It’s Almost 2021. Where did the Marketing Year Go?

As the Christmas decorations go up way too soon in stores around the nation and Christmas movies run 24/7, the traditional thoughts of the woulda, coulda, shoulda occur right along with planning for the holiday season. As a small business owner, what are you woulda, coulda, shoulda’s? 

• Are you satisfied with your brand awareness?
• Are you growing and maintaining your customer base?
• Is your target audience educated about your product or service?
• Is your marketing strategy generating revenue?

Now the time is to reflect to ensure your business ends the year with a popping of the champagne cork and not watching the ball drop at Time Square on your sofa.

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

 ~ Will Rodgers

Have a Good Sense of Direction. What is Trending? Let’s Look, Shall We?

There are several million small businesses in the United States.

That is a lot of competition. A small business budget demands vigilant awareness of the needs and wants of your target audience. 

Having a proactive digital marketing plan affords you the opportunity to stay current with market trends.

When you think trend, think about evolution and not trendy (no one wants to go back to the neon fashion of the 1980s). Just ask businesses like Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi.

With growing concerns about obesity and diabetes and growing demand for living a healthier lifestyle, they had no choice but to acknowledge consumers were paying greater attention to their calorie intake. 

Adapting to the change in consumer demand, in the fall of 2014 all three beverage companies pledged to cut the calorie intake by 20% over the next decade.

The companies are producing smaller cans and bottles to help reduce sugar intake. They took the insight and applied it. 

While Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi were in tune with the needs and wants of their target audience, they still needed to market their product.

Having a product or service that meets the needs and wants doesn’t equate to people knowing about it. A shift in marketing strategy allowed them to attract more health-conscious moms who want to “treat” their kids while reinvigorating a slowing revenue stream. 

How will consumers become aware of your product or service?

How do you make adjustments in your marketing strategy?

A digital marketing plan focusing on current trends in content marketing.

Marketing with a Purpose

Traditional marketing still has an impact on consumers but it is not always the best option for a small business. While it is money well spent, traditional marketing is expensive and can eat into your limited marketing budget. Moreover, it does not provide your business with the opportunity to have direct interaction with your target audience and create connections. Establish a digital connection with your customer. It is estimated people check their smartphones at least 52 times during the day. Digital marketing takes advantage of our prolific use of the internet.

5 Digital Marketing Trends that Enable You to Engage and Communicate

1. Chatbot: The Answer to Our 24/7 Lifestyle 

Let me state the obvious. The days of 9 to 5 are virtually gone. Remember when Black Friday was actually on Friday and stores were closed on Thanksgiving. I mean if Starbucks wasn’t addictive enough, now there are stores open 24 hours.

In 2020, chatbots (automated assistants) and voice-activated search is more a part of our lives than we may realize.

If you asked Siri or Alexa to play or research something for you or reach out to an automated customer service attendant on websites, social media, or text, you experienced the ease and convenience of this technology.

Based on current data analysis, Chatbots are not just trending. They are becoming mainstream. This handy infographic below outlines how powerful chatbots are in digital marketing efforts.

In 2020, Chatbot and voice-activated search are more a part of our lives than we may realize. Based on current data analysis, Chatbots are not just trending. They are becoming mainstream.

Engagement and communication do not end with the purchase. Chatbots fulfill society’s 24/7 habits and attention many consumers seek.  They act as customer service agents and can interact with hundreds of people at one time. The constraint of a time zone or traditional work hours are no longer a factor. 

Chatbots are efficient and are cost-effective to address common questions and concerns. More importantly, they anticipate your customer’s needs which leads to increased customer satisfaction and ultimately higher customer base retention. 

Not sold? Here are Neil Patel’s (Marketing Guru) insights into using chatbots in your marketing.

2. Spreading the Word: Messaging Apps

Going beyond Chatbots, messaging apps take engagement and communication to the next level by adding another dimension to your customer service.

If you want to strengthen your digital connection with your target audience, then here is your solution. Go to your customer, don’t make them come to you.

And if you have properly analyzed your customer’s journey, you would already know that messaging apps are a trend worth investing in. 

More and more people are increasing the amount of time messaging with each other. Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of a marketing trend that results in direct contact? 

If your business is located in the United States, you know that Facebook is one of, if not the messaging app. But what if you are doing business in South America? Or Africa? Or just next door in Canada? Then you need to be using WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world located in 180 countries and 60 different languages. Earlier this year in February, the app reached 96 million downloads.

As 2020 comes to a close, there is a noticeable trend that businesses are incorporating it into their eCommerce business strategy.

Messaging apps offer numerous ways to engage and communicate with consumers. 

• Keep customers up to date with important information.
• Promote sales and special offers.
• Interact with customers in a personal manner.
• Responds to their needs in a timely and efficient manner.

3. Show Me the Social Media Money

You are already aware, social media is a budget-friendly avenue for marketing. Translation: it is free.

Understanding social media trends are essential to reach your target audience. Not to mention you are not maximizing the potential revenue stream that social media offers.

Yes, social media is competitive, but it is important to stay consistent, engage with your audience, and test advertising on posts that already show high engagement.

This is why small business owners flock to it for brand awareness. However, more and more social media is becoming a means of increasing revenue. 

Social media is a preferred favorite in 2020 for small business owners. In fact, 64 percent of surveyed small businesses use social media in their marketing strategy (The Manifest, 2019).

Here are the facts:

• 54% of social browsers use social media to research products and services before they buy.
• The likelihood that a consumer will recommend a brand on social media to others after having a positive experience is about 71%. 
• 90% of social media users have already connected with a brand or business through their chosen platform.

Looking to engage with Gen Z?

You need to think Instagram Stories and stellar hashtag research to connect with influencers in your space.

If I ask you about TikTok and your response is that I spelled it wrong and you hear a clock, then you are not taking advantage of the creativity and interactive nature that attracts your Gen Z market share.

Establishing the correct balance of social media platforms maximizes your content marketing and satisfies long-term goals.

Ask yourself this question: Which platform empowers your business to engage and communicate with your target audience?

4. How to be Pushy the Right Way: Browser Push Notifications

In the age of instant gratification and 5G, having information at our fingertips has become the norm.

For those who have apps set up for their business, consider revisiting your push notifications for quick FYIs on new content.

Push notifications make engaging and communicating with your customer base in real-time easy. Think about the ridiculous amount of time people spend on their smartphones.

There are three key elements to push notifications.

• Content Distribution ~ podcasts, videos, upcoming events
• Retargeting ~ a digital bookmark (more on this later)
• Retention ~ keep your product or service front and center

Smartphones track the amount of screen time and where you spend your time. Have you looked? It’s kind of unnerving. I didn’t realize how much time I wasted playing Fishdom. 

But the good news for your business, by using push notifications you are able to deliver small-scale pieces of information in a precise and effective manner. You can reach your target audience anytime and anywhere. The best part of it all is that your customers choose to receive the notifications. Approximately 52% of users enable push notifications on their smartphones.

5. Personalization and Remarketing: Know Your Whole Customer

In order to stand out in 2020, personalization and remarketing (using ads to target those whose behavior has already shown an interest in your brand or similar brands) was a key marketing trend for all businesses.

Wait. Haven’t we been talking about personalization this whole time? Yes.

Your customers want to be treated as individuals. Marketing campaigns should no longer be one size fits all. It is that one-on-one engagement and communication that transforms the “I am just looking” to the “I just bought”. When a business offers personalized experiences, 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase. To quote Janet Jackson: “What have you done for me lately?”

A prime illustration of personalization is Hulu. 

When Hulu makes a suggestion for a movie, you can tell Hulu if you like or dislike the recommendation which it will use for future recommendations.

Okay, if you don’t have high budgets for complex algorithms, how can you personalize?

True story:

My mom and my stepdad needed a new bed. They were trying to decide if they wanted to get another Sleep Number. They did some Google Research, but still were not sold. 

During the course of the decision-making process, my mom got an email for 20% off. That helped seal the deal.

When they went to the store my mom asked about the 20% off and the salesperson told her that there was no sale.

So, she pulled up her remarketing email and showed it and the salesperson said that the 20% was an exclusive offer not a sale. Needless to say, Sleep Number will retain my mom’s business. Personalization and timing your message sounds like a trend that should become standard operating procedure.

In Summary:

Marketing is not a once a year activity. It is an ongoing process that requires nonstop attention to your target audience’s needs and wants. (You don’t need me to tell you that.)

Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi took that hard look at the target audience and made the necessary changes. However, it wasn’t just the change in the product that retained their customers. It was a marketing strategy. 

Branding is a key component in building your reputation. Take the time to reflect on digital marketing trends to keep your product or service front and center.

You don’t want to look back and think why didn’t we try that? 

• Build sustainable contact with customers using Chatbot to provide exceptional customer service.
• Direct and constant communication with customers via messaging apps keep them engaged with your brand.
• Recognize your demographics and use the appropriate social media platform to reach your customer base.
• Push notifications using apps allow you to be present without being intrusive.
• Everyone wants to feel as if they are important and as a customer that is no exception. Personalization and remarketing establish a meaningful connection to build a lasting relationship with your customers.

While 2020 comes to end (and don’t we all want and need that!), you don’t want to have to play catch up with your competitors.

Avoid the woulda, coulda, shoulda’s by engaging and communicating. Make sure your digital marketing strategy is following current trends while anticipating the trends of 2021.