How brands can make the most out of digital in 2021

-Riya Sen

It is easier to have a large number of small marketing campaigns targeting particular audiences, instead of a small number of large marketing campaigns targeting general audiences.

The year 2020 has taken everybody off-guard and disrupted numerous aspects, including the country’s healthcare, to adversely affect companies. There’s a lot going on, from witnessing the national lockdown to coping with the consequences of isolating ourselves at home and establishing a new normal.

The pandemic has acted as a wake-up call for many brands and has demonstrated various ways of sustaining all by building a digital identity and embracing the virtual world. This also represented, however, the unpredictable nature of digital marketing and how it amplified companies or sceptically influenced them. Bidding adios to 2020, it is only prudent for us to research the market and look at the tactics and developments that could work to the benefit of business in 2021. Here are some of the developments that will take the lead in the coming year; making it more fun from the beginning:

Slow death of paid media, rapid rise of paid social

If customers become ever more distrustful of advertisers and the media, paying media can become tricky. With 30 percent or more individuals required to deploy ad blockers; it will be far more difficult to produce ROI for marketers.

Paid social programmes, however, will become more productive as what occurs in our social networks and streams forms more and more of our worldview. As long as we’re hyper-focused on matching our content to the curiosity of the consumer, this might be the most seamless way to inject our brand into the consciousness of our target audience. At the same time, the need to declutter is almost pervasive, with so many outlets open, and many businesses have tried to remain important to all of them. It will not only be common but important to reduce social media platforms to only the most appropriate.

Customer segmentation — Precision marketing

The concept is simple: it’s better to have a large number of small marketing campaigns targeting particular audiences; instead of a small number of large marketing campaigns targeting general audiences. Many digital channels have outstanding precision marketing resources that can segment our clients across multiple filters of demographic, psychographic, behavioural and interest. In order to minimise human interventions, they also provide innovative optimisation methods built into DSPs. (Available currently only for purchase by bidding).

Blast from the past

Many marketing patterns from last year or the year before will continue to be high and will also continue to be game-changers throughout the next year. Things such as regional content creation, AR interactions, and the use of micro-moments will continue.

There’s now, more than ever, an urgency. Here are a lot more:

Shoppable Posts: By streamlining the payment process, social media posts that directly connect users to product checkout will tend to increase conversions.

Micro-Influencers: With the growth of paying social events, this will continue to increase. If you draw enough of them, at a fraction of the expense and effort; you will produce the same numbers as top-level influencers.

Voice Search SEO: Voice searches have been upending traditional SEO tactics; people don’t use the same keywords when they talk as when they type (use of long-tail). Altering your SEO strategy to incorporate speech keywords will be the key.

Loud and clear — Inclusivity and sustainability

Greater numbers want to see a more optimistic portrayal of inclusion in the content they consume and the brands they buy from; especially younger audiences and oppressed groups, by the day. As well as representation for individuals with physical disabilities and intellectual disabilities, brands must cover a range of races, sexualities, religions, etc. This includes your brand content; the topics that you discuss in social media and blogs, and even the product line that you offer.

Similarly, customers feel strongly that corporations should make the world safer. For sustainable and eco-friendly brands, especially for younger consumers, there will be more popularity boost. This goes far beyond the demand for green goods. By broadcasting their sustainable practises, any brand will profit.

Both these regions, however, come with a little bit of a rider. Tokenism will be easily seen through. So companies have to imbibe these in every aspect of their existence, belief and have to go the distance. Changing the name of a fairness cream will no longer be sexy; but a delivery channel using only e-bikes will be.

Back to the basics

With the availability of multiple media channels and methods to influence the audience, brands are becoming schizophrenic. Every brand wants to ride on popular memes, upcoming festivals or topical conversations; but without any measurable metrics on brand scores. (Paid engagement is just a score for agencies appraisal) That will change in 2021, hopefully. Brand managers and agencies will probably learn to delete this from their KPI for success and not poke a presence at every possible occasion. There will be no better time and the need to find that semblance of order and stay true to the core idea of the brand.