Growing Your Business in the New Year: The Top Digital Marketing Strategies for 2021

13 Jan ‘21

In: Marketing, / By: Ripe Media

It’s no secret that the events of 2020 were tough on business owners. In fact, almost 100,000 businesses permanently shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you’ve managed to make it this far – congratulations! But now is not the time to rest! It is time to plan your comeback, and that starts with recommitting to your marketing plan.

If you want to stay ahead of the crowd, it’s important to embrace the newest trends. Here are a few digital marketing strategies you can’t afford to ignore this year.

1. No-Click Searches

While ranking in the top-three for search engines has always been the ultimate goal when it comes to SEO, this is changing. Now, instead of trying to get to number one, the new goal is to reach Google’s “position zero.”

What is this? It’s the new “featured snippet,” which allows searchers to find what they’re looking for without having to click on a link at all. For this reason, it’s also sometimes referred to as a “no-click search.”

While reaching this position may mean you’ll get fewer click-throughs to your website, it also shows that Google trusts your content above all others when it comes to the subject the reader is searching for. This positions you as the ultimate authority and a thought-leader in your industry.

Many would say this is worth far more than a few extra clicks, which is why it tops our list of this year’s digital marketing trends.

2. Image and Video SEO

Did you know you can search for things online using photos instead of words? Using Google and your smartphone or computer, it’s easy to upload an image and find similar images online. You can also find objects in the image or websites that contain the image or similar images.

While this is pretty exciting on its own, if you own a business – especially one that sells physical items – it’s exciting from a marketing perspective as well. As more people start using visual search techniques it will change the overall SEO landscape.

To take advantage of this, make sure you’re always including alt text in your images and name your image using your target keyword. You’ll also want to ensure you’re using high-quality images and videos on all your online media.

3. Chatbots

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Much of what worked during the pandemic still applies. This includes investing in your digital platform and taking steps to improve communication with your customers.

Chatbots continue to be one of the top digital marketing trends in 2021. Using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, they’re able to interact with customers much like a human would and also provide answers to simple questions. These types of chatbots are popular among customers because they provide 24-hour service and instant responses to inquiries.

4. Voice Search

As the popularity of smart speakers – like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and Siri – continues to grow, businesses are benefitting from embracing the power of voice search. This technology provides all the information people are searching for through audio content. As AI continues getting smarter, voice search results are also getting more accurate.

To take advantage of this, consider producing more audio content that will help improve your brand awareness. In addition, as you write your content, you’ll want to make sure you’re maintaining a conversational tone. Also focus on creating content that may qualify for Google snippets and using keywords that people are likely to speak, rather than type.

5. In-App Purchases

The “new normal” created by the pandemic has led more people to move their shopping online instead of through a brick-and-mortar store. While the shift to selling goods and services online may seem like a no-brainer, it’s also important that you find the best platforms to do so.

Purchasing items on platforms like Facebook and Instagram will soon become part of our “new normal.” Going forward, you can expect the steps required to convert a customer to be reduced, and the line between “scrolling” and “shopping” to become more blurred.

Companies that position themselves to take advantage of this shift will find themselves leading the pack.

6. Humanizing Your Brand

Today’s consumers are extremely picky about where they spend their dollars. Not only do many people have less disposable income right now, but the #shoplocal trend is booming.

Many consumers are shying away from large, faceless corporations in favor of local “mom-and-pop” stores. To survive – and thrive – in this environment, it’s critical to show consumers that there are real people behind your brand.

People connect with people, not with companies. This is the reason that humanizing your brand rounds out our list of the most important 2021 digital marketing strategies.

Some of the strategies for doing this include producing behind-the-scenes videos, featuring employee spotlights, and spending time communicating the values that are important to your core tribe. Make a point to put some personality in your posts and always take the time to interact with your followers.

You’ll be rewarded with greater customer loyalty and increased referrals and recommendations.

Digital Marketing Strategies for 2021 and Beyond

Knowing about the top digital marketing strategies is one thing, but applying them is something completely different. Building a digital marketing strategy in 2021 requires careful planning.

If you’re ready to find true success in 2021 and beyond, our team of professionals can help!

We’ll work hand-in-hand with your business to take your brand to the next level – so you can focus on growing in other ways. Contact us today to learn more!

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