Each year since 2004, Anvil has polished the crystal ball and made bold predictions about digital marketing. For 2021, Anvil pulled our 20 year record, talented team, and tea leaves to share noteworthy trends that should meaningfully impact digital marketing. In this webinar, Anvil’s President & Founder, Kent Lewis, briefly recaps the Anvil team’s predictions from 2020 and outlines the Anvil team’s top digital marketing predictions for 2021, ranging from post-pandemic consumer behavior and ad targeting to SEO and influencer marketing.

1. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
Top Ten Digital Marketing
Trends of 2021
Anvil Media Lunch & Learn Webinar Series
January 13, 2021
Kent Lewis (@KentjLewis)
President & Founder
Anvil Media (@AnvilMedia)

2. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
Agenda
– 2020 Digital Marketing Predictions: A Quick Review
– 2021 Digital Marketing Predictions & Trends
– Resources Appendix
2

3. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
Anvil 2020 Predictions: A Quick Recap

4. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Amazon Will Eat Google and Facebook’s Lunch |
Grade: C+
—Animated GIFs, Video and Interactivity will Replace
Image Ads | Grade: B
—Google Will Mandate That All Websites Be Voice
Search Compliant | Grade: B-
—Structured Data Strategy will be More Important
than Ever Before | Grade: A
—Augmented Reality Will Play a Bigger Role in SEO |
Grade: C-
2020 Prediction Recap: Self-graded

5. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—The Flywheel Will Displace the Traditional Sales Funnel | Grade: C
—Push Notifications Will Replace Email Marketing | Grade: D
—Performance Metrics Will Replace Likes | Grade: B-
—Consumers will Drive Alignment and Transparency in Influencer Marketing | Grade: B
—TikTok Will Lose Momentum – Relegating It to a Snapchat Knockoff | Grade: C-
2020 Prediction Recap: Self-graded

6. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
10 Predictions & Trends for 2021

7. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Value-based pricing
—Purpose-based messaging
—Sustainability and social responsibility
—Racial justice, diversity & inclusion
—Authenticity, transparency and accountability
—Virtual and hybrid events
—Reliance on digital channels including ecommerce
—Increased flexibility & responsiveness with marketing programs
#1: Pandemic Behavior Changes Take Root

8. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Migration to digital platforms
—Ecommerce
—Chatbots & SMS
—Apps & NFC
—Augmented and virtual reality
—Artificial intelligence
—Predictive analytics
—Omnichannel marketing
#2: The Digital Transformation Continues

9. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Driven by health and safety concerns
—Real time conversations
—Empower consumers through discovery with support
—Guide consumers through the customer journey
—Technologies include AI, chatbots, email marketing, SMS and voice search
—Trailblazers include Dominos and Sephora
#3: Conversational Marketing Focus

10. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Climate change due to human consumption
—Racial inequity
—Economic disparity
—Healthcare and legal reform
—Food production and waste
#4: Brand Social & Ethical Responsibility

11. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Data privacy & security
—Confidentiality vs. convenience
—Ethical and moral concerns
—Legal liability and accountability
—The Social Dilemma
#5: Increasing Regulation of Digital Advertising

12. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Global monopoly creates ethical
concerns
—Increasing competition from
Walmart, Target
—Other platforms are also rising to
the challenge: eBay, Etsy
—Bricks & clicks evolution
—Powered by the Pandemic
#6: Online Marketplaces Challenge Amazon

13. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Google’s “Passage Indexing”
—Increases value of particular
passages on a given web page
—Both are indexed but one is given
separate weighting
—Structured data may provide unique
opportunity for optimization
—Allows site owners to suggest most
important takeaway on a given page
#7: “Passage” Structured Data Gains Traction

14. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Fueled by BERT algorithm update
—English has multiple dialects with nuanced differences
—Now applies to 100% of English language searches
—AI will learn and discern intent
—Improved accuracy should drive use of voice search
#8: Voice Search (Finally) Goes Mainstream

15. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Over 70 percent of searches will be
voice-activated in 2021
—Better align intent with Google algorithm
improvements
—Will improve accuracy and value of voice
enabled search
—Local search will increase in importance
due to location relevance
—Amazon is focusing on improving
personalized search
#9: Personalization Will Increase As SEO Factor

16. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
—Increased use of social media during the pandemic
—Lack of ability to shop in retail stores drive influencer reliance
—40% of social platform users purchased a product online after seeing it used
by an influencer on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter
—High-growth platforms like TikTok embrace influencers
— Influencer marketing is evolving (pricing, transparency, etc.)
#10: Increased Reliance on Influencer Marketing

17. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
1. Pandemic Behavior Changes Take Root
2. The Digital Transformation Continues
3. Conversational Marketing Focus
4. Brand Social & Ethical Responsibility
5. Increasing Regulation of Digital Advertising
6. Online Marketplaces Challenge Amazon
7. Passage Structured Data Gains Traction
8. Voice Search (Finally) Goes Mainstream
9. Personalization Will Increase As SEO Factor
10. Increased Reliance on Influencer Marketing
2021 Top 10 Trends: Summary

18. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
Appendix: Resources
ꟷ Podcast: Omnichannel Marketing
ꟷ Anvil's 2021 Digital Marketing Predictions
ꟷ Anvil’s 2020 Digital Marketing Predictions: A Year in Review
ꟷ 2020 Digital Marketing Highlights: A Year in Review
ꟷ 4 major trends for digital marketing in 2021
ꟷ How the Pandemic Has Changed My Behavior
ꟷ COVID-19 changed consumer behavior and marketing strategy
ꟷ Ten Marketing Communications Strategies to Navigate the COVID-19 Crisis
ꟷ How to engage customers and market your retail business during a pandemic
ꟷ Omnichannel marketing in the new digital age
ꟷ Podcasting strategies for quarantine life and beyond
ꟷ How You and Your Brand can make Positive Change in honor of George Floyd
ꟷ How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy: Pure Purpose
ꟷ 6 Secrets to Marketing to Ethical Consumers

19. Measurable Marketing That Moves You // © 2021 - All information in this document is copyright protected and the property of Anvil Media Inc.
Kent Lewis
President & Founder
www.AnvilMedia.com
Kent@AnvilMedia.com
Questions?
– Access our Insights for additional digital marketing
resources: anvilmediainc.com
– Sign up for our monthly email newsletter
– Follow us on social media: @AnvilMedia
– Reach out with questions about or help with digital
marketing