What Is The Future of Digital Marketing?
Updated: November 30, 2024 by Bill Burniece
2024 And Beyond
The last few years were very challenging to say the least.
Few of us could have imagined we would get swept up in a global pandemic that would change the way most of us live.
I think you’ll agree that the landscape is completely different now than it was pre-pandemic.
Now that the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, we must adjust to our new reality.
That includes the way we make money online.
Digital marketing is in the midst of a siesmic change right now.
Much more about that below.
But let’s step back for one moment…
Imagine how wealthy you would be today if you could go back in time knowing what you know today…
- Buying single-word domain names back in the late 1980’s when they first were available
- Purchasing Microsoft stock in 1986 following the initial public offering
- Investing in gold when in late 2000 when it less than $400 per ounce
- Mining Bitcoin during its genesis in 2009
- Starting a small PPE company making medical grade masks, gloves, and related safety gear prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic
Table of Contents
- What Is The Future of Digital Marketing?
- Digital Marketing Trends Today
- Other Digital Marketing Niches To Watch
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) And Robotics:
- Internet Of Things (IOT):
- Virtual Reality:
- Drones:
- Genomics:
- Green Energy:
- 3D Printing:
- VoIP:
- Wireless Tech:
- Self-Driving Cars:
- Wearable Tech:
- Mobile Payments:
- The Reality Of Trends
- Threats To Digital Marketing
- Future Of Digital Marketing Conclusion
Any one of these things could have made you a millionaire many times over – if you played your cards right.
Unfortunately, unless you have a time machine like Bill & Ted had, you can’t get rich this way.
But you can get in early on the next ‘big thing’.
Let’s dig a little deeper into what the evidence, and the money, shows is coming next.
Digital Marketing Trends Today
The seismic shift I referenced above is the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on digital marketing that is happening right now.
Today.
Here is what you need to know.
But before you do, here is my list of the best AI tools affiliate programs that you can promote.
If you don’t already know, AI tools are starting to change the way we communicate.
Including the marketing messages we create to generate sales online.
ChatGPT is leading the way.
If you don’t know, ChatGPT is a free AI chatbot that can answer any question in seconds.
It’s already live and you can start using it today for free.
ChatGPT is like using Google without seeing ads or having to jump from one website to another.
I wrote a post on ChatGPT affiliate marketing strategy.
For content creation and digital marketing, it’s a complete game-changer. It allows you to create money-making content in minutes, not hours.
Many of your competitors are already using this tool to try to game the system by flooding your niche with AI-generated content.
This may sound like a good approach, but it’s not. Please don’t do that.
All you will be doing is producing search-engine-hating SPAM content.
This approach will only get you in trouble as you’ll risk getting your websites banished from the search engines that have tools to find and penalize AI-produced content.
Instead, a better approach is to learn how to use ChatGPT the right way to create content quickly to grow and scale your online marketing business without these risks.
There is a just-released course called ChatGPT Empire that will help you do that if you’re interested to learn more:
Click here to learn more about ChatGPT Empire
But using AI for content creation is only the beginning.
As AI gets more intelligent, it will alter pretty much everything we are doing.
Your best bet is to pay close attention to the pros and cons of AI and how they impact the future of digital marketing.
Other Digital Marketing Niches To Watch
My advice to new internet marketers has always been to choose an online niche that’s already generating income rather than trying to tap into a new one.
The reason for this is simple: it eliminates the lengthy and often expensive process of testing whether or not money can be made in that niche online. When you enter an established market you already know that money is being made in that space today.
But what if you are a risk-taker or an established and experienced internet marketer looking to get in early on the next big thing? After all, that’s often where the really big bucks are made.
You want to get rich online?
Follow the money.
Or, look for current opportunities and follow the demand and the trends. That is how super-affiliates are made.
If you’re prepared, and can afford to take some risks, here is a list of industries to watch that will likely boom in the next decade:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) And Robotics:
We already covered A.I. above.
But the development AI will overlap with the field of robotics and change life for us together.
Computer systems and robots will be able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as decision-making, visual perception, speech recognition and language translation. Artificial intelligence is an exciting field that comes with a touch of trepidation – especially for fans of the movie franchise The Terminator.
Robotics technology is advancing rapidly and is expected to do the majority of manual labor tasks in the near-future that are now done by people. When AI and robotics are integrated, our world will never be the same again. This market is a game-changer.
Internet Of Things (IOT):
This one is going to be absolutely huge and the market created may have the biggest impact on the world of digital marketing.
Internet of Things is a network of physical objects that are connected to the internet. These objects such as sensors, circuits, smartphones, wearables and electronics will transmit data via “the internet” to the cloud providing a “smarter” service or experience for the user. As an example, the streetlight in front of your house, when integrated to the IOT, will send a message to your city’s maintenance department alerting it when it’s bulb burns out.
This kind of “smart technology” is already being used and will become prevalent in the next decade.
Virtual Reality:
More than just for gaming, virtual reality is the computer technology that uses headsets, sometimes in combination with physical spaces or multi-projected environments, to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that simulates a user’s physical presence in a virtual or imaginary environment. A person using virtual reality equipment is able to “look around” the artificial world as if he or she was actually there.
The future of virtual reality will include not only gaming but filmmaking, exploring, and other entertainment-related content. Plus metaverse marketing.
Drones:
Yes, I know that the drone market is already alive and well online. The drones being sold today are mostly for recreational purposes. What I’m referring to specifically here are commercial drone applications, which are yet to take off (pun intended) in the mainstream of things.
Commercial drones will not only be used for product deliveries but for a myriad of other applications including construction, real estate, ranching, etc. Also search and rescue. Drones are perfect for finding lost hikers in the wilderness where it’s difficult and time consuming for rescuers to find them. It can also carry a rescue ‘kit’ with food, water, first aid supplies and a radio that can help lost hikers survive until help arrives.
Genomics:
You may not have heard of Genomics yet but you will. Genomics is the study of genes, their functions and related techniques. Future applications may make it possible to alter our own DNA to upgrade our genetic code and actually ‘fix’ problems such as Type 1 diabetes. It’s a controversial field for sure but one to keep an eye on.
Future affiliate opportunities in genomics are primarily speculative at this point. But the possibilities in such a vast field of health-related topics is exciting.
Green Energy:
While the Trump administration recently curtailed the industry here in the United States, it is likely to rebound quickly in the near future. Wind and solar power, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat applications will likely explode in the next ten to twenty years.
Renewable energy sources provide energy in four primary areas:
- Air & water cooling and heating (including HVAC supplies)
- Electricity generation
- Off-grid energy
- Transportation
3D Printing:
Like the drone market, 3D printing is already is alive and well, but has yet to go completely mainstream. When it does, it could provide some amazing opportunities for ecommerce. Definitely a vertical market to watch as new applications are created.
VoIP:
Voice over Internet Protocol is a technology that allows you to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection rather than analog phone line. VoIP is cost efficient, easy to use and and requires little technical skill to operate. VoIP technology is still evolving and opening up new applications.
Wireless Tech:
The wireless revolution is already upon us but will accelerate when the large broadband wireless players build new improved infrastructure that will move us into the Internet of Things era. Further, so called “mesh networks” will connect local devices to one another in special grids that will open the floodgates for new wireless technology.
Self-Driving Cars:
I predict in the next 10 years many of us will be shuttling around in self-driving cars. Combined with the internet of things, I believe there will be thousands of digital opportunities spawned by this world-changing technology.
Wearable Tech:
Wearable technology is alive and well but like drones and 3D printing, is still in it’s genesis. Wearable tech is a perfect example of the Internet Of Things (discussed above) where objects exchange data though the internet without any human intervention.
There will likely be some massive advances in wearable tech that will continue to rock our world.
Mobile Payments:
While still in it’s genesis, mobile payment technology is rapidly emerging. Soon you will be able to walk into a store, grab what you need, and your account will be charged accordingly. This model already exists in very limited test markets.
This will completely revolutionize the entire shopping process and open up numerous opportunities, including sim-only deals.
The Reality Of Trends
In the late 1990’s I had a buddy in the mortgage business that persuaded me to jump into that market because business was booming.
Real estate values were increasing at record levels and interest rates were reaching all-time lows. It was a perfect storm to make big bucks in a hot market.
As a loan officer I could hardly keep up with all of the demand. I had an endless stream of paying clients without ever having to pick up the phone to solicit new business.
Nearly every person I knew working in that industry – including title insurance companies, real estate appraisers, banks, private lenders, and investors was making a six figure income almost effortlessly.
Things continued like this for over a decade with seemingly no end in sight.
Then, almost literally overnight, the party was over.
The real estate market had ballooned to unsustainable levels and when it popped, like every inflated market bubble eventually does, it took down the entire industry.
It was a red hot market trend.
But like most other trends, it came to an abrupt end.
Threats To Digital Marketing
Have you ever thought about what might happen to digital marketing when A.I. and bots become more advanced?
How about other high tech, not even invented yet, that may impact the future of digital marketing?
- Will it kill influencer marketing as we presently know it?
- Will building personal relationships online become obsolete?
- Will it create unbelievable new opportunities for savvy marketers?
Future Of Digital Marketing Conclusion
No business model lasts forever.
Look what happened to the newspaper industry since the birth of the internet.
How about the quick death of the retail video rental stores like Blockbuster.
Nobody knows exactly how the coming tech invasion will affect digital marketing.
But if you pay close attention to the trends you will be able to spot both future problems and opportunities that lie ahead.
Make sure you test what is working today and what is not. And be flexible enough to change strategies on a dime.
One this is certain… the future of digital marketing will not be boring.
If you have any questions please contact me.
Hi Don,
How does one go about making the alerts into an income? Do you have a template?
Many Thanks
Patrick
Hi Patrick. Just go to Google Alerts and follow the instructions. You simply enter in the search terms you’re interested in tracking. For example some of my terms are “affluent affiliate programs” and “high end affiliate programs”. Sincerely – Bill
Thank you Bill for this piece of information. Quite interesting though.
I’d be interested to know how far away you think we are from 3D holographic techonolgy being an everyday thing…like projection beams coming out of a cellphone…people doing presntations that seem real/live. I know the techonolgy exists…I’m just wondering how far it is from mainstream/everyday use.
Excellent article: I to, believe that the Internet of Things (IoT, as oppose to IOT) will grow exponentially when 5G becomes commercially available. Also, renewable energy technologies and overseas markets will also boom.
Thanks for your input Don. Sincerely – Bill
Hi Maryellen: Great question. I’m not sure I have an answer but its definitely worth watching. Sincerely – Bill