What the marketplace looks like in 2021
For the last five years, we’ve been hearing that personalisation and automation are key to marketing. We all know this, and we know it’s getting more important each year.
Instead this article will be focusing on the marketing trends in 2021 that are fresh out of the box! Here are the tips and tricks so that you can be the early bird that catches the worm.
1. Zero-party data
Although the consumers have become very used to ticking the “accept all cookies” button to access a site, there is not a lot of good to be said about collecting third-party data. The information is often outdated; people’s lives change the whole time, and inferring information that isn’t accurate is likely to hinder your relationship with your potential customers.
Switching our focus to first-party, this tends to be the information gathered at checkout; name, address, but also past purchases.
And then there’s zero-party data in which the business will do something revolutionary – they’ll ask what the customer what they’re browsing! And here’s the thing, if you’re a friendly, helpful, high-quality brand, customers are often delighted to let you in on what’s catching their eye. It really is a massive shift in how a business treats its customers. This is a refreshingly upfront approach.
This approach also means that you’re not guessing based on historical transactions but gathering up to date information for your customers and building rapport at the same time. Win-win-win!
2. B2C Apps
Apps enable companies to have ultra-customised customer service. If designed well, they become far more than menu clutter and add significant value to the customer’s experience. If they want to reorder a product quickly, then an app will have their previous orders saved. Instead of having to send an email to get on to your customer support team, they immediately contact someone via app.
The average person spends 4.3 hours on their phone, so mobile push notifications are going to be helpful reminders of your brand and its offerings that are specifically tailored to that customer. What’s facilitating the use of apps is the increase in phone storage. This surge in space means consumers are downloading their favourite brand’s apps to keep up with product launches and sales.
3. FOGO
You’re familiar with FOMO (Fear of Missing out). Welcome to what we’ll be seeing an increase of in our communities: FOGO (Fear of Going Out). 2021 will be a year of transition, and although a lot of people are dreaming of going wild and living your best life, the reality is expected to be a little different.
A lot of people have realised that their fast-paced lives of yore didn’t suit. Those days of working long weeks and cramming in a vibrant social life into every pocket of free time actually weren’t their ‘best life’. Many have found comfort in simplifying their lifestyle, living the good life rather than the Instagrammable one. Marketing often comes down to being good at reading what people need, what they’re searching for and adapting to that. The consensus is that FOGO had to come eventually and the events of 2020 just made it come faster.
So, what does this mean for your brand?
For one, your marketing in 2021 won’t have the same message that it did in 2019. People are changed by these events, and your brand has to learn how to fit in with the slower lifestyle and the focus on conscious living.
Also, many more people will be working from home, in some capacity, indefinitely. How does this impact your business? Is there an opportunity for your brand here?
Understanding these vital societal shifts will help you create campaigns that connect with your audience personally.
4. Video advertising
Expenditure on video ads is set to rise to $12.66 billion by 2024. We see it on social channels, particularly Instagram, that sponsored feed videos are gaining traction.
The most important thing to focus on when creating these videos is the quality of the content. That doesn’t just include the sound and image quality, but also the story, the scene set up, the dialogue and captions and post-editing. It’s good to know that viewers reportedly retain 95% of a message when they watch it through video.
Getting crystal clear on the purpose of your video is key to achieving outcomes. Do you want your video to grow your brand’s reach? Are you engaging with high-value customers on new, exclusive offerings? Are you looking to showcase to potential customers why they should check out their cart? It’s not possible to do it all in one fell sweep. Instead, having a solid plan is how to move forward.
The first part of this plan is to research what you want your video campaigns to achieve. Second, creating a video content calendar will solidify these plans into action. If you’re aiming to allocate resources to this, think of getting in touch with a video production company to bring your brand to life and really engage your audience.
In 2021, the other side of this is blending these high-quality videos with high-quality lives and stories. Creating that consistent dialogue between your brand and your audience invites people to connect with your brand, to dip into your world on a regular basis.
5. Silence is golden
During 2020, a lot of brands pushed a lot of spend out on social. What they found was that people were seeking connection with friends and family and were not so interested in brands. Businesses are realising that pulling back on advertising spend and working on social customer care, informative, helpful and engaging content is how to create long-lasting success.
There you have it– the top trends that you can use to hype your brand in 2021. Asking the experts in video marketing to manage your creative projects frees up your time. We offer advice and services to produce videos that capture your brand’s personality, engage your audience and help to create a loyal community.
