In 2021, businesses are putting more money into digital marketing than ever before. Globally, businesses are expected to spend up to $389 billion on digital marketing. That is an increase of 17% from 2020.
Is digital marketing the most important of all the different types of marketing? Not necessarily. Businesses are finding value in connecting with their customers in face-to-face situations.
Do you want to know more about the most valuable types of marketing in 2021? Then keep reading.
1. Community Events are Growing
Big and small communities are demanding a more personal kind of marketing from businesses. They want to see the faces of businesses in real-time, instead of just in advertising. People in communities want the opportunity to see businesses for who they are.
One way that businesses have satisfied the need to get more involved in communities in the past year has been virtual events. For some businesses, these online events have become a major part of their digital marketing strategy.
Prospects who tune in for a virtual event get the opportunity to ask questions and chat with others in the community. They can even get directed to a member of the team for one-on-one assistance.
Businesses can use virtual events to transition into live, in-person events that satisfy the audiences’ desire for connections, intimacy, and more relevant information. Live events become community-led and offer more value to consumers. Businesses get bigger results.
2. Social Media Marketing Focuses on Connections
Social media marketing (SMM) has been a major part of digital marketing for many years. It’s only been recently that businesses have started listening to what professional marketers have been saying. SMM is about creating your online community – not advertising.
Engagement has become more important than ever. As more businesses understand that their customers are looking for meaningful connections, it becomes increasingly critical for their engagement to stand out amongst the competition.
Customers want to be able to ask questions freely and get answers in real-time. They want to be part of the action and they want companies to take their expertise seriously. Interactivity is essential for all types of marketing in 2021.
3. Integrate Digital and Print Marketing
The two types of marketing that work very well together are digital and print marketing. Most businesses don’t think to blend the two for a more effective direct mail marketing campaign.
Direct marketing is often heavy on the digital aspect. Email marketing allows businesses to get right into people’s lives via their email inbox. They can even target specific customers via location or interests. Print marketing can accomplish the same thing.
More businesses are integrating digital and print marketing with the use of QR codes. Variable data technology makes it simple to create unique QR codes that can direct your print advertising efforts to a digital marketing campaign. This increases opportunities to connect with your customers in new ways.
On your next print marketing campaign, consider leading them to digital marketing efforts. You can direct them to a survey, a community group, a special sale, or even a virtual event.
4. Email Marketing Gets More Personal
Email marketing has grown substantially since the start of the pandemic but there is one trend that stands out. Email marketers are getting personal more often.
Consumers want to feel that businesses value them as individuals, not just as a group of buyers. Businesses need to show genuine interest in their customers.
That means email marketing needs to get more personal than just using their name in the welcome of the email. Segmentation and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) make that possible.
Businesses don’t need to make every single email a personal tribute to the individual consumer. They can integrate emails that show shared values and allow the consumer to choose what kinds of emails they want to receive.
When consumers know that an email from a business will be relevant to their personal needs and values they are more likely to open it. As more emails are opened, businesses will see more conversions.
5. All Types of Marketing are Implementing Teams and Collaboration
Marketing has always been focused on acting on the knowledge that your business acquires about your customers. In 2021, teams and collaborations take that knowledge to a new level.
Teams allow marketers to be more responsive to clients in real-time. Technology allows teams to work together to evolve as the experience of the customer changes. As teams collaborate, they notice new patterns and personalize the customer experience.
6. Business Converse Through Content Marketing
Content marketing of the past has focused on keywords. Long-tail keywords, keyword frequency, keyword placement – all of these have helped businesses create a content marketing strategy.
The truth is, this strategy keeps search engines happy, not consumers. Consumers don’t care about keywords.
Your audience wants to feel that you are starting a conversation. They want a human-centric experience and that means businesses need to turn to actual conversations for inspiration.
Content marketing of the future needs to connect with audiences by appealing to their values and priorities. If your business isn’t part of the conversation that consumers are having online, you can’t make that connection in your content marketing.
Data and AI Guide All Types of Marketing in 2021
The one thing that all types of marketing have in common in 2021 and the upcoming years is personalization. If you want to get personal with your audience, you can’t rely on guesswork.
To apply personalization to digital, print, social media, email, and content marketing, you must rely on the deepest of data insights. This can include AI, first-party data, and finally, automation. Generate trust and brand affinity with your customers, wherever you connect with them.
Take your 2021 marketing to the next level by requesting a quote from us.
