Despite the events of 2020 grounding many businesses to a halt, we still learned a lot of lessons along the way. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of online platforms has hugely increased as we’ve adapted to staying at home and being apart from our loved ones, colleagues and customers.
As we move into 2021 it’s apparent that the continued reliance on the internet for our day to day personal and business lives isn’t going away. Which means there has never been a more crucial time to boost your digital marketing for your business.
Digital marketing spans many areas including web design, SEO, social media, influencer marketing and PPC ads. As a result, it can be difficult to know where to invest your budget wisely.
To help you tighten your focus, here are the top 10 digital marketing tips we believe are paramount for a successful 2021.
1) Re-think your digital marketing strategy before investing
There has been lots of uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic, which has meant a lot of business have had to scale back in many ways. This has impacted marketing budgets too.
As we move towards a future where we can get back to normal and businesses are reopening, it is worthwhile investing in your digital marketing budget again.
Before you do this, it’s worth re-evaluating your strategy. With many people still working disparately and a massive shift in how people are using services and purchasing, it’s important to conduct market research before deciding which marketing channels to allocate your budget to.
It might be worth your while to invest in a digital marketing agency to help you formulate a watertight strategy for the year ahead and give you a boost, especially if you’ve turned off some of the activities you were previously investing in.
2) Fine-tune your communication channels and messaging
Every business, brand and individual has strongly depended on their communications more so than ever over the last year.
It is likely that working from home or flexible working will still continue to be a trend, even as we slowly move forward from Covid-19. Therefore, your communications strategy will need to gear towards these new requirements. This applies to both your customers and your employees. Making use of the right channels to enable engagement and relationship building as well as ensuring your messaging is suited to your audience will play a key role in your marketing strategy.
Whether you’re providing a service or selling products, ensure that your stakeholders understand how to communicate with you digitally and vice versa. It’s also better to remain personable within your communications, rather than sending out generic messaging whether that’s via email, on your social channels or throughout your content on your website.
3) Streamline your social media
Social media has already become a vital tool for businesses and their marketing activities, but in 2020 it became more important than ever. It was a way to stay in touch and engage with your customers, when we couldn’t be face to face.
Social media trends change frequently anyway, but with so many people spending more time at home and away from not just their loved ones, but colleagues too, it became a great way to share content, engage and stay positive.
Therefore, the strategy you may have been using previously, might not quite live up to expectations now. More and more businesses are turning to messenger, to have a conversation with their audiences as well as sharing more personable content and not just ‘business as usual’ so they can build better relationships with those that engage with them.
Rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, find out which social channels your customers are using and engage within those communities so you’re having the right conversations. It’s always good to maintain the channels you have open, but it might be worth focusing your efforts on two or three channels to really engage with your customers.
4) Rejuvenate your content marketing
Content marketing has always played a key role in digital marketing. Whether you’re writing a blog, creating a video or designing an infographic, the way you write, implement and share your content should be predominantly focused from your customers perspective.
In 2021, plenty of people will still be working disparately and flexibly, which means you need to have content readily available for your audience when they need it. Not only that but providing knowledgeable and engaging content is vital in capturing your audience’s attention (especially when there are plenty of distractions at home!).
Assess any gaps in your current content marketing strategy and evaluate the areas where your current offering might be falling. Refreshing older content as well as generating new, fresh ideas that will make interesting reads and draw your target audience towards your proposition.
Create a mix of content to keep your audience engaged, and work on creating your evergreen content that will stand the test of time and build your online presence so more people can find you online.
5) Conduct an SEO audit
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is integral to your digital marketing strategy if you want potential customers to find your website online. If you’re cutting back on advertising, PPC and other areas of your marketing, instead, you can focus on refining your technical and on-page optimisation for SEO.
An SEO audit can help to identify areas of your website that need some work. Implementing small changes can make a big difference when it comes to your site ranking on search engines.
SEO can take 3 to 6 months to make a real impact. Therefore, if you’ve noticed that you’re falling behind your competitors, then it’s worth investing in SEO services now. That way, when businesses start to reopen, you’re already at the forefront of the industry.
And don’t neglect to optimise your website for all mobiles; these devices account for over half of all web traffic globally and with more people working from home, it’s likely they’ll be using a range of devices for their searches.
6) Optimise your site for voice search
When writing content, optimise it as much as you can for voice search. It’s also worth investing some time in creating an FAQ page to answer some of your customers’ most common questions.
With informative content that answers the search queries most asked by your audience, you’re more likely to rank well and tick the right boxes for potential customers.
7) Run intelligent PPC ads
If you’re eager to see quick results with your marketing, you can invest in PPC. Whether that’s on social media or via Google. Running ads can be expensive, so it’s worth researching the right channels for you.
For example, if you are a consumer-led business, then you might want to invest in targeted Facebook and Instagram ads. If you’re targeting the B2B market, then LinkedIn may work better for you if Google is a competitive environment for your industry.
If you don’t have the money or time to invest in PPC, be careful as you are better having a solid strategy to avoid overspending. However, there are tools available such as Google’s ‘Smart Bidding’ which can make it easier to manage. This is a set of automated bid strategies that use AI to maximise conversions based on search behaviour and contextual data. It will increase your bids at times when a conversion appears most likely.
Like most of your marketing, it’s always worth making sure you have the right strategy in place before allocating your money towards a channel. So, make sure it’s right for you before you invest.
8) Create your own personal brand
Whatever industry you are in, people are more likely to build a rapport with people rather than a business. That’s not to say recognisable brands can’t build trust and loyalty with their audience – take a look at Coca Cola vs. Pepsi.
But having people within your company adds a human element you’re doing can make your brand more relatable and therefore, increases the opportunity of sale. We’ve seen it in the consumer industry with influencers who dominate social media promoting other brands products.
What’s even better is using your own employees to promote and talk about your brand. Thought leadership pieces from experts, podcasts or virtual webinars can help to engage with your audience on a more personal level. It also showcases your expertise and can put you ahead of your competitors by building relationships with your current and potential customers on a more personal level.
9) Nurture your clients to build loyalty
Whatever digital marketing techniques work for your business, above all - nurture your clients.
It’s also important to focus on the marketing platforms on which your customers will already be and join in the conversation. Listen to what your customers are saying via socials, respond to any queries or feedback with care, and ensure that all digital marketing efforts have their best interests at heart.
If you need help with your digital marketing strategy, SEO or content, give us a call on 01794 725 454 or make an enquiry and we’ll be happy to work with you to grow your business in 2021.
