Cyprus businesses must embrace new digital marketing trends

By Souzana Psara

Empowering businesses in Cyprus with the latest digital marketing trends is no small task, but as the digital landscape evolves, it has become essential for businesses aiming to stay ahead and remain relevant.

Staying on top of these trends is crucial for any business with ambitions to succeed. According to Katerina Lambrou, Digital Marketing Executive at Blackbook Agency, “understanding these trends is key to crafting a creative marketing and communications strategy that helps you stand out and drives success.”

Partnering with a trusted digital agency, she explains, can be transformative, as “extensive knowledge of the digital landscape guarantees a competitive edge and brings measurable results.”

One of the trends shaping brand-customer interaction today is Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI-driven solutions, Lambrou notes, are changing the way brands interact with customers by “harnessing real-time data to enhance customer relationships, delivering customised messages at the right time.”

Businesses are now able to leverage AI-driven personalisation to deliver “hyper-tailored experiences that resonate with individual customers, significantly boosting engagement.”

Likewise, short-form video has surged as a top format for digital marketing. TikTok and Instagram have led the way in popularising video content, and as Lambrou points out, “video is a cornerstone of effective digital strategies, and short-form videos, in particular, drive quick, meaningful interactions.”

For businesses, creating concise, compelling videos that resonate with their target audiences is now essential for building brand awareness, engagement, and loyalty.

Alongside video, sustainability is increasingly influential in digital campaigns. With consumers more conscious of their environmental impact, Lambrou observes that “businesses adopting and communicating eco-friendly practices are seeing greater engagement, particularly among younger audiences.”

Brands that genuinely prioritise sustainability should communicate these practices across digital channels to reach and connect with like-minded consumers, which builds both engagement and credibility.

For brands looking to reach younger demographics, TikTok has proven essential, with over one billion active users globally.

As Lambrou explains, “TikTok offers a massive opportunity for businesses aiming to connect with an engaged audience.”

She suggests that by participating in trending challenges, “brands can tap into user-generated content that not only builds engagement but strengthens brand visibility.”

Authenticity also plays a vital role on TikTok; its audience, she notes, “favours raw, relatable content over polished ads, allowing brands to form much stronger connections.”

She adds that collaborating with influencers can enhance reach, as “influencers bring authenticity, helping brands to quickly build trust with their followers.”

Another key development, particularly for Cyprus businesses, is the arrival of TikTok Ads, which Lambrou believes is too impactful to ignore.

As one of the first agencies authorised to run TikTok Ads in Cyprus, Blackbook has been helping local businesses maximise the platform’s potential. “We create tailored campaigns that fit TikTok’s unique tone while aligning with each brand’s goals,” Lambrou says.

These ads offer various campaign objectives, from engagement and website traffic to brand awareness and lead generation. “TikTok’s reach,” she explains, “makes it ideal for building brand recognition among diverse audiences, while its lead generation feature allows businesses to collect leads directly through in-app forms, perfect for expanding customer databases.”

Though relatively new in Cyprus, TikTok Ads provide an immense opportunity for early adopters. Lambrou advises businesses new to this platform to begin small, “experiment with different ad formats, and continuously optimise based on performance data as they scale up.”

This method, she notes, “allows businesses to maximise the return on their TikTok advertising investment by blending creativity with strategic targeting.”

Looking ahead, Lambrou sees several emerging trends that businesses in Cyprus should keep in mind to future-proof their marketing strategies.

Among these, she describes interactive and shoppable video content as particularly important, noting that social commerce is growing, and platforms like TikTok are integrating features that let users purchase products directly from video content.

Community-centric marketing also holds potential, with brands that engage deeply with niche communities seeing loyalty and repeat business. TikTok, she points out, is “ideal for nurturing communities through hashtags and challenges, which resonate with users and create a shared sense of identity.”

In addition, data privacy is an essential consideration as global regulations tighten. Businesses, Lambrou warns, “will need to be more transparent in how they use data and protect customer privacy,” and ensuring strategies comply with data protection laws will be crucial in the coming years.

“At Blackbook, we help businesses incorporate these trends into their digital strategies to create high-impact campaigns,” she explains.

“Our digital team is always on top of the latest trends, helping clients understand how to use these shifts to their advantage”, she added.

As platforms like TikTok shape the future of marketing, Lambrou notes that staying informed and adaptable is essential.

“With a thoughtful blend of creativity and strategy,” she concludes, “businesses in Cyprus can effectively harness these trends, fostering meaningful connections and driving lasting growth.”