5 Marketing trends to look out for in 2021!
2020 brought on some new changes and challenges for marketers, which means that in the new year, a lot of us have to rethink our marketing strategies to make sure they are in line with any recent changes to user behavior. So, we have complied 5 trends to note in 2021!
1) Social Media is the way to go
On average, company’s social media budgets made up 24% of all marketing budgets during Q2 of 2020 in the USA. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people are spending a lot more time on the internet, and subsequently, social media. This means that more people are going to be seeing your social media posts, and possible increasing the chances of those crucial sales being made.An example of how much social media has grown this year is that in March 2020, Facebook had 2.6 billion users, which is an 11% increase from 2019.
2) Be inclusive!
Being inclusive isn’t just about trying to appeal to people of all races and genders to improve on your sales and engagement, it’s about realising that everyone deserves to be represented. Young people, and people in marginalized groups want to see equality represented across businesses. People are looking out for inclusivity in your posts, videos and graphics. This means that people of different genders, races, sexualities and beliefs should be shown equally across your media content. It is important to be inclusive, not only because it is the right thing to go, but also a study showed that 29% of consumers are willing to switch brands entirely if they do not include enough diversity.
3) Don’t be afraid to embrace new social media platforms!
Yep, there is more out there than Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! 2020 has seen the rise of new social media platforms. Tik Tok has been rapidly gaining users every month, and many businesses are joining in on the fun! Using these platforms helps you reach new audiences that you may not normally reach, and Tik Tok also allows you to give that personal feeling to your business. There are many trends that can be quite fun to get in on, and can help you gain a larger following for your business.
Instagram Reels are a new feature that has been added to Instagram. They are a weird combination of Instagram Stories and Tik Tok. They appear on users pages depending on what kind of users they follow, so if you do not want to join Tik Tok, you can still create similar content and share it via Instagram.
4) Be sustainable
Global warming is no secret, and it’s causing people to be more conscious when they purchase from brands. If they do not handle their waste well, or their products do not appear to be sustainable,, your customers will be less likely to purchase from you, and move to sustainable alternatives, even if they are more expensive.This also covers your marketing strategies. If you are sending out lots of letters and leaflets, not only can this seem spam-like, but if you are sending out a lot of material to your customers and clients, they may start wondering how much paper your company is using. Consider how your practices can come across to your audience, and try to focus on your digital marketing tactics!
5) Don’t be afraid to add videos to your strategy!
The events in 2020 lead to many public events being cancelled or postponed, so to deal with the changes, many companies decided to set up live online events instead! This included Facebook and Instagram live steams, Twitch and YouTube streams, and generally sharing more video content across all platforms. As we are still living in uncertain times, it has been predicted that live video content, and video content in general, will rise in popularity in the new year!
Videos are a great way of getting a message across quickly, and generally bring in higher engagements compared to your usual posts. After all, more people have free time now, so they will be looking for more content to watch!
