This “2-in-1” 2021 special is taking a look 2 trends and 1 hack that are shaping the digital marketing world
UNDERSTANDING MARKETING TRENDS isn’t a one-time thing where you get it right one year and never have to think for the remaining years to come. And we know that trends change every six months or so, with some even changing within weeks depending on the industry as you can tell from articles we’ve published in the past:
Some of the trends which were predicted pre-pandemic did end up coming to light, others didn’t emerge at all, with various forced adaptations reshaping elements of the marketing landscape. So, let’s take a look at marketing trends hacks that will help increase your 2021 sales.
2 Trends and 1 Hack to Help Your Business's Success This Year
eCommerce sales went through the roof last year as people spent a lot more time on social media, and video conferencing became the norm as the government mandated stay-at-home orders for almost every industry that could work from home. Staying at home has led to a major shift in the way brands connect with their consumers.
Trend 1: More goodwill and purpose-driven missions from brands.
Gone are the days when brands sold a product or service without including an overall brand purpose. These days, people are obsessed with the mission of the brand — why do you do what you do, and it isn’t just for your profit, right? People appreciate the idea of giving their money to a brand who is trying to do better for the community or the world … even if that effort is subtle. It’s the gesture that counts, right?
“It’s impossible for consumers to connect with brands that they see as ‘shady’ or insincere,” says this article on upcoming marketing trends. “Why would they want to invest in something that they can’t trust or don’t believe in?” And it’s true.
In an article that explores the drive and desire for more purpose in business, and the benefits it can deliver, statistics show why purpose-driven brands are often more successful.
Customers view purpose-driven brands as being more caring and, as a result, are more loyal to them. Cone and Porter Novelli consumer research showed that 67 percent of people feel companies with a purpose care more about them and their families. 79 percent said they’re more loyal to purpose brands, and 73 percent said they would defend them. Another 67 percent said they are more willing to forgive such a company for a mistake.
But, wait, the argument gets even more interesting. Recent analysis of “purposeful” companies by the Corporate Board/EY Global Leadership Forecast has the most compelling financial evidence — suggesting that purposeful companies outperform the stock market by 42 percent. It goes on to compare those who have a purpose statement but no more, who deliver average performance, and those who embed it in everything they do. Companies without a sense of purpose within their vision/mission, under perform the market by 40 percent.
During a time when people are seeking to develop communication and build connections and feel safer all at once, ensuring your brand has a purpose is crucial to your long-term success. If you don’t have a purpose, ask yourself why. This could be the difference between your brand out-perfoming competitors by 42 percent or, well, not.
Trend 2: We need easy content to take in (like podcasts) and we need it now!
Examples of easy-to-consume content are things that can be consumed on-the-go or that can get to the reader’s hands (or eyes) without them having to put in work. For example, podcasts can be consumed on-the-go. Ya’ click a button and start your day. Newsletters are also part of this easy-to-consume category; often times, they land directly in subscriber’s inboxes, meaning all you have to do is open and click to read.
I hear ya’, C7D, but are there statistics about this so-called easy-to-consume content? Yes! Studies show that 55 percent of Americans now listen to podcasts, while newsletter mentions were up 14 percent during lockdown.
If the future of normalcy is still up in the air, on shaky grounds, in turbulent waters, then we need to do better to make sure that the content we’re producing is making our consumers’ lives easier not more difficult. The last thing someone wants to do when trying to take in information is to feel like their already-difficult life jut got a little more difficult.
“Convenient and readily-available content like podcasts and newsletters will help brands connect more deeply with customers and provide a more intimate way to stay in touch,” says that same article quoted earlier on upcoming marketing trends.
Hack 1: Develop robust email marketing.
We just finished up explaining the importance of readily-available content; email marketing falls into that category. If you haven’t tapped into the email side of marketing, what are you doing other than missing out on major marketing opportunities to reach a variety of individuals based on their preferences? With email marketing, it’s like the consumer tells you what they want, and all you have to do is listen, adjust, and send.
According to this article, the first step to creating a successful email marketing campaign is to lead information collected from your website. Once that’s been done, the logical next step is to develop automated workflows that will nurture your leads. The key to making effective workflows is to map out the buyer journey and align your email strategy with that. Whoa, C7D, what exactly does that mean?
Keep a look out for our next article, and you’ll get the answer. In the meantime, here are some tips you can put into action now as you toggle with this idea of email marketing:
- Position the content around the lifecycle stages of your leads.
- Enable lead scoring so you can keep track of what drives engagement and movement from one lifecycle stage to the next.
- Segment and personalize.
- Test out multiple subject lines and copy.
Though we’ll go into details about these steps in our next article (hint: make sure to read it), now is a good time to start doing some research, compiling the relevant information, and creating ideas for your content, including subject line examples and call-to-actions.