Digital Marketing Archives - Waterhouse Digital Agency

2020 was like no other. It was challenging for nearly all, devastating for some. In less than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work, learn, play and interact, and we have all been forced to lead a more virtual existence – both personally and professionally. Whilst lots of these changes have been made necessary by lockdown, they have also been facilitated by a tipping point in the capabilities of technology and a new generation of consumers much happier to interact with brands online.

For brands looking to optimise their digital marketing activities this year, our digital marketing experts have compiled a list of the top marketing trends to be aware of in 2021. If you can take advantage of just one or two of these trends then you’ll be on track to generating more business from your marketing strategy in 2021 and beyond.

In case you missed our previous annual trends articles, please take a look at 2020 and 2019 – many of the strategies are still relevant in 2021.

A World Without Cookies

48% of marketers “worry that their brands won’t be able to provide impactful performance without cookies” according to research from data, insights and consulting company Kantar.

A cookie-less future is on the horizon and it continues to get closer with 2021 set to be their last full year.

Currently, third-party cookies play a huge role in digital marketing strategies – allowing advertisers to deliver more personalised experiences based on the information the cookies hold. With Chrome ceasing to support third-party cookies in the next year or so, and browsers like Safari already ceasing to support them, the time for change is now.

Continued Advancements in Machine Learning

Machine learning and AI technology will continue to develop in 2021 and the years ahead. Machine learning is used in multiple ways within marketing, to help deliver personalised recommendations and experiences, to enhance paid campaigns to improve conversion testing, in chatbots and more. Google Ads in particular continue to focus heavily on machine learning with automated Smart Campaigns. As marketers, we must adapt and use machine learning to help us market smarter.

Live Streaming

Live-streamed content is still extremely under-utilised within digital marketing strategies. It doesn’t help that there are so many platforms to choose from – Instagram Live, Facebook Live, LinkedIn Live, Twitch and more. Of course, it makes sense to get started on the channel where your audience is most active. A live stream could be a simple Q and A about a new product or service, a live interview with an industry expert or an educational webinar type stream. Live streams are typically far easier and less expensive than professionally shot videos, achieve more reach, and will enable you to engage and empathise with your audience in real-time.

Virtual Events

Yet another 2021 digital marketing trend that has been accelerated by the pandemic. Whilst lockdown’s will necessitate even more virtual shows and events across many sectors this year, we expect the format (or hybrid versions) to become firmly established over the long term – especially as technology develops to enable an ever improving digital experience. Marketers will need to consider event delivery strategy, identify technology needs, effectively promote their virtual event and engage event attendees before, during and after the event.

User Experience

User experience has always been vital in marketing but it often gets less importance placed on it than traffic. However, working with the traffic you already have and getting that to convert better can often achieve results quicker. Your marketing agency should have the expertise and experience to help you improve and optimise user experience, helped along with a host of excellent tools such as Microsoft Clarity, Google Lighthouse, Hotjar, Analytics and Search Console, to name but a few. The importance of getting user experience right will only accelerate when Google’s Page Experience algorithm update rolls out this May.

Social eCommerce

Developments within Social eCommerce came a long way last year and we don’t see it slowing down for 2021. Instagram and Facebook have both introduced native shopping experiences for eCommerce businesses and WhatsApp have recently launched Carts. Giving users the option to purchase products from directly within the apps they love without having to leave them makes for a seamless experience that will see more B2C brands capitalise on.

Content on the Go

Coming into 2021, we’re all spending even more time consuming digital content than we ever have, particularly while we’re on the go – working, travelling or even whilst doing the housework! This has sparked further increases in the popularity of podcasts and podcast advertising, short-form video content (such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, Snapchat Spotlight and YouTube Shorts), clickable content like LinkedIn Carousels and visual content including a marked increase in brands using infographics.

All of these channels can be taken advantage of by repurposing existing content. Blog pieces can be used to create podcasts, existing video can be cut into bite-sized snippets suitable for sharing on social media and visual imagery can often be adapted to create impactful infographics.

Reaching the Home TV

By 2022, research predicts that over 80% of online traffic will be driven by video.

During lockdown people have stayed at home more than ever before and remote working is probably here to stay for lots of businesses. Because of this your potential customers are consuming lots of online content, with audiences increasingly turning to online video for education, entertainment and to stay connected. Additionally, more and more people are watching videos on YouTube on their TV. You can take advantage of this with YouTube Ads or by creating more content for your brand’s YouTube channel.

Augmented Reality

With some 3 billion devices worldwide currently AR-enabled, 2021 is expected to see AR gain further traction, with research suggesting that AR technology will be used by some 1.9 billion people per month by 2022.Whilst Augmented Reality (AR) has been with us for a number of years, the technology is developing at a startling pace and has the potential to allow brands to greatly enhance the customer experience. Many online stores are already offering great AR experiences and as the technology becomes more accessible, brands of all sizes are beginning to adopt it.

Instagram SEO

Late last year, Instagram introduced the option to discover content on the platform by using keywords instead of hashtags. While this is still very new and there’s not enough research at the moment to suggest anything concrete, Instagram SEO could certainly be a possibility for this year. This may change the way we write post captions, integrating specific, well searched for keywords.

UGC

While influencer marketing is still going strong, particularly cross-platform, with nano and micro-influencers generating the best results, customer user-generated content still exceeds it for us. User-generated content promotes existing customer advocacy and delivers social proof to potential customers, in turn generating engagement, building trust and ultimately increasing conversions. Using UGC will also save you a lot of time on creating content! To get the best out of UGC campaigns, tell your audience what it is you want and use carefully selected, specific branded hashtags.

If you’d like to push your brand even further in 2021, our marketing specialists are here to help. We’re a full-service, award-winning, digital marketing and creative agency based in the heart of the UK. Our expertise covers website design, creative campaigns, brand positioning and visual identity to an array of proven digital marketing tactics such as SEO, Paid Advertising, Content Marketing and Social Media. Whether you’re a small business with less than 10 employees or a global company with thousands of employees, our bespoke solutions will skyrocket your business growth. Ready for lift off?

Test Pilot: 3-month Test Pilot Digital Marketing Trial is still available due to its popularity and the impact that Covid continues to have on our industry.

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Search engine optimisation (SEO) is one of the most essential parts of a digital marketing strategy. When done correctly, over time, it can result in unparalleled brand awareness and return on investment, driving 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media.

However, due to the major search engines such as Google, making algorithm changes constantly, it can be hard to keep up with the optimisation techniques that are getting the best results. With this in mind, we’ve put together 6 SEO tips that are working right now to improve organic visibility, traffic and conversions.

Keywords

All SEO campaigns still start with keywords. While tracking keyword rankings is difficult and should only be used as an indicator to SEO success, they’re still very relevant in determining what is being searched for, what content you should write and how you should go about optimising it. Tools like Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest can be used to research keywords and longer-tail terms can be discovered with Answer The Public and Google Auto Suggest.

Content

Content is a must when it comes to SEO and quality beats quantity all the time. The most important thing to remember when it comes to content is to write for users and not search engines. Many fall into the trap still to this day of trying to force the insertion of a target keyword. However, if you’re directly talking about that keyword or topic within the content then it will occur naturally anyway.

Secondly, the content should be varied. Don’t just rely on text to get your point across, make use of imagery, animation, video and even audio. The more diverse your content is, the more likely that visitors will interact and engage with it.

User Experience

User experience has long been a key search ranking factor with it continuing to grow in importance. Google, in particular, are launching their Page Experience update next May – putting further emphasis on UX when ranking web pages. User experience, whether for SEO or not, should be one of the elements of your overall marketing experience that you’re constantly striving to improve. Some of the fundamental areas to consider are website security, mobile responsiveness and speed.

Metadata

Whilst simply optimising your metadata no longer has the impact it had 10 years ago, it still has its place. The meta title tag should include your main keyword or topic, related to the content on the page you want to rank. Ideally, this should be at the front of the title tag followed by your business name. Try to keep it less than 65 characters in length.

Alt text should be optimised also by describing what the image is. Again, this adds to the user experience. Finally, your meta description shouldn’t be discounted. It’s not had a direct impact on rankings in a while now but it should be written to entice the click from the search results page, directly improving traffic. One way to do this is to include your target keyword which will be highlighted in bold on the results page (if this is included in the query inputted by the browser).

Featured Snippets

Featured Snippets are short snippets of content from a web page that directly answers the query typed in. They are referred to by many in the SEO community as “position 0” due to them appearing above the number 1 organic spot. They’re a great opportunity for brands to achieve great organic brand awareness and clicks with roughly 8% of clicks attributed to them. Definitions and lists both commonly appear in the Featured Snippets box. During your keyword research, we’d recommend making note of the terms and phrases that trigger featured snippets and what content is being ranked. From there, ensure your page is optimised for the relevant terms and create a better content piece than the existing snippet.

Link Building

Link building is a vital component of SEO. Over the years there have been tactics that come and go, many of which can now get your website penalised, harming your reach rather than increasing it. We feel that the best way to generate links in 2020 is by consistently creating and marketing valuable, shareable content. Make use of social sharing icons, share it organically on social media, send it out via email and more to encourage your audience to link back to it.

There are also alternative ways to build links and one of the more natural that we utilise and recommend is to feature as a source in online blogs and publications. Use sites like HARO to connect with journalists looking for expert quotes on a topic and provide your insights!

If you’re serious about improving your organic traffic then start implementing the above today. For further help and advice on SEO and how to get more from it either contact us or email matt@wda-marketing.com for a free review. Also, be sure to check out our digital marketing checklist to get your marketing performance score and improve your overall marketing strategy.