By Kellon Williams

The year 2020 is set to go down in history as one of the trickiest periods for navigating marketing and business overall. The impact of everything that’s happened has been felt across all industries and in businesses of all sizes.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however.  Being characterised by a constant stream of change with incredible magnitudes and velocities makes 2020, and beyond, the perfect canvas for applying unconventional and game-changing marketing tactics. Here’s a list of what we consider to be must-haves on every marketer’s wish list for success in 2020 and beyond.

Virtual showrooms and events

Since the rise of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, research has shown that 71% of marketing   executives   all   over   the world expect to see virtual events remain a mainstay beyond 2020. In addition to the obvious protection of health, virtual events present   a   myriad of wins to businesses, marketers, and brands, like unlimited audience sizes and lower-than-average overhead costs.  Streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video offer audience sizes as large as over 200 million people and with a never-ending list of platforms to choose from, being able to meet your business’ marketing needs with virtual events tops our wish list.

Micro-influencer partnerships

Influencer marketing has been the secret sauce in the success of many marketing campaigns. Now we’re seeing micro-influencers occupy their very own spot on every marketer’s wish list.  Why?  Micro-influencers, though they have significantly lower numbers of followers than the traditional social media influencer, have provided brands with higher rates of engagement and surefire brand adoption in many cases.

Thoughtfully curated social media content and presence

It’s highly unlikely that any of us knows someone who has absolutely no interaction with any form of social media. With that said, businesses would be doing a disservice to   their   bottom-line   by   leaving   social   media   representation   and   content   to happenstance. Social media content which is both beautiful and thoughtful will both maintain and help to form new brand-consumer relationships.  There’s no magic wand for content, but what we as marketers do know,  is  that  understanding  who your  audience  is, will put you in an incredible position to provide exactly what they need.  Knowing your audience helps you in selecting which social channels to use (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, Twitter) or deciding how to leverage them   in   creating   marketing   magic (shoppable   posts, social media ads, linking WhatsApp to Instagram, and polls, for example).

Google Ads

Now, with the thrust for all businesses to ‘go digital’, the race for securing prime real estate throughout online spaces is even more competitive. Google Display, as well as search engine ads, will continue to see a rise in relevance for businesses and brands seeking to differentiate themselves through ads placed all over the Internet. Current statistics show that businesses see an average of $2 million in return for every dollar spent on Google Ads, so the motivation to have your business exist within this space is high. Google Ads are a mainstay on our wish list, and even more so now.

Personalised email

We can’t stress the use of an omnichannel marketing approach enough, and one thing that’s firmly on our marketer’s wish list is email marketing.  Not just ‘email marketing’ though, we’re talking about personalised email marketing.  Emails have always been a high-value marketing tool.  Now, with capabilities to move from generic emails to emails triggered by a customer browsing a particular page or product on your website, email is even more valuable for companies of all sizes. Though simple in concept, with creative and intuitive applications these tactics will set the stage for any marketer to meet and smash new and even more aggressive goals as the world of business seeks to make up for lost revenue  due to this year’s pandemic.

Source: Marketing Dive