The past year made adjustments to our daily life. Most of the usual things, such as shopping for clothes, have steadily moved to the virtual space. The pandemic has significantly increased the time people spend on the Internet. The interest in social media sites and brand pages has grown, opening up new opportunities for marketers to expand their audience and engage with customers. By formulating a content plan and posting regularly, you can attract new consumers and create a trusting relationship with them.
Digital marketing means digital communication between companies and clients, which takes place both online and offline. It works exactly to attract and retain customers and uses digital channels to do so. The channels may vary from advertising on an online radio to paid search on the Internet. In simple terms, digital marketing is any promotion in which digital is involved, including:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- SMM (social media marketing)
- PPC (Pay per click)
- email marketing, etc.
And digital advertising is all the methods of paid promotion that you see on the web.
More generally, the digital promotion also covers things like designing web pages and social media profiles, particularly, by applying cover, thumbnail, or graphic design templates for better consistency and time-saving.
Changes in Digital Marketing Compared To Last Year
The basic trends of this year will be a cordial atmosphere, intimacy, and openness in relations between you and the audience while the major task remains unchanged — to attract and retain new customers.
1 Social networks reach customers through screens
Social networks allow you to post information about a product, articles, and small messages. You have enough data to analyze their performance after publication. The main thing is to make quality content that will be interesting to read. Do not neglect stories — they are great for creating a sense of openness and honesty. Everyone wants to feel special, and an insight into the backstage of a brand is a nice eye-catcher. Another moment for affinity and revelation is live streaming. Stream directly from conferences or master classes, communicate with your subscribers in real time, and do not forget to collect statistics.
2 Content goes interactive
Stuff like that works perfectly to add value to a potential customer's visit. It can be a survey, a quiz, games a la “Find the Difference”, “Catch Me”, “Continue the Process”, and much more. The key is that interactive content prolongs the time a visitor stays on the site and interacts with it as well as strengthens the visitor's connection with the brand and increases customer satisfaction. In addition, it is a great way to learn about user preferences for improving your services or products. Interactive content is a vivid manifestation of the global desire to spot a specific person interested in a product.
3 Voice and visual search matters
First, it is important to optimize your content for voice search. This is due to the fact that people have become more likely to collaborate with voice assistants and enter voice search requests. And why not? It saves time while delivering a bit of entertainment. Second, find some time to visualize your messages. Remember to use quality images and videos, include targeted keywords in your image filenames, and always add replaceable text to your descriptions.
4 Mobile applications boost business development
Downloading an application is a sign of interest to the brand’s products and services. As a rule, such users become regular customers and use the services more often. The biggest growth in app popularity is (and will be) observed in food delivery, learning, entertainment, shopping, and gaming. After the drastic change because of the pandemic, consumers think that now purchases will be made differently. Therefore, shopkeepers need to use the business development opportunities given by apps.
5 Chatbots are on the wave of popularity
Customers like the possibility of solving issues and receiving answers from a company 24/7. Chatbots based on artificial intelligence can carry on a dialogue, take into account past customer requests, collect data, and analyze the needs and issues of consumers. They interact with a person almost in a human way and maintain the customer’s connection with a company or brand.
Conclusion
Digital marketing has never stood still. After 2020, the pace of its development has even increased. To adequately withstand the competition in the market, it is necessary to constantly engage in self-education and be aware of all new technologies and trends.
