As we enthusiastically leave 2020 behind us and wonder what the new year will bring, we have some predictions for our marketing community. Actually, they’re more like suggestions for staying on the cutting edge of what’s working in today’s world.
Social commerce – where sharing meets shopping
Ever buy something you saw on social media without ever leaving Facebook, Instagram or whatever platform you were on? That means you’ve already participated in a swiftly growing trend. Amped in 2020 by the fact that the entire world was shopping from home during the pandemic, social commerce is predicted to rise steadily with a compound annual growth rate of 28.4% from 2021 to 2028. Besides simplifying the purchase for consumers, it also allows them to immediately share purchases in a post which helps marketers reach new customers – brilliant eh?
Video, video and more video
The meteoric rise of TikTock since 2019 reveals our strong appetite for video. So much so that other social media platforms quickly followed suit. In August for example, Instagram Reels was introduced as a way for people to record, edit and share 15-second clips complete with music and effects. They also now offer video ads up to 120 seconds long in landscape or square format! So now, when people turn to their devices during a commercial break, they can still see your ad along with a direct link to your product or service.
Advertising under the INFLUENCErs
If 2020 was the year that “Influencer” became a widespread career goal, then 2021 is the year when the bigtime marketers take them more seriously than ever. In fact, according to Business Insider, brands are set to spend up to $15 billion on influencer marketing by 2022.
Macro Influencers (people with followers upwards of a million or more) continue to make a major impact. Consider 16-year-old TikTok star Charli D’Amelio. Her deal with Dunkin this past fall led to a 57% increase in app downloads and the sale of hundreds of thousands of coffee drinks! If your budget does not include $100,000 to get onto her page, don’t fret it. There’s a broad range of influencers out there including micro-influencers who work for much less and can reach highly-specific audiences.
Self-conscious marketing becomes the norm
The news may not be full of activists on the streets but the mindset is still there. People are waiting in the wings to call you out for anything that seems deceptive, racist, sexist, and inappropriate in any possible way. The public’s ability to mass communicate a knee-jerk reaction to your marketing is a real challenge. The problem is, playing it too safe will stifle creativity and waste marketing dollars. You have to maintain a self-aware balance that allows your marketing to make an impact without offending watchful eyes and ears.
Any way you slice it, the future of marketing is already here. It’s up to us to figure out how we embrace the trends and apply them to our unique marketing spheres. We wish you all much success, health and happiness in the year ahead.
