With 2020 in its last quarter, it’s time to start looking ahead to the next year. By looking ahead to digital marketing predictions for 2021, you can better position your company to meet the challenges that it could likely see over the next year or two. Here’s how to do that now:
Prepare to Fully Embrace Digital
Even if your business felt like it was part of the digital transformation prior to the banner year that 2020 became, you’ll want to fully and objectively assess it now, as well as its positioning statement. That’s because digital is where many of your consumers will be turning to do much of their business. From research and finding how-to information to purchasing and picking up products, be sure that you are ready to engage them in a comprehensive manner where they feel most comfortable.
Be Nimble and Agile
You might have thought that your business was nimble and agile before. After all, most companies have to be in order to survive in such a competitive environment. For 2021, though, you’ll want to make such characteristics are part of your everyday marketing strategy. Be sure to prepare for disruptions with a plan before they happen, embrace change instead of trying to avoid it and make sure that you’re able to move quickly when you need to. Otherwise, your company might fall behind.
Evolve Your Brand Messaging and Values
Speaking of embracing change, be sure that your brand’s messaging and values aren’t becoming stagnant. With all the changes that 2020 brought, your marketing strategy for 2021 needs to accurately reflect how your company plans to address consumer concerns and why it should be trusted. This branding is so important that it should be the foundation and focus of all your marketing efforts for the year going forward in order to help you gain and maintain consumer trust in your brand. This is such an important component, as many of today’s consumers want to know that the brands they work with or purchase from exhibit the same values that they do, and in 2020, many consumers feel as though some companies revealed their true colors. If you haven’t taken the time to establish or evaluate your brand promise and how it will be communicated, now is the time to do so.
Consider a More Diversified Ad Spend
While utilizing Google Ads can certainly be an effective strategy, Google is starting to give less control in some circumstances, which has increased the use of other methods of online advertising by many brands. It’s important to stay apprised of the changes surrounding ad spend and how to get the most for your money with maximum impact. In fact, Hulu recently launched a self-service advertising platform for small businesses to connect with their target audience in a different way. Not to mention, TikTok seems to be more relevant than ever, which makes for another great space to occupy when it comes to paid advertising—showcasing your brand’s adventurous side.
Elevate Your Content’s Quality
In today’s climate, there’s a huge push for brands to gain more trust from their existing and potential customers. To do so, you need to audit your existing content to see how you can further build upon its quality. It’s not enough to keyword stuff or to simply reiterate what’s currently being turned out—for customers to truly see you as trustworthy, you need to provide them value with expertise-level content. Help them to better understand your product, service and offering or provide them with actionable takeaways that will solve a problem for them. Another layer to this to take into consideration, is that Google has gotten even more selective in their updates as to what makes for solid content worthy of ranking. With more brands realizing the importance of SEO in 2020’s digital climate, the push for quality content from brands in 2021 will also increase.
Utilize ADA Compliance
While having an impressive web presence is an excellent starting point, it’s important to ensure that your brand isn’t ignoring the needs of users with disabilities. It’s also worth mentioning that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is increasingly being used for websites and apps on mobile devices. More companies and brands are implementing ADA guidelines as suggestions on their websites as accessibility is becoming more and more of a prevalent priority. Often times, this can be addressed by offering users alternative methods of navigating through your website’s design elements.
This next year is likely to be one of transition for many people and businesses as they continue to learn to navigate the new normal. Your marketing strategy needs to reflect that in order for your business to thrive.
