Ace your digital marketing campaigns across search, social, and Amazon channels by keeping up with the following trends:
Paid Search Strategy
Data visualization and live consumer analytics are the keys to fine-tuning your paid search campaigns. You can keep filling up ad spaces across search engines, but if you aren’t reaching your target audience or personalizing messaging for their behaviors and expectations, then you’re wasting your budget and the customer’s time. Access to continual data will also help you better understand your audience’s buyer journeys, allowing you to target potential customers more effectively at every turn.
ECommerce is continually growing. The coronavirus pandemic jumpstarted rapid eCommerce growth, accelerating online shopping by nearly two years. Your brand needs a strong online presence in order to effectively compete against and win market share in 2021 and beyond. Diversifying platforms that house paid search campaigns are crucial to success in 2021, as consumers spend more time online than ever before. As consumers researched more prior to purchase during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic times, it is crucial to expand the reach of your ads to continually meet the needs of your customers and stay top of mind. Testing different media mixes and messages across different channels will only improve your overall performance as you learn exactly what resonates with your audience.
Automation will continue to gain importance in a marketer’s toolbox, requiring stronger data implementation. Despite the expansion of automation to yield greater results, campaigns will still need a human touch for that innovation and ingenuity to heighten performance. However, with alerts in place to notify marketers of any problems or changes in campaigns, we can respond more quickly to fix any issues. Marketers will need to use modern technology to stay current with the increasingly digital world, but stay agile and nimble to pick up on any opportunities that come their way.
Social Media Marketing
If content is queen, then video marketing is her crown. Videos continue to outperform other types of content, such as emails, blogs, and social images according to Hubspot. Incorporating more videos into your content strategy can better engage users. And, while quality content should always be your goal, your videos don’t have to be red carpet ready. Customers want to see a more transparent, human side to brands so showing off your WFH set up, your pets, and employees working hard behind-the-scenes will do a lot in helping consumers truly connect with your brand.
User-generated content can be a goldmine for your social strategy. According to SocialMediaToday, USG is vastly outperforming brand-generated content: ads with USG content are getting 400% CTR compared to the industry average. USG content rewards customers for engaging with a brand or product, showcasing what they actually want to see because they actively posted about it. USG can strengthen consumer and partner relationships by being relatable and inspirational.
A brand’s mission and values are becoming increasingly important to consumers from the Millennial and Gen Z demographic, as they expect brands to speak out for social causes. Hootsuite finds that brands need to have a stronger presence in digital dialogues. Authentically participating in conversations help put the customer’s needs and wants first so brands can respond appropriately. Consumers care about current social issues, safety, and sustainability; showcase how these values resonate within your brand to build out your content strategy and social profiles.
Amazon Strategy
Recent updates to Amazon’s A10 Algorithms shift prominence to favor buyer’s search intent, seller authority, product credibility off Amazon, and more in determining ranking. As Amazon’s reputation for the store that has everything expands, they’re focusing on user intent more and more. With Amazon’s recent acquisition of the podcast publisher Wondery, the brand is increasing their share of user’s listening time to continue to reach customers wherever they are and through their preferred media.
Amazon will continue to experiment with and expand their frictionless and contactless shopping capabilities. As customers respond well to initiatives like Amazon Go, the corporation will seek rollout to other retailers to expand the technology. According to eMarketer, the coronavirus pandemic greatly increased customer’s preference for mobile checkout, accelerating the need for contactless shopping options. Retail brands need to consider how they could best implement new technologies to make the shopping experience convenient and stress-free for their customers.
Open experimentation and innovation are key strategies to success in the new year. While we have ideas on what will help businesses succeed in 2021, brands still need to find their personal sweet spot in engaging and targeting customers. Amazon is an excellent testing ground, as brands get pretty immediate feedback in user reviews and product and campaign performance. Products that perform well on Amazon can be prominently featured on your home website. Testing on Amazon will deepen your overall e-commerce strategy in giving customers exactly what they ask for.
Further Resources to Optimize Your Digital Marketing Strategy
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