Marketing communications has evolved dramatically since the advent of fax machines, email and static websites (aka Web 1.0). Over the past decade, Web 2.0, led by popular social media platforms, has changed the way we create and consume content across online communities. With Web 3.0 upon us, communicators have additional opportunities and challenges to navigate, ranging from decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics.
The most common Web 3.0 buzzwords filling the marketing news cycle today are the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Both offer brands and communicators opportunities to create and curate communities as well as control messaging. There are other noteworthy emerging technologies and trends to consider, however. While video has been a popular digital media, formats are evolving to include vertical and short-form video, which is now standardized on TikTok, Instagram and even YouTube.
Digital advertising is changing as well with the loss of third-party cookie tracking, due to increased interest and regulations around privacy. As a result, marketers are relying increasingly on influencer marketing, artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) to both separate from competitors and maximize message reach. The pandemic created new opportunities for influencers due to changes in shopping behavior. Loss of physical retail and employees fueled adoption of ecommerce and AI-driven chatbots for many organizations forced to expedite a digital transformation.
The pandemic dramatically impacted the hospitality industry, including event venues. As a result, many event planning and management companies adapted to virtual and hybrid events. While physical events have returned, hybrid and virtual events are the new normal. Webcasts and podcasting have also seen a resurgence in popularity post pandemic and continue to grow in popularity with communicators.
Whether internal or external in focus, communications professionals must stay on top of evolving technology and social media platforms, as their constituents are likely to adopt new channels. If communicators aren’t proactive and intentional about testing and evaluating evolving platforms, they have potential to lose credibility or fail to keep a crisis under control.
To learn more about the latest digital marketing trends and how your organization can leverage the latest channels to communicate with constituents, attend my session at the connect2comms Marketing & Communications Conference on October 20th at 3:15 pm.
Kent Lewis
Chief Marketing Officer, Anvil/Deksia, Portland, OR, USA
Lewis is currently Chief Marketing Officer for Anvil/Deksia, where he is responsible for the overall strategic direction of marketing, including evolving messaging and integration of our combined entity. He speaks internationally, writes for industry publications like SmartBrief and Portland Business Journal and has been an adjunct professor at Portland State University since 2000. He’s founded or co-founded four agencies and two organizations since 1999, including pdxMindShare and SEMpdx in Portland. Lewis volunteers his time with SCORE, teaching a social media workshop since 2017 and has been a board and marketing committee member and is currently volunteer reader for SMART. He’s been named a Top 40 Under 40, Marketer of the Year by AMA Oregon and a Top 100 Digital Marketing Influencer by BuzzSumo.