The businesses that adapted quickly to their changing environment at the start of the pandemic reaped the rewards in 2020. Your approach in 2021 will depend on how strict lockdown restrictions are, so you’ll need to keep up to date on government mandates and react accordingly. Marketing certainly looked different last year, but what will it look like this year?
2021 will need a different approach
How you reach your audience and the way you do so is different now. Your priorities and goals might be constantly shifting because rules and restrictions are changing rapidly.
Short term view
The new normal for marketing in 2021 is to focus on short-term strategies, reviewing results even more frequently than before, and having contingency plans for when things change last minute.
Stay on brand, but sensitive
Make sure your messaging is on brand and does exactly what you intend. Be clear and concise, but sensitive to the reality of the world around us. And don’t give up. It’s easy to let current events overwhelm you, but stay focused on growing your business, be agile and think outside of the box.
Don’t stop marketing
While it might be tempting to limit your marketing budget during difficult times like a pandemic, it’s actually a better strategy to ramp up your marketing activity.
Cutting your budget now can have long-lasting effects for your business and could mean the difference between success and failure long before the outbreak is completely contained. If you want your business to thrive after COVID-19, you need to prioritise marketing and shift your strategy.
Choose the right channels
To that end, ensure you are using your budget wisely. Use cost-effective solutions such as social media and other digital marketing initiatives like email marketing that enable you to connect directly with your target audience and track the effectiveness of your efforts. Get creative with the way you engage your followers, but take care to provide useful and compelling content.
Know your business
To use your channels right, you need to understand what your unique selling point (USP) – or ‘point of difference’ is. What sets your company apart from the rest? If you don’t already have that figured out, now is the time to do so.
On social media, you want to strike the right balance between promoting your company and being an asset to your customers. So take your USP and promote it, but don’t go too heavy on the promotion as you still need to be valuable to your customers. What’s the perfect media mix for you right now might not be right in a few months’ time and it will certainly differ from company to company.
Use your data
The way you know whether or not your approach is working is to look at your results. Luckily, digital marketing provides insights that will help you determine whether your campaigns are working or not.
There’s a wealth of data to be found with digital marketing — impressions, hits, followers, clicks — but you need to know how to interpret the analytics that are so easily available, otherwise the numbers won’t help.
Need a little help to get you started in 2021?
If you’re unsure of the right marketing mix for you, lean on professionals with the knowledge, experience, and a great track record to help. Marketing Square can help you put together a proactive, flexible marketing plan for 2021. Get in touch now to ensure your new year starts off right.
