Getting your marketing plan together for 2021 should be a key priority for any business – but where to start is the question? Developing a comprehensive marketing plan requires an awareness of marketing trends and a marketing toolbox built for your business. We are here to help!
We have studied some of the published 2021 Marketing Trends identified by organisations such as LinkedIn, Hootsuite, Hubspot, Deloitte and Forbes and considered this alongside the emerging trends that we have seen coming through. After a full review, here is our take on five of the top marketing trends for 2021:
#1 Customer is King!
A customer-first mindset is more important now than ever and customer-centricity will propel brands forward.
We know that a supplier offering solutions is an extremely compelling reason to engage with them. However, this year, suppliers need to take it up a notch to stand out from the crowd. Every piece of content needs to shout out loud and clear that you have listened to your audience and that you have done your homework! You have identified the challenges they face and the aspirations they have. You have the solutions and can demonstrate why your business is the one to help them achieve their objectives.
#2 Community Marketing - the way forward
In the current climate, the days of event led marketing are definitely on hold. So, what is the best way to find new customers? - Community marketing.
Community Marketing neatly ties in to the Customer is King strategy. Rather than clients attending events and being "sold to", the trend is to develop organic, informative and authentic interactions with clients. This is a strategy to engage an audience in an active, non-intrusive prospect and customer conversation. Community marketing typically occurs in places like enthusiast groups, Facebook groups, LinkedIn threads, online message boards and Twitter accounts.
#3 Video and Live Streaming – your new best friends
Whatever digital marketing strategy you develop, when you incorporate video, you are assured of increased engagement, higher levels of information retention and great open rates; Cisco predicted that by 2021 82% of internet traffic would be video. According to Insivia, 95% of a video message is retained by the audience, rather than 10% of written text, while LinkedIn quotes an impressive 50% open rate for video campaigns!
Forward thinkers are developing short-form and interactive videos to engage with clients. Interactive video allows you to watch a video, download reports, link to other resources and more - as and when the viewer chooses to do so - all from within the video. As Hubspot stated; “The interactivity that has been promised for decades is now a necessity for 2021”
Short-form video is just as it sounds - videos are typically anything from 30 seconds to 2.5 minutes long. Of course, they need to be well thought out and deliver the intended message, but if you succeed with this format, the added benefit is that it is extremely cost-effective.
Live-streaming advertising is the next big thing. Done well, it plays to that all important characteristic consumers want – authenticity. In one Sprout Social study, 70% of consumers said they felt more connected to brands whose CEO is active on social media platforms. If your CEO is charismatic and up for live-streaming, you could have a winning combination on your hands.
#4 User Generated Content
So now your content demonstrates that the Customer is King, you are engaging with your prospective clients in an authentic way and you are using video. What’s the next step? The answer - get your audience involved.
User generated content (UGC) takes engagement to another level. An impressive 79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions, (Stackla, 2020). By using the right “hook”, your audience will generate content for you.
If your social media management is carefully planned and executed, then you could hit the same heights as the Starbuck or Wayfair campaigns. Starbucks asked customers to decorate their plain white cups, another campaign asked for photos of their seasonal red cups. Online furniture store Wayfair lets customers showcase the results of their online shopping. Using the hashtag #WayfairAtHome, users can post their home setups featuring Wayfair products.
#5 Culling social media channels
Forbes tells us that many companies are starting to reduce the number of social media channels they are using to share and influence. This is not a great surprise. There are so many channels available, that trying to stay relevant on all of them is challenging. The need to declutter is very real. It’s critical to define your target market and research which channels they use. If your target market is Boomers, you are much more likely to reach them on Facebook and LinkedIn than Reels.
Getting the most out of your marketing budget
In these unprecedented times, more and more organisations are having to slim down and focus on their core product or service. This often means more outsourced marketing and use of marketing agencies. Whether you are a start-up or an established business, marketing is critical to success. If you are finding it challenging to keep up with the dynamic nature of marketing and would like to talk to us about the support we can provide, please contact us.