Like many things in the fast-paced world of business, the market changes frequently. This means that marketing trends change frequently as well. Though this has been true for as long as businesses have been marketing to customers, the relatively new addition of the internet to mainstream culture has caused marketing trends to come and go faster than ever. 

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Why You Should Follow Marketing Trends

At first glance, it might seem like a waste to follow the constantly evolving marketing trends since they don’t always stick around for very long, but not staying up to date is simply unwise. There are three main reasons you should worry about staying on top of the latest trends in marketing.

1. You Never Know Which Trends Will Stick

Being knowledgeable about the current trends and being prepared to participate in them means you’ll be able to move quickly when the next big thing shows up. Staying ahead of the crowd in this way gives you a great competitive advantage. 

2. Stay Close to Your Customers

Staying on top of trends一even if they pass quickly一ensures that you have a better connection to your customers. The public is often just as aware of changing trends as businesses are, even if they don’t have the marketing knowledge to explain how things have changed. After all, the consumer is often the driving force behind changing trends.

3. Make Better Decisions

The better knowledge your company has about the latest trends in the industry, the greater opportunity you have to succeed. This allows you to make more factual and plausible business decisions. From an early stage you’ll be able to identify threats and opportunities.

4. Build Credibility

If the whole marketing industry is moving in a new direction, then so should you. If you are one of the first businesses to implement a new trend, your company will earn credibility. Staying in the loop means you have the skills to address and understand your customers' needs and challenges.

5. Don’t Become Irrelevant

Last but not least, staying on top of trends helps you stay relevant as a business. The exponential growth of technology means that change is unavoidable when it comes to things like digital marketing. If you want to stay relevant in your industry, you will need to keep up.

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How to Stay Up to Date

One great way of staying on top of marketing trends is by reading blog posts, such as Forbes’s article on the top marketing trends of 2021. These give a comprehensive look into the current marketing strategies and give insight into how they might develop in the near future.

Reading trusted blogs is a good start, but there are ways to get even further ahead of the curve. Staying updated on industry news can prepare you for big changes in trends. You can do this by reading the top news articles related to your industry frequently. Subscribing to something like Google Alerts allows you to be in the know without having to spend all your time researching.  Keeping a watchful eye on your competitors (especially industry leaders) is also a good idea. This can be accomplished by following their social media, keeping tabs on their websites, and observing the company's visible marketing strategies. 

A lot of valuable information can also be gathered from the people that matter most一your customers! Listen to your customers, your leads, and the public in general when they share their opinions and preferences. Observing customer behavior and the way they react to certain marketing strategies can show you patterns and help you spot new trends early.

Finally, it’s important to be as knowledgeable as possible. Just as teachers and professors attend courses and events every few years to stay up to date on new breakthroughs in their field, your marketing strategist should attend marketing events and webinars. These can help you stay in the know about the latest tools and marketing trends and give you a leg up on the competition. 

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How Staying On Top of Trends Benefits You

You might notice that you have more一or higher quality一interactions with customers and leads when you stay on top of upcoming marketing trends. When you are seen as a business that’s ‘in the loop’ and you are speaking a language that people are attracted to, you’ll get more attention from customers.

Keeping up with marketing technology and trends can benefit you in more ways than just improving customer perception and interaction, including:

• Increasing the marketing team’s productivity and effectiveness.
• Keeping your systems and your marketing campaigns organized.
• Supporting high-quality marketing content.
• Long-term, you can even reduce marketing overhead costs.

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The Bottom Line..

You don’t want to be the business in your industry that misses out on the next big marketing trend. The companies that stay up to date are the ones that thrive. To stay relevant and sharpen your competitive edge, be sure to read industry news often and never stop learning how to market better!