With 2021 finally wrapping, it’s time to look back on what was truly yet another bizarre year across the world. From hopes that everything would go “back to normal” to the eventual realization that things really are constantly changing, 2021 has forced all of us to reflect, adapt, and plan for a future that often seems unplannable. While this applies to the world at large, it also affects our individual industries, including every aspect of the marketing world. So without further adieu, here are 3 winners and 3 losers from the marketing world in 2021:
Winner: Local SEO
No shocker here, consumers continue to use Google and other search engines to facilitate finding local and nearby businesses, wherever they are. Mobile search queries including the phrases “nearby” and “near me” have doubled in the past 2 years. Rather than pulling out a map, asking a concierge, or even using dedicated business listing sites like Yelp to do initial research for their next meal or purchase, people across the world are using the advanced learning from search engines to immediately pull up all the options they have nearby, regardless of platform. With local searches increasing so dramatically, any business that puts real effort into local search engine optimization is in a strong position to show up early in these searches and attract these customers looking to find answers and spend money.
Loser: Unlimited Data Access
With the unrolling of iOS 14.5 in Spring of 2021, the tech giant Apple finally brought out a hugely significant privacy feature it had announced the summer before: a measure that would require all apps to ask users to opt-in to having their personal information tracked. This rollout was considered a massive win for individual user privacy, and rightfully so–with many people gaining an understanding of how much information tech companies often collect from them, allowing users to opt-in up-front increases trust and peace of mind. However, it’s also deeply frustrating for marketers, who use this collected data to identify potential customers, meet users where they’re at, and market to them effectively across the web. Needless to say, the “wild west” of tech-user data capturing is coming to an end, and it’s up to marketing professionals to adapt to new regulations and shifts in the cultural winds.
Winner: Video Content Marketing
It feels like for years we’ve been hearing nothing but video, video, video. It’s long been touted as the next big thing in social media marketing, with varying degrees of success. But the stats are clear: when it comes to content marketing, at least, video is here and is considered a front-and-center priority for content marketers. It’s now the most-used medium for content marketing, having overtaken blogs and infographics to dominate the content marketing sphere. Most importantly, it doesn’t seem to just be all-flash-and-no-substance: 80%+ of marketers claim that video content marketing has directly increased their sales and web traffic. So whether you’re producing video webinars, how-to content, product demos, or something else entirely, video content marketing seems to be the path forward right now.
Loser: Twitter Fleets
Near the end of 2020, Twitter debuted its new “Twitter Fleets” feature, allowing users to compose full-screen tweets and share them for 24 hours before disappearing. Regardless of the name, Twitter Fleets were an obvious take on Stories, which had become (and remain) massively popular on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Unfortunately for everyone’s favorite bluebird, most users barely even registered the row of new Fleets at the top of their feed and the feature went largely unused before being quietly shuttered in July of 2021 after only 8 months. The lesson here is two-fold: First, pay attention when your favorite platform unveils new features, so you can take advantage and make an impact! Second, don’t put all your eggs in one feature basket–you never know when a platform will suddenly pull the plug.
Winner: Ecommerce
For obvious (and deeply unfortunate) reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic, online purchasing and e-commerce, in general, grew massively in 2020 as people staying inside at home turned to the web to do most of their shopping. While 2021 has seen a predictable slowdown in the acceleration of e-commerce growth compared to the growth explosion of the previous year, what wasn’t so predictable is that e-commerce continued to grow at all in 2021 rather than retract. As more consumers discovered the convenience of online shopping in 2020, they held onto it in 2021 and continued to increase in popularity, with e-commerce bringing in 16.4% more revenue year-over-year in the first three quarters of 2021.
Loser: The Status Quo
If it hasn’t been apparent by reading this far, in 2021 seemingly the only constant was change. Whether it’s 2020 trends many assumed were just anomalies having legs into the new year, or seemingly slam-dunk features failing to make it off the launch pad, 2021 has truly been a year to expect the unexpected.
If you need help navigating this new marketing landscape, following the trends that come and go, or even just knowing which are here to stay, Skol Marketing’s team is here to help. If you’d prefer one-on-one guidance or would like to discuss how we can help manage the inevitable ups and downs of 2022, please don’t hesitate to contact the local digital marketing experts at Skol Marketing.
