enabled hyper-personalisation is predicted to enter many industries. This type of evolution ensures personalisation is likely here to stay (Walch, 2020). 

 

3.2 User Generated Content (UGC)

Although UGC is not new, UGC continues to prove itself as an essential aspect of marketing.  Michael Brenner (2021) writes that 85% of consumers trust UGC.  This demonstrates that the majority of consumers are influenced by positive reviews and testimonials (Brenner, 2021). 

Digital platforms provide multiple ways to promote UGC.  Review sites, email marketing content, email reminders or product review features are becoming increasingly prominent.  Nurturing consumers in the consideration phase with UGC helps build brand trust and social proofs the product or service.

If an organisations’ UGC is positive, there’s no downside.  It’s an effective, free, marketing tool that creates a community of brand enthusiasts.  The only downside is businesses cannot control UGC. UGC is proven to be a useful sales tool and is not something that brands could create on their own, without their consumers.  UGC is embedded in our social society and therefore will continue to be a content marketing trend into the future. (Brenner, 2021).