2020 was a huge year for marketing. 60 percent of companies saw new buying behaviors over the year as customers moved to e-commerce and stopped responding to traditional advertising.
2021 has built off of these marketing trends. It can be hard to predict what exactly will happen, and top marketing trends may fall by the wayside, but you can keep some ideas in mind as you plan ahead. Instagram is being used as a great business platform. Instagram followers can be increased for rapid profile growth.
How are customers behaving online? What sorts of content are they looking for in businesses? What political and social trends are creating change?
Answer these questions and you can create resolute marketing campaigns for the rest of the year. Here is your quick guide.
- Community Marketing
Event-based marketing has been the go-to strategy for many years. Organizations throw a lot of their resources at an annual conference or some other special occasion.
The cancellations of major events due to the pandemic have prompted a shift from this thinking. There are some events online, and you can run campaigns based on them.
But community marketing is proving more effective. You create more intimate encounters with your audience by responding to their posts. You invite them to small sessions through Zoom and to private Facebook groups.
Companies are also experimenting with new ways to create connections online. They are utilizing old methods, but they are trying out video calls and direct messages to reach out to people.
- Video Marketing
Digital marketing is undergoing several trends at once. Video production is the most significant one.
Some companies are embedding pre-existing videos into their blog posts. This is less authentic than making their own videos, but it is still effective.
Consumers have a lot of downtime due to the pandemic. They are willing to watch through a video, then read an article. They appreciate it when a company can fill in some of their free time.
Some people learn better through visuals. Embedding a video is a good bet even for people in a hurry or smaller articles.
Other companies are making their own videos. Most are fairly simple, outlining a particular service or giving an overview on a topic.
The production values do not have to be profound. Most videos show only one person, presenting material straight to the camera.
As video marketing becomes more popular, competition will require better production values. But for now, you can make a few simple videos to attract new clients.
You can get creative if you want to. 3d animation studios offer a lot of resources for videos, especially informative ones. Consider looking into them.
- Interactivity
Many companies have promised more interactivity with their customers. They say that they are going to take their opinions into account.
The times now demand it. The shift to remote settings means that customers have more opportunities to interact with companies. They can send them tweets or emails whenever they want.
Companies should step up and promote interactivity. They should host talks where customers can receive information about the industry. Each talk should have a panel so customers can then ask questions.
- Political Polarization
2020 saw an extreme rise in political polarization. Presidential politics, the pandemic, and the racial reckoning all shed light on the actions of corporations. Anything that a company does will be seen as some sort of political statement.
A company may want to pick sides. They can donate to Black Lives Matter and invest in anti-bias training for their supervisors and employees.
But many companies may want to stay out of politics. They should tread lightly before any significant marketing campaign. They should assess how their actions will impact their brand and political perceptions.
- Low-Budget Campaigns
As businesses try to restart themselves, marketing teams may be faced with small budgets. Most businesses downsized by cutting their marketing efforts, reducing teams down to single employees.
It is important to save money as much as possible in campaigns. Most digital and business marketing efforts are cheap. It costs nothing to write a social media post, and it costs very little to run ads.
Television ads can be expensive, so companies should scale back on them. Guerilla marketing tactics are cheap if planned out. You can use a storefront and make street art instead of running ads in the newspaper.
- The Panic Pivot
The “panic pivot” describes the sudden transition that marketers had to make in 2020. They had to go from face-to-face events and long-term campaigns to virtual and short-term efforts.
This was more than just a tactical change. The physical distance between companies and customers prompted marketers to adopt a human-centric approach. They create advertisements with reassuring messages, focusing on unity and positive thinking.
The panic pivot creates an opportunity for marketers. They can reinvent their efforts and create more positive and compassionate marketing content.
- Change Versus More of the Same
A “return to normal” is not possible during this time. The Delta variant continues to circulate through the world. Live events continue to be scaled back or canceled in order to accommodate low vaccination rates.
But “return to normal” is an imperfect concept. Many companies were struggling long before the pandemic, including in marketing efforts.
Company marketing professionals should stop pining for the old days. They should focus on bringing their companies forward, taking advantage of the changing times. If there are ways to reinvent their brands, they can follow through on those ways now.
The Biggest Marketing Trends of 2021
2021 has seen several substantial marketing trends. More companies are creating small communities with their customer bases. They are incorporating videos and interactive content into their approaches.
Political polarization and reduced budgets are making it difficult to develop brands. But there is plenty of opportunities thanks to the panic pivot.
Marketers should reinvent their organizations. They can change their brands entirely, opting for a human-centered focus. They should engage in optimistic messages and simple themes.
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