Can you believe it is 2021? As most of you know, 2020 was quite a year. While this year holds hope for a brighter year to come, the changes in business and life are here to stay. With that in mind, it’s important to invest in digital marketing for your business or organization. 2021 is all about building your brand online, building community, and building a connection with your followers!
Here at the Henry Group, we see strategy as the second pillar of a strong digital presence. (For pillar one check out this article). In determining your strategy for next year, it’s a good idea to understand forecasted trends. Here are the top 10 trends we compiled for 2021:
1. Social is Key
While how you use social is up to you, having a presence on social media is essential to building an online community and brand awareness to gain the customers and supporters you need. According to Hootsuite, while social media has traditionally been thought as a platform for younger generations, the truth is everyone is on social now, especially with the pandemic. With this in mind, social is the perfect space to connect with your customers of all ages and demographics.
2. A Digital Marketing Strategy is a Must
Having a digital marketing strategy is essential to saving you time and sanity in the long (and short) term. While spontaneous posting on social can be fun, over time it may drain your time, energy, and creativity. Knowing what types of content, you will post, when, and where, will lessen the daily time and stress spent on digital marketing, and help you craft a more coherent message to your followers
3. Branded Content
Make yourself recognizable. If you want people to recognize your business or organization online, branding is essential. Make sure to standardize the colors, text, and logos across all the content you release online related to your brand. Canva is a great tool to create replicable templates that you can quickly edit for different pieces of content. Join Canva today!
4. Consistency
Consistency looks different for everyone, with some brands posting multiple times a day and others posting a few days a week. Consistently sharing content at the times best for you makes it easier for your audience to reach you and know what to expect and makes your content more likely to be filtered through the algorithm.
5. Experiment with Different Features
All major social media platforms have recently released new features and will continue to do so throughout 2021! While you do not have to jump into all of them, using new features can help bring awareness to different audience segments (such as people who watch more Instagram stories) and make things fun for your audience.
6. Go Live
According to Neil Patel, Live Video is one of the best tools to create interaction and build community in 2021. Since many are craving social contact, going live allows you to engage in real-time with your audience, get to know them better, and even sell your products. Be it Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, consider going live in 2021.
7. Stay Visual
By now, you’ve likely heard that video is the content that people consume the most online. If you’re not doing so already, make sure to create some videos in 2021! Videos can be as simple as eye-catching animations, or short videos of you at work.
8. Valuable Content Marketing
Although your content needs to be visually heavy, many people are tapping into infographics and educational content that brings their followers value. Whether it is a social issue or a tip for professionals in your field, informational content marketing can be a strong strategy for you in 2021.
9. Make Use of DMs
DMs or Direct Messages are a great way to connect with your audience. Make sure to reply to messages and comments in a timely manner and consider replying to your followers’ stories or commenting on their posts every once in a while to make them feel the two-way relationship and sense of community.
10. Make Use of E-Mail, Website, and other Channels
Though social is important, as you build your community and customers want to learn more about you, they will want to visit your website and learn more. Ensure your website, email list, bio links, and any other digital platforms you have stay up-to-date and parallel your communication across all your digital spaces.
Aliah M. Henry, CEO
The Henry Group
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