Since the beginning of 2020, the world has been thrown into chaos. Thanks to the pandemic, both social and economic daily life has been disrupted in ways not seen since the global recession at minimum – and in some cases, never before seen at all. Obviously, such economic pains have led to a variety of problems for businesses and workers alike, with some entities completely shutting down and others forced to scale back.

It should be obvious that such issues would naturally have a major impact on digital marketing. With some industries seeing as much as a 50% drop in profits since 2019, many struggle to justify increased ad spend or marketing hires.

Yet some industries are growing at such an impressive rate that long-term growth and demand in digital marketing remains strong. Today, we’ll look at which industries digital marketing professionals may wish to target in order to guarantee long-term job security.

Software and Tech Services

A growing presence of technology naturally means increased demand for those who know how to maintain and fix it. Unsurprisingly, consumers are pinging websites and search engines with queries for software and IT services at a rapidly growing pace – especially given the pandemic’s acceleration of existing trends (such as working from home).

Ultimately, this sector of the economy continues to grow by double digits even during difficult economic periods, making it a prime industry for digital marketing professionals and firms to hone their expertise in for long-term gain.

Legal Services

Global economic downturn or not, the world is always in need of legal services. This is one area which cannot be effectively automated or outsourced to a large degree, which means a constant level of demand exists for both individuals and businesses alike. Furthermore, given the past year of unprecedented tax changes, subsidies and employee rights squabbles, there is currently a big increase in demand for legal services.

Marketers who know how to target these particular audiences can guarantee stability in their endeavors for the foreseeable future. It’s also one area where consistent demand over the long-term means steady growth due to sheer population increase.

Education

With millions temporarily let go and economic incentives from the government designed to aid those struggling, millions of people are now once again considering a furtherance of their education. The end result: more people are looking for these services, which means the growth in digital marketing needs is substantial.

While this demand may not hold at its current levels of growth in perpetuity, jumping in on the action now can build a solid base of clients, referrals and opportunity going forward.

Online Retail

Even during difficult economic times, online retail has seen annual growth rates of 10% or more. Unlike the last recession, the pandemic of 2020 accelerated online retail, forcing millions into pinging websites for online purchases due to store closures and shortages. Tentative estimates suggest online retail grew by as much as 40 percent over the past year: who’s fulfilling this digital marketing demand?

While some easing off the proverbial gas may occur as more places return to normal, this is one long-term trend where growth will continue year after year.

Ultimately, not every industry or sector is equal in terms of long-term potential. Sectors such as legal services, online retail, software and tech support, and education all are positioned well for the future, however. Digital marketing gurus should be focusing on procuring clients in these industries now in order to take advantage!