The 18 Best Marketing Strategies For 2021 (From The Experts)
When we compiled our list of marketing tactics for 2020 At the end of 2019, nobody had any idea what was really in store for the coming year. Now we know that the pandemic will continue to have an impact in 2021, and even if it’s over, consumer behavior will never be quite the same again.
This will have a profound impact on brands and marketers in 2021. In addition, technological and regulatory changes must be prepared. We asked marketers how they plan to approach 2021 – here are the 18 topics they focused on.
18 of the best ways to market your business in 2021
The list below provides insights into many of the strategies you’ve heard of, including SEO, loyalty, e-commerce, and video and influencer marketing. It also includes new strategies around cookless advertising and privacy changes, as well as new approaches to help you serve the new COVID-tired and socially change conscious consumer of 2021. Regardless of the strategy, the idea is the same: to bring it to market personally and value your customers, but also efficiently so that you can save time, scale and get on with your everyday life.
1. Optimize for the next update from Google
With the Page Experience Update from Google comes in May 2021New metrics called Core Web Vitals, which are used to measure website load time, interactivity, and content stability, are gradually affecting overall search rankings.
“Basically anything that could disturb a user of the page could negatively affect the Core Web Vitals metrics and result in a lower ranking in the search results for that page,” said Mark Coster, owner of web design agency Web Design for Businesses.
That means brands have to start Optimization for Core Web Vitals through more user-friendly than ever.
“Pages and elements need to load quickly and not keep users waiting,” said Lee Savery, content executive, Digital Agency Ricemedia. “The delay before an initial input needs to be very short so that users can interact with pages as quickly as possible. Make no unexpected changes to the layout while users load and scroll the page. Failure to address these elements can cause your website to crash quickly. “
2. Prepare for third party cookies to end
2021 will also be the year marketers prepare for two big changes in 2022: the end of third-party cookies and new ones privacy California regulations.
“We need to become familiar with data collection practices where privacy is paramount. That means focusing on making lists and building personal relationships with customers, ”said Harry Maugans, CEO of the Consumer Protection Service Privacy bee. “Make sure your 2021 campaigns help you build your first-party data so you can rely less on other people’s data.”
The death of third party cookies will change the targeting and tracking of digital ads, but Dave Toby, director of the digital marketing agency Pathfinder Alliancesaid there was still “significant confusion about how campaigns are impacted”.
“The coming year is the last opportunity for marketers to learn about and prepare for the impact of the future without cookies,” he added. “The most important step is to improve the access to and effective use of their valuable first-party data – and to ensure that agencies have a clear plan for placing and measuring campaigns after the change.”
In addition to familiarizing themselves with privacy collection practices, brands need to build their own data collection infrastructure to comply with upcoming regulations in 2021.
“California fines start at $ 2,500 per event, so it is financially wise to prepare for them [advance]”Noted Maugans.
3. Maintaining relationships with first-party suppliers
In 2021, the direct relationship with customers will become even more important as the online landscape becomes even more confusing Brands trying to reach digital consumers. But it will also be important because one-on-one relationships mean brands can Personalize content for better experiences.
Houman Akhavan, CMO of CarParts.comAccording to a first-party data strategy, 2020 saw “incredible results” including “record conversions”.
“A critical part of this first-party data strategy was using the right customer data platform technology that is scalable to process millions of records of customer insights, including real-time signals that must be acted upon immediately before they become obsolete. “He said.” Using our customer data platform, we’ve generated over a quarter of a billion personalized one-on-one messages to date. We’ve found our click-through rates have increased up to 400% and our email sales have doubled . “
4. Focus on customer loyalty
And for brands struggling to recover from the events of 2020, Concentration on existing customers can be wise.
“In one (n unsafe economyMost brands – especially niche retailers – should focus on existing customers, ”said Jonathan Frey, CMO of the electric bike retailer Urban Bikes Direct.
Jim Pendergast, SVP of the commercial financing platform AltLineexpects B2C brands to highlight mobile marketing for customer loyalty.
“Think things like personalized push notifications on smartphones and loyalty incentives when you download mobile apps to shop or transact directly,” he said.
“Satisfying existing customers is cheaper than acquiring new customers because brands have bypassed the early stages of the customer journey and have more data available for personalized messages,” added Pendergast.
In addition, mobile interactions such as SMS (and even) are possible E-mail) are a direct connection between brand and customer – and bypass third parties.
In addition, mobile interactions like SMS (and even email) are a direct link between brand and customer – and bypass third parties.
“The pandemic has been catastrophic for small businesses … but this just increases the need for small businesses to own their audiences and have a great reputation as a brand as those are the only things they can use against the tech giants,” said Jake Meador, director of content strategy for marketing tech company Mobile text notifications.
5. Start selling on social media
Another burgeoning trend with potentially far-reaching implications is Social commerce.
In 2020, Facebook started shops for both