With the new year comes new marketing strategies that will help you bounce back and cope with a pandemic-ridden world. It’s safe to say that the trends you see today would have eventually been the norm in the future, but no one expected them to come this soon. The outbreak has fast-tracked people’s relationships with technology, thanks to the need for safer interactions. And while it’s easier for others to make the transition from brick-and-mortar to a fully virtual business, you can catch up. The conversion for you may be slower, but rest assured that the fundamentals are the same. The trick is to tick them off one by one, and you will find yourself riding the economic waves this year instead of drowning in them.
Diversify Social Media Engagement
It should come without saying that social media is now your marketing lifeline. The problem most brands encounter when managing this lifeline is that they think simply having one is enough. Treating them like regular personal accounts is one sure way to burn your brand on social media. If this tactic worked for you before, it certainly won’t in 2021. This is because as businesses lean more on these platforms for customer engagement, it becomes painfully apparent where you’re falling behind.
Photos, videos, stories, and live streaming are a given. The question is how you’ll utilize all these to enrich these touchpoints for your customers. The goal is to find a rhythm in using these features to diversify their experience and simplify making a purchase. Check how others in your industry do it and follow successful patterns.
Now is the time to invest in social media marketing specialists as they are the best people to boost your brand and find your niche. If what it takes to get ahead of the competition is to hire a commercial production company, then, by all means, commit to it. The more diverse and entertaining your social media presence is, the better your brand will stick.
Prepare to Use Social Media for Purchase
The increased traffic on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter is transforming them from a place of discovery to a means for purchasing. Imagine the convenience of finding an item you love while scrolling through your feed and being able to buy it without leaving the platform. This is convenience on another level, and you have to prepare your brand to embrace this new norm.
That said, it will have its hiccups during the first few months of its integration. Expect that you can’t give up your e-commerce website just yet, but you can rethink long-term plans and investment in these areas.
Take Action on Customer Information
Brands will not be able to get away with collecting shopper information without giving these shoppers something more tangible in return. That means if you’re going to make them click on that ‘agree’ button, you have to show them that they agree to something worth their personal details and transaction history.
Here’s where AI enters the scene and makes the difference for a lot of big brands. It’s no longer surprising that more and more companies depend on AI to sort through the multitude of data to show shoppers what they want and need based on their previous engagements with your channels. If you can’t provide this level of customization based on their buying cycles, then it might just be why they opt for a brand that can keep up with their expectations.
Make Profit Out of Virtual Events
Brands jumped into the virtual events bandwagon in 2020, more out of necessity. As they begin to see the advantages it has over in-person events, the opportunities for profit also become clearer. The costs of organizing one have significantly decreased, and how it’s executed has also drastically changed. Once the technology and the event organizers are in place, the expenses begin to trickle down to make space for a bigger ROI.
The same applies to attendees globally who would no longer have to work out their visas, airfare, hotel bookings, and whatnot. The absence of these usual concerns makes it easier to spend on more expensive access to these virtual events. That’s not to mention the variety of ways you can convince attendees to buy merchandise and participate in incentives that can boost your revenues per event. When you go virtual, creativity is your only limit in driving up sales.
Mastering the Fundamentals
These are the primary marketing trends you can master and build on as you go along. It’s no surprise that social media and other online platforms will only grow more relevant and powerful as the pandemic persists. The challenge is in establishing your presence and using the aforementioned tools in setting yourself apart from your competitors.
