On the one hand, there is a strong focus on the person – the customer and his needs, on the other hand, we see technical optimization and new mechanisms that make work easier for marketing specialists.
This is also proved by main trends in the field of digital marketing, which we have heard about in 2021.
Into this trends belong for example Google and Facebook performance advertising or newsjacking extension.
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The necessary balance between flexibility and long-term marketing plans
Traders and marketers have historically planned marketing campaigns months in advance, with a larger rebranding taking even a year. Covid-19 strongly questioned whether this practice was really ideal.
The pandemic forced many brands to dig into the entire marketing strategy and in a short time to change the style of communication with customers.
Consumer attitudes and needs change from day to day , which can only be used by brands that are flexible enough. Most have already understood the importance of narrowing the time gap between an idea and execution.
Therefore, we assume that in 2021 there will be fewer who are planning a Christmas campaign in August. Regular validation of plans, key marketing initiatives on a quarterly basis, their audit and evaluation is important.
Good example of reacting to current situation is Nike social media and Youtube campaign: For once, Don´t Do It. Thanks to this campaign, Nike was one of the first big brands to respond to the uneasy situation in the US, following on from the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
It’s not the first time that Nike expressed its support of the Black Lives Matter movement, but unlike in 2018 – when Nike promoted carefully planned ad campaign featuring NFL player Colin Kaepernick – its response in 2020 was an urgent, up to date call for both consumers and companies to stand together in the fight against racism.
Read: Who invented school?
We can do without A / B testing
A / B or split testing has been the standard in optimizing marketing campaigns for years. The first A / B test was performed by Google in 2000 to determine the optimal number of results to display in a search engine. Since then, A / B testing has become common practice and has served as a reliable guide for creative and marketing decisions.
A / B testing replaces a new player: artificial intelligence. If machine learning can predict trends before they become trends, split tests will be a waste of time and money. The worse news is that algorithms in advertising services like Google and Facebook will first need enough data, which will not please small and start-up businesses.
Of course, they can also try it and decide according to the results what kind of testing they will use.
Google and Facebook performance advertising
The role of performance marketing is to improve the company’s measurable results in the online environment. “Soft metrics,” such as brand awareness, give way to clear data.
Ads will be used to increase visits, purchases, clicks, or conversions. Performance advertising on Facebook and Google will become the basis of digital marketing for many smaller companies.
To achieve a specific goal, campaign performance requires a smaller budget than buying media space. A comprehensive marketing strategy that works with multiple channels and activities stays still important.
Lots of search, less clicks
More than 5 billion people search Google every day. However, the number of those who click on one of the results is lower by more than 50%.
Thanks to feature snippets (recommended snippets), people can find the answer to their query without opening the page from which Google draws information. Snippets can take the form of a short paragraph, a list, or a table.
Content focused on keywords that Google already wants to display featured snippets on is welcome. Maps, local search results, optimized images, and Google my Business profiles will continue to be important.
Clubhouse, TikTok, LinkedIn
It is said that man is naturally set up to resist change. That’s why some people firmly believe that the boom over new social networks will disappear as quickly as it arose.
Maybe in the end they will be right. The fact is, however, that interest in new apps for young people is growing at a rocket speed.
For example, Clubhouse , an application based on audio calls, which you can only access with an invitation from a friend, has gained almost 6 million new users in 2 months.
The TikTok application is definitely not lagging behind. What does this mean? New social networks create a new marketing space. If your target also uses them, it would be a shame not to use it. If you want to boost your engagement on TikTok, buy TikTok likes and TikTok followers.
LinkedIn will continue to be important for professionals in the field and B2B marketing . This social network comes in 2021 with new functions and tools with which brands can organically increase their reach.
Businesses will be able to create lists of services and products in profiles . Also new are stories , ie stories similar to those on Instagram or Facebook, which will have an available “swipe up” function for all companies.
With new features, you can increase the quality of your audience and gain insight into the activities of people who come in contact with your profile.
Newsjacking extension
Due to the rapid changes in society, a large number of people draw attention to current news. Flexible companies can take advantage of this fact. Newsjacking, or “real-time marketing,” is not a new concept.
However, it is expected that the connection of news with marketing will be a growing trend. If companies manage to inform people about the latest news rather than journalists, they can gain media attention and significantly (albeit only for a short time) increase brand awareness.
Read more about digital marketing consulting as a new trend in 2022 and beyond.