Posted: December 14, 2020
Well, we’ve nearly made it to the end of 2020. If you have similar feelings about it to us, then the last 12 months have gone on for about three years.
But now it’s time to look to the future, where (hopefully) 2021 will bring good news, positive vibes, and the continued development of new tools and strategies to make digital marketing better for businesses and consumers alike. Just like we've done for the past few years, here’s what Four Tens predicts will be big in digital marketing next year:
Continued Investment in Digital Experiences
COVID-19 forced businesses to pivot to digital experiences very quickly in order to keep running as quarantines happened across the world. With some states and countries still in various states of lockdown, we don’t see investments in digital experiences slowing down any time soon.
Shifting focus to online services and shopping won’t be specific to COVID-19 either. As consumers grow accustomed to shopping whenever and wherever they want to, businesses will meet that demand through apps, websites, and social media partnerships. One major example from this year was Instagram’s introduction of Live Shopping and Instagram Checkout on their app.
Omnichannel Marketing
Digital shopping is one piece of the omnichannel puzzle. It’s been on our radar for the last few years and again, COVID forced its adoption at a rapid response. Omnichannel marketing forces Sales and Marketing to work seamlessly in tandem so that the entire buyer’s journey feels unforced for the consumer. A multichannel sales approach should give the customer an integrated shopping experience whether that is shopping online from a desktop, during a commute via phone, or in a brick-and-mortar store. As consumers are growing to expect, the experience will be seamless.
As a consumer, you’ve most likely experienced omnichannel marketing when you’ve looked at a product online and been able to see if it’s in stock at a store near you. Or, conversely, if you’ve gone shopping in a physical store and the size or color of a product you like isn’t in stock. A retail associate might offer, on the sales floor, to have the right size or color shipped to the store for pick up or even to your house directly.
We predict that in 2021, the aspects of omnichannel marketing will trickle down from the major players to mid-size and smaller businesses. This includes an increased investment in digital experiences, but also in continued research and development for new technology.
Automation and Personalization Will Go Hand in Hand
Tying together Digital Experiences and Omnichannel Marketing is Automation. Digital marketing tools across the board offer a variety of levels of automation tools. Something as simple as an email workflow counts as automation, as does an abandoned shopping cart email reminder.
Expanding to more specific personalization using automation will be a big move in 2021. Plenty of businesses are already doing it (you've probably received an email from a business with “personalized” recommendations) but it will be adopted more widely as we head into 2021. Personalized recommendations are likely just the beginning of what automation can do as businesses accumulate more data and information on consumers.
Not sure how to implement more automation and personalization tools into your marketing strategy? Analyze the available offerings in the digital marketing software you’re currently using. There could be included tools that you can easily take advantage of, or other offerings that require an upgrade. Don’t see what you’re looking for? It could be time to considering a more robust digital marketing tool.
Totally lost? Get in touch with our digital marketing experts here at Four Tens. We offer a CMO consultation tool if you’re looking to pick our brains or gain expert level insights.
Short-Form Video Content Will Reign Supreme
Naturally, we would be entirely remiss if we didn’t talk about video content. As we predicted last year, video exploded as a major player in the world of content marketing in 2020. With TikTok debuting on the global stage as a new major player in social media to Snapchat revamping and Facebook introducing Reels to compete, there certainly wasn’t a shortage in user-generated video content.
You’ve probably already noticed the skyrocketing dominance of short-form videos. LinkedIn, for example, now prioritizes video content on your news feed, just like Facebook.
2021 doesn’t show any reasons why video won’t keep growing in its share of the content pie. For businesses and marketers, the struggle will be compressing content that is effective into the short formats that consumers are used to sampling. While there is still a place for long-form content, Instagram Stories and TikTok have shortened attention spans. But they’ve also made casual, low-production content both acceptable and relatable.
Here’s to 2021!
2020 impacted sales, marketing, and advertising across the globe. With businesses shuttering and layoffs occurring this month, we clearly can’t predict the full extent of the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses that use digital marketing.
However, some businesses have expanded and grown through 2020 (“Zoom” is now a verb, not just a business name as an example). Clever digital marketing happened throughout the year. One that sticks out as a harbinger of future digital marketing tactics is the latest announcement by Lifetime on their partnership with KFC to create exclusive branded content. The result? “A Recipe for Seduction”, a LifeTime themed dramatic mini-movie about Colonel Sanders (played by Mario Lopez) and the invention of the KFC secret recipe. Say what you will about how the movie looks, but it’s generated serious buzz.
What else will 2021 bring?
We assume more surprises and unexpected developments. But for now, cheers to a new year!