What marketing challenges are on the horizon for 2021? It appears that there will be a carryover from 2020, as the way businesses operate has changed dramatically during this past year. Products and services have quickly migrated online and more people than ever, are working from home. Marketing trends have been studied and we have some insightful information that gives us some indication on what 2021 will bring. So where do you invest your resources and what new directions do you consider?
Start Off with Google
The most obvious old time proven method is Google searches. We have many articles in the past to lead you to the Holy Grail…Google. Search engines should be able to find you especially in your local listings. Keep your customers up to date by verifying online information. Make sure your services and hours and address are clearly defined in search platforms. If you are a dentist, lawn maintenance company or a hair stylist, the Google My Business listing provides valuable information about you. Be consistent with blog and content SEO by talking about your area and services. Anything relevant to your business is analyzed and categorized,
It’s all about social media now
There is a reason a quarter of business budgets account for their social media as marketers choose customer retention as a priority. These past months have driven people to work and shop online. This trend will most likely continue strong through 2021. This shift has provided opportunities to reach new audiences and re-engage long-standing customers. Now is the time, if you already have not, to jump in to meet the new online demands and add social media to your marketing mix.
Adding value through interactive elements
Your website has the ability to add all kinds of ways to entertain and interact with your audience. Offer assessments, video trainings, free resources, take a poll. With so many email marketing tools to choose from, it’s easy to use these valuable free resources to build your email marketing list, while providing engaging content. Any and all interactive elements will keep your customers on the site and in their thoughts. Contests can increase your brand reach. Interactive marketing will be a huge tool to put to use in 2021, so put your thinking caps on and design something that identifies with your brand.
Optimize For Voice Search
Google has expanded into voice searches and they usually result in the same pages as typed searches. It just became easier to do a voice search and speak, as was discovered in Google labs in 2010. And, by the way it’s also fun and so easy to add “near me” and come up with a full list of queries of businesses nearby.
If you ware wondering how to expand to the voice search the good news is to just keep up valuable content and SEO best practices for voice search to be your best friend. Though experts agree, to keep the content optimized for voice, it must remain direct and conversational so that it will accurately sync with search queries.
Google Ads Bidding
Employees at Google work overtime to tweak and adjust its full menu of offerings. If you are targeting Google Ads and bids, you are searching for a superior outcome at a lower cost. Set your focus on different things depending on your campaign type. One tip on Google support informs you that, Google Ads runs an auction every single time it has an ad space available — on a search result, or on a blog, news site, or some other page. Each auction decides which ads will show at that moment in that space. Your bid puts you in the auction. And that’s the extent Google auto bids can put you on the map.
Improvements in automated bidding are due to activate in 2021. It means that you can have auto ads activated and devote more time to other aspects of your business, while google does the work.
Employees Engage in many more ways
The thrill of working from home has worn off after this much time, but most employees are finding it a better option. Since this option appears to be more long term into 2021, it’s important to keep your employees productive and maintain morale. Employee retention is important because of its value to your business and communication is the biggest element here. Keep them as motivated and involved as you are and the team effort with shine thorough.
What can you do to engage a virtual team? I encourage you to use the tools you already have: your website. How can you use your website as an employee portal to keep your team engaged and on task? Think of designing an employee portal used by your team members as a way to provide support: a video training library, a list of resource links that your employees use through their day. Sometimes it takes rethinking the business tools you already have to find ways to be more efficient.
The clock is ticking
It’s a fact that it costs your brand less to retain existing customers and it is important to exert effort in their retention. Keep your brand strong by continuing your efforts to maintain authenticity, work on your relationship with them by producing a marketing campaign to keep them abreast of any changes. If you are just getting started with your 2021 marketing strategy some of these new trends should help generate leads and retain your customers.
*Image by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay