2020 has been an unprecedented year. The world had to adapt our lifestyle to deal with COVD-19, and businesses had to figure out how to adapt along with it.
The marketing trends for 2021 likely will reflect the world’s adaptations with general themes of humanization and an even further shift into technological dependence.
Read below to see the marketing trends we expect to see in 2021:
User Generated Content
User Generated Content (UGC) is any content created by customers or users rather than brands themselves, such as pictures, videos, and reviews. UGC is a raw form of digital word-of-mouth marketing, which users are more likely to trust because it comes from people who have directly experienced the business’ products and/or services. We expect successful marketers to embrace UGC to help embrace the narrative of their brands.
Social Commerce
Through the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping has become a safe space for many consumers.
Online shopping has been an option for a while, but an up-and-coming trend related to online shopping has come into the spotlight: social commerce. Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have shopping options directly on the app or website. We have seen conversion rates and attribution of sales from all social platforms continue to grow – and expect to see that growth blossom even further.
Live Videos and Webinars
With in-person events not being an option, live videos and webinars have allowed events to happen in a safe way. Video is an effective medium to give consumers information about your product or service, and live video is an authentic way of doing so. We expect to see new and innovative ways of converting traditional real-life experiences to virtual platforms.
Brand Activism
Besides the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 can be defined as a year of people speaking out about social and environmental issues. As people are taking to the internet to showcase the things they care about, many businesses may also do so by implementing brand activism and social responsibility into their core mission.
When consumers see businesses supporting the things they care about, they may be more likely to then support that business.
Nostalgia Marketing
Nostalgia marketing focuses on the things people already know and uses the familiarity of the old to sell the new.
With feelings of anxiety and instability taking over people’s lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people will welcome any reminder of better times and happy memories with open arms.
SEO for Organic Instagram
In November 2020, Instagram announced that it would become more search friendly. Users are now able to search keywords in the search bar to then find relevant posts, videos, and profiles. This is a big change, as the only way to search previously was by hashtags. With this change, marketers have more opportunity to reach users with their posts via SEO keyword usage.
The biggest lesson that 2020 has taught marketers is to prepare for an increasing speed of adoption in 2021. COVID-19 did not fundamentally change the way consumers behaved, but it did increase the speed by which consumer behavior changes and adoption of new technologies.