If you’ve been sitting on the fence about digital marketing in 2020, it’s time to get off it and start your digital strategy in 2021. Investing in digital marketing is no longer a question of “If” and “Why”, but rather, “When” and “How”.
For your business to succeed in 2021 and beyond, you must invest in digital marketing. It could be the difference-maker that sets you apart from your competitors.
How The New Normal Changed The Marketing Game
By now, you are well aware of the benefits of Digital Marketing and its advantages over traditional marketing channels. If you need a refresher, you can read our article, “Why Small Businesses Need Digital Marketing Now More Than Ever”.
Many businesses have some type of digital marketing strategy. There are businesses that might be focused on social media marketing via Facebook. Others might have a content marketing strategy such as weekly blogging combined with social media marketing.
Certainly, some type of digital marketing strategy is better than nothing. But to get the most out of your efforts, you have to plan out a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that identifies goals; short, medium, and long-term objectives, maps out the execution, as well as potential pain points.
The marketing game has changed because of the global pandemic. In the time of the new normal, with all the restrictions plus the continued threat of infections, the playing field has moved to the Internet.
7 Reasons Why Digital Marketing Will Be The Difference Maker In Business In 2021
In the new normal, consumers aren’t only influenced by online content – they’re now dependent on it to get things done in life and work.
Although vaccines are slowly becoming available, these are still largely in the experimental stages. Meanwhile, the coronavirus continues to mutate. Early reports have shown that the vaccines haven’t been completely effective against the new variants.
This means people will continue to prefer to work or study from home. Businesses will continue to keep their onsite workforce down to 30% to 50% and maintain a remote team of telecommuters, freelancers, or virtual assistants.
With the global economy evolving into an online economy, digital marketing is no longer an option.
It’s a must.
1. The Digital Landscape is Wide Open
The global lockdowns affected many businesses but mostly those engaged in industries such as travel, manufacturing, construction, and real estate where close contact with people is highly possible.
Because of the economic losses, the immediate course of action of business was to cut back on spending. Digital marketing was one of the casualties of the cost-cutting program because site traffic in many industries was significantly lower.
Having fewer competitors in the industry means the digital landscape is wide open. Your target market is still out there. They’re still searching for information that’s relevant to their needs.
This is an opportunity for you to get their attention and drive their interest in your website. Instead of pulling back on your Digital Marketing strategy, go hard!
- Blog more often; aim for the magic number of 11 to 16 blogs per month.
- Add another social media platform to your social media marketing toolbox.
- Focus on video-based content.
- Add testimonials to your home page.
- Get more personal with your customers through email marketing.
- Go for a website redesign to give your visitors a new and improved experience.
While your competitors are nursing their wounds, invest in Digital Marketing and capture the market they have left behind.
2. Social Media Will Play a More Prominent Role
Social media played a prominent role when the pandemic began. The results of the Harris Poll taken during the period of March to May 2020 showed that 51% of Americans spent more time on social media when states were in lockdown mode.
Social media will continue to play a prominent role in 2021 and beyond as people have continued to depend on these platforms for updates and the latest news.
Facebook remains the number one social media platform for news even though the network has been criticized for its failure to curtail the distribution of fake news.
It will be a good idea to increase your social media activity as people spend more time on these social networks.
How often should you post?
The latest studies show that posting 1 to 2 times per day on Facebook is optimal for getting good results on your social media marketing strategy. If you post more than 1 to 2 times per day, your followers might find your content spammy.
Instead of increasing the number of posts on Facebook, distribute your content on other popular social media channels such as YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
3. Digital Marketing Will Reduce Costs
Marketing is an important function of running a business. To stay top-of-mind, you have to actively push content to your audience. Compared to traditional forms of marketing, digital marketing is more affordable for a number of reasons:
- Setting up social media accounts is free of charge.
- Setting up local business pages carries no cost.
- Your content can reach a wider audience.
- Your content is reusable; simply update and re-post after a few months.
- No need to publish hard copies on paper.
If your business has been struggling financially, digital marketing will allow you to continue creating and publishing content without breaking the bank.
Learn more about digital marketing on a budget by reading our article, “How To Set Up A Low Budget But Highly Effective Digital Marketing Campaign”.
4. Get High ROI on Your Marketing Efforts
The characteristic that makes digital marketing better than traditional marketing is measurability. You can track the performance of your digital marketing campaign while it’s running through the use of onsite and offsite analytics.
Analytics gives you key insights on your digital marketing campaign:
- Where are my followers coming from?
- What are the demographics of my fan base?
- What types of content do my readers engage with?
- How long does a site visitor stay on my page?
- What are the best hours to post content?
- Which social media channel is generating the best results?
- How do my visitors access my website?
With the ready availability of data, you will be able to fine-tune your campaign, maximize your budget, and generate higher ROI on your efforts.
5. E-commerce is GROWING
E-commerce has been on a growth trajectory since 2014. The global pandemic put the growth of e-commerce at warp speed.
A study conducted by IBM estimates that the global pandemic accelerated the growth of e-commerce by 5 years. Brick-and-mortar retailers in the United States experienced a sales contraction of 60% while online retailers saw a growth spurt of 20% in 2020.
If your business is not yet online – the good news is that it’s not too late to get started.
The first step is to set up a website. Give us a call and we can set one up for you that’s mobile-responsive, fully optimized, fast, and fully functional.
Next, we’ll design, develop, and implement a customized digital marketing strategy for your business. A strategy composed of processes that will drive more traffic to your website and generate more sales despite the continued threats of lockdowns.
Keep in mind that even with the availability of vaccines, the virus will continue to mutate. The vaccine might not be effective against the new strain and a lockdown might be imposed.
As this scenario remains present, having a digital presence is the best way to protect your business.
6. Build Strong Relationships With Your Customers
Did you know that the cost of generating new sales from existing customers is lower compared to new customers?
This makes perfect sense because if a customer is happy with your service, he will continue to patronize your business. On the other hand, a customer who is unhappy with your service will go to your competitors.
Thus, to make more money, you need excellent customer service. We can describe excellent customer service in 2 words: Relationship Building.
Digital marketing provides you with a number of tools to help build stronger relationships with your customers.
- Social Media – Let’s not overlook the “social” aspect of social media. To have an effective social media campaign, you have to engage your followers.
- Chat Messaging – Chat messaging services such as Messenger allows you to directly communicate with your customers and give them personalized attention.
- Email Marketing – Get inside your follower’s inbox and deliver personalized content that has value and relevance. Keep your customers happy by giving special deals and promotions that will help them save money and feel important at the same time.
- Blogging – Share your knowledge and expertise with your readers. Address their needs and concerns by creating useful content. Respond to all comments whether they’re negative or positive.
- Product Reviews – Encourage your customers to post reviews on your business page. Don’t be afraid of negative reviews. Look at negative reviews as opportunities to show others that you’re not sensitive to criticism and that you value the opinions of your customers.
Having stronger relationships with customers is more important in 2021 because many people are experiencing financial difficulties.
Sometimes sending them a simple newsletter with valuable tips such as “How to Cope With Quarantine” or “How to Stay Healthy and Fit Indoors” will be all that it takes to keep them happy.
7. Your Competitors Are Investing in Digital Marketing
We can assure with 100% certainty that some or most of your competitors are investing in digital marketing in 2021. They see the new opportunities available on the Internet now that consumers are mostly based at home.
If you don’t invest in digital marketing, you’ll be left behind by the competition. You will limit your streams of revenue. Your target market will view you as uncaring, outdated, and obsolete.
If you want to remain competitive, then you have to invest in digital marketing. It should be a standard feature of your business development strategy not just for 2021, but for the years to come.
Conclusion
A joint study conducted by the University of Washington and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine showed that the United States which leads the world in vaccinations might never achieve herd immunity.
You cannot wait for things to go back to normal. To survive and have the chance to thrive in the new normal, you have to adapt to the current economic conditions and implement strategies to keep your business moving forward.
Digital marketing is a sustainable strategy that will keep your business growing, evolving, and adapting to the uncertainties in 2021 and the years ahead.
Start your digital marketing strategy by giving us a call or an email. We’ll schedule a quick online call so we can take the first step to build a successful business in the new normal.
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