The year 2020 has shaken many industries considerably. Some have gone on their knees while others have flourished. Some have rethought and invested in new avenues in the digital marketing, others have slowed down and are waiting for better times. Regardless of strategy, autumn soon will turn into a new year and with that comes new opportunities. The question is, what do we take with us from the past year and what digital trends and strategies will we apply in 2021?

Digital marketing paved the way during the pandemic

Corona was like a firm punch to the nose in March 2020. Many companies panicked and paused their marketing faster than they could say "Covid-19". At the same time, the entire world population increased their screen time by more than 10% compared to the previous year, and interest in entertainment and news media increased markedly. The companies that dared to resist the panic got cost-effective marketing in digital channels - not in the least because of the fall in prices. This meant both greater reach and spread in combination with the lowest CPC costs Europe has ever seen. Now prices are climbing again, but the news media continue to engage both older and younger target groups to a greater degree. Lessons to take with you to 2021: It is too soon to know how the pandemic will affect 2021, but with a second Corona wave currently hitting society, keep in mind the text on the cover of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: don’t panic. Take advantage of the opportunity and market yourself where your target group is on social and news media in order to maximize your results.

E-commerce is more important than ever

Since Corona took off, consumers have been forced to rethink and change their buying behaviour significantly. Ordering online has become a matter for all ages and most likely this behaviour will persist and grow even more after Corona. Even Facebook is entering the game with the aim of leading the digital e-commerce. An exciting fight that Amazon also wants to emerge victorious from. The only question is where are the customers and whether they are ready for these opportunities?

Lessons to take with you to 2021: Invest in a functional and user-friendly website. Today's customers want to be greeted by a seamless experience where they can easily orientate themselves on the website and complete their purchases with fast and easy payment options. Home delivery will be more popular, even in industries that do not currently offer it. Do not forget to lay a solid foundation; your website needs to be SEO-adapted and to rank as high as possible on Google. Facebook shop, Instagram shop and Amazon are also interesting solutions that can complement your current site.

Brand building is a must

You MUST work on your brand. Period. Many people find it less relevant because it usually does not drive to direct business, but the companies that strengthen their brand will always win in the long run. Your potential customers are daily overwhelmed with offers, promotions and discount prices, which makes them unreliable; they can at any time take up an offer that beats yours. Therefore, it is important to think about the brand and build a strong foundation that gets into the marrow bones of the customers. IKEA & Coca Cola are not strong brands because of their products, but because they never stop building their brands. If the customer does not know any relationship with you as a brand or a company, they will opt out of you faster than you think.

Lessons to take with you to 2021: Put energy and care about your brand and dare to spend time and money on building it strong. You may not be the next Coca Cola, but you can always be better than your previous year. It is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd and it is a fact that loyal customers are hard to find. But with a clear and strong brand, you can secure your business from a longer perspective and thus win over the competitors that thinks more short-term. Get help from experts to get you and your brand out there and to stand out in the noise and invest in content that affect. And do it continuously!

We at Advedro have the competence, capacity and channels to make your company flourish in 2021. Or why not start already now? Contact us and we will tell you more!