2020 and the global pandemic of coronavirus was something none of us could have predicted. It made us all look at life in a different way, and reprioritise what is and isn’t important. It taught us not to underestimate the power of online marketing. Businesses followed marketing trends that moved from physical sales to online sales, and others used ‘lock down’ to improve their skills.
Now we prepare to step in to a fresh year. A new era and a phase full of new hope and positive energy. It’s time to combine human intellect with data. The ability to engage with new and existing customers was always considered an art. The power of data is where the future lies. But let’s not forget what encourages them to buy from you in the first place – relationship building!
To help you start 2021 with the best foot forward, we share the key marketing trends to transform your thinking:
Key marketing trends for 2021
Maximising engagement through social media
Social media has proved its power and no other marketing force can beat it. Not only is it great for targeting but most platforms have inbuilt tools to help you understand what they like to engage with.
It’s also good to understand the trends each social media platform is best known for. For example:
- Facebook: Videos and curated content.
- Instagram: High-res photos, quotes, Stories.
- Twitter: News, blog posts, and GIFs.
- LinkedIn: Jobs, company news, and professional content.
- Pinterest: Infographics and step-by-step photo guides.
You don’t even have to have a mega marketing budget to enjoy success through social media as you can achieve this through time and effort alone. There are even planning tools like HootSuite to help you schedule your activity well in advance and monitor all of your accounts in one place.
SEO like a boss and back it up through your blog content!
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is more powerful than ever. Users can access Google in a matter of seconds to find a local business. Most users don’t scroll past the first page of results so its key to make sure you are up there in the rankings. So the first port of call is to make sure your business is listed on Google, it’s free as you’ll be able to add in your address, phone number and other important details!
You can also maximise your SEO through your own website and a blog – as content is king! And tools like WordPress and in particular the plugin Yoast SEO can do the hard work for you. Not only will good SEO help you get more visitors from Google and Bing, but it can help you attract more visitors from social media and help you increase your readers’ engagement.
Easy to navigate websites
Gone are the days of detail – people want to find things quickly and easily. So when it comes to your website make sure the information they want is right at the top. There’s nothing wrong with having detail later in the page but make sure the structure is as easy to navigate as possible.
Make sure you get Google Analytics installed on your website as this will show you key data such as how long someone spends on your website, how quickly they leave a page etc.
Key takeaways…
Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed by data. It is there to help you understand what your target audience want, what they engage with, what they don’t.
Planning ahead will save you both time and stress, take the time out to think about the month ahead (and beyond) so you can schedule activity and it happen without you having to find time to do it on the day.
Make sure your website is as easy to navigate as possible. Have a review of your content, is it telling people what they need to know?
These simple steps will make an impact for you and your business in 2021, and if you need any support in making any of this happen, check out our services. We’d love to get involved and help you achieve your marketing goals.
