Trends in Digital Marketing That Will Save Your Business in 2021
If there’s one thing that could be said for 2020, it’s that it was in no way a normal year. Less than half of businesses are expected to see an increase in their profits next year. As we head into 2021, it’s important for your business to pivot in a way that will help it both survive and thrive in these unusual times. That’s why we’re going to go over the top digital marketing trends for 2021.
Your business should consider exploring as many of these as possible to get more leads and sales. These 2021 digital marketing trends will deliver the highest ROI, which means they will be a solid investment no matter what the financial position of your business is currently.
Increased Focus on Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is sure to become one of the digital marketing trends in 2021 that has more emphasis placed on it. As of mid-2020, marketing budgets were spending a quarter of their money on social media marketing. Once the pandemic shifted consumer habits online, the focus on social media as a way to reach potential customers only grew. It’s expected for this trend to continue into 2021 and expand significantly.
Getting Verified Google Listings to Focus on Local SEO
A focus on local SEO for brick-and-mortar businesses will become a major focus. This is due to many small businesses struggling after lockdown and state-at-home orders were mandated in many places. Google My Business offers an excellent way for consumers to find businesses more easily based on geographical location. This was a previously under-utilized marketing tactic that will see greater use in 2021
Better Communication About Availability
With supply chains severely disrupted in 2020, one of the digital marketing trends in 2021 will be increased and better communication about the availability of items. Many businesses were struggling with their products going out-of-stock. This led to consumers heading to competitors who still had those items in stock. Making it possible to receive alerts once an item is back in stock can help keep customers from jumping ship.
Optimizing Content for Voice Search
While voice search isn’t currently something Google’s algorithm is looking at, people are still using it with greater frequency. However, the search results are usually different than those you get when you type something into the search box. We see one of the 2021 digital marketing trends being optimizing written content for voice search.
Increased Segmentation
Holding onto your own customers and preventing churn is much cheaper than going out and getting new customers. In fact, it could be around five times less expensive to do so! When you keep your customers happy, they are likely to stay for the long haul. Segmenting customers allows you to personalize what your customers see, placing them in different email lists. This more targeted approach to marketing can help you save more on your advertising budget and keep customers happy.
Greater Focus on Interactive Content
Interactive content keeps people more engaged, whether it’s on your website or on social media. Interactive content could mean a quiz, game, poll, interactive video, survey, or contest. You stand to increase your brand’s reach very fast. It’s an affordable way to get more leads that people seeing the content will enjoy interacting with. This is one of the digital marketing trends for 2021 that you will see explode in popularity.
Greater Focus on Engaging Employees
The pandemic has led to employee productivity declining. With many existing employees working remotely, it has become challenging for some to manage the demands of their children and deal with the lack of social interaction. Morale and productivity have taken a beating. That’s why we see one of the digital marketing trends in 2021 being engaging with employees more. Using the communication channels available, like Zoom, help maintain the sense of a company culture that feels inclusive.
Creating More Highly-Targeted Ads
Creating more highly-targeted ads is going to have greater importance as one of the digital marketing trends for 2021 for two reasons. One is that it will save advertising dollars. When you create user-targeted ads, you are factoring in the age, location, gender, and preferences of your target audience. People are more likely to click or tap on an ad that is personalized and more relevant to their interests.
Short-Form Videos
People have short attention spans these days. That’s why you need to hook them quickly. Short-form videos make that possible. Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are prime locations for this type of marketing tactic. If you want to reach Gen Z, then TikTok is the way to go. When you want to reach Millennials and Gen X, Instagram is your place. Short-form videos also work on Facebook, which is a prime location for reaching Baby Boomers. You’ll want to get in on this one because it is expected to be one of the top 2021 digital marketing trends.
Content Optimized for Search Engines
SEO is something that has been very important for years, and 2021 will be no different. There is a lot to know about SEO, especially since Google’s algorithm is regularly updated to factor in more elements. Today, there are around 200 elements it factors in when it comes to SEO. Content writing will be your main generator of organic traffic, so you want to create content that is interesting and helpful, while optimizing it so that it reaches the top of the search results.
Redesigning Websites
If you don’t have a website for your business yet, then definitely get one. If you already have one, then you should consider giving it a facelift. Make sure to use plenty of visual content that engages people and captures their attention. Also, make sure it’s secure with an SSL certificate. Your website should be mobile-friendly and load quickly.
Wrapping Up
To survive and thrive in 2021, you’re going to need to revamp your digital marketing strategy. When you keep these 2021 digital marketing trends in mind, you’re going to cement your place as a business that will do surprisingly well, considering everything that’s going on. It’s time to increase traffic, leads, and sales for your company, so start applying these digital marketing trends for 2021 today!
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