3 New Marketing Trends You Need to Know
The coronavirus pandemic has caused adjustments in marketing strategies. Therefore, in this article, we will consider three new marketing trends that should be used to promote your website and adapt advertising campaigns for the current realities.
During a Pandemic, the Popular Search Query Is, “When Will It Be Possible To …?”
People strive to return to normal life as soon as possible, so even after the removal of strict quarantine, the search query, “When will it be possible to …?”, that is the current trend in marketing, still dominates. Let’s take a look at a graph taken from Google Trends for the past 12 months:
The highest peak was in April – during the height of the pandemic. Summer is a plateau period. But users are still looking for information when they can travel, shop, or order services.
A screenshot from SemRush also confirms this trend.
There are also many searches for when the pandemic will end. The audience wants to be informed about the current epidemiological situation in the world to plan their future actions.
Semrush
The request “When will … open again?” does not lose its relevance. Although it peaked in April, people continue to look for information about the opening of borders, entertainment centers, and so on. If your company is still working in a specialized mode or the opening and receiving hours of calls have changed, please inform your customers about it.
As you can see, the coronavirus pandemic has created emerging trends in marketing aimed at future tense queries. That is, the search script has changed from viewing information in real-time to being forward-thinking.
New trends can be applied to absolutely any business industry, even e-commerce. After all, many online stores and large retailers have suffered from border closures, in connection with which deliveries were delayed, or there was a temporary shortage of certain types of products.
Practical Recommendations
- In 2020, it is SEO that will take on the role of the leading brand promotion channel on the web. Companies need to optimize content for new marketing trends, to be more precise, to inform users more about the upgrade or arrival of products and changes in the work of the company in connection to new realities. It is also worth focusing more on targeting keywords and the hottest topics aimed at prospects. For example, for a possible vacation, holidays, and so on. Read more in the article A Guide to Keyword Targeting and On-page SEO.
- Update GMB and Bing Places. It is crucial to inform users of any changes in the workflow of the company. The SERP should display relevant information; this helps to increase audience loyalty. The better the rating of a company, the higher the likelihood of targeted traffic growth to the site
- In addition to the up-to-date information on the contact page and contact forms, we recommend updating the calls-to-action that would reflect the current situation.
- Change the text on the home page, banners, or any other pop-ups and messages on the site. Tell users about your hygiene practices, what current products you are offering, or preparing to include in your assortment. We also recommend talking about upcoming promotions. Remember that the audience is more interested in the prospect of returning to the old norm.
- Keep your audience informed of any changes on external sites. Use more keywords to answer the question, “When will …?”
- Focus on promoting PR content for online media and social networks to pre-book services and goods.
- Communicate more with your audience using online consultants, support services, and chatbots. Since the new trend in marketing is related to security, people not only want to know when a company will open or when a service can be booked but also do it without risking their health. It is unlikely that someone will want to come to your office to find out some details of a future transaction when it can be done online.
Online Purchases will Increase by 25.5%
The biggest trend in online marketing today for offline companies is to move most of their businesses online. According to the forecast from GlobalData, in 2020, users will be 25.5% more likely to shop online. Those who are already selling their products mainly online should be prepared for the high competition for their consumers.
1. Focus on Branding
Econsultancy has noted changes in the priorities and the algorithm for making purchases by consumers. The audience will study information about companies for a longer time, compare offers, possible risks, availability of safe delivery, and much more. It will become more challenging to retain clients because, in addition to the range of products and pricing policies, the consumer will evaluate the reputation of the brand in the market.
At the height of the pandemic, there was a peak in brand queries. For example, in the graph below, we see that the largest number of requests for the name of the Jordan company was in April-May.
Trends Google
If you have a look at the results from SemRush, we will see that the trend for the Jordan branded query is almost always relevant. The system showed that during quarantine, user interest dropped slightly, as most people could not afford to make too expensive purchases. But the closer to the end of the rigid self-isolation regime, the faster the trend is returning. People never stop looking for branded shoes from a manufacturer that has a high online reputation.
Semrush
Semrush
Companies should pay more attention to branding. The more positive the image and the stronger the reputation are, the higher the likelihood of getting target consumers and bypassing competitors. Therefore, now, more than ever, it is relevant to promote brand queries and use SERMs in the event of a negative result in the TOP-10. For young companies, this is a great chance to make themselves known and interest the audience. Also, in connection with a possible second wave of the pandemic, the world will completely go online again.
2. Pay Attention to Personalization
The latest trend in marketing is the personalization of offers. It has been talked about for several years already; in 2020, it will allow you to keep your consumers under the circumstances of a pandemic. In a crisis, people are not ready to make unnecessary purchases or buy luxury items. Therefore, companies need to focus on what their customers want to see.
Large retailers like Amazon do a great job with personalized offers. They show the buyer the products they are interested in. The data is taken from the analysis of past purchases, queries from internal searches, and views.
Therefore, to optimize your content, it is worth analyzing the results of internal searches on the site to find products that are popular among your customers. Based on the received information, you can change the text of banners, landing pages, and other site elements to increase conversion.
3. Local SEO Efficiency Increases
Research has shown that during a pandemic, users not only spend more time on their health and shop online but also prefer to do business with local companies. After all, the period of self-isolation and remote work means that people do not have the opportunity to go to lunch in a cafe, shop, or even have a cup of coffee. Therefore, they are checking the Internet to see which company can provide services quickly in a difficult period.
Promotion for regional requests has become more relevant than before. You should add the region name to your keywords to make it easier for customers to find an offer in the SERP. Read more on the topic in the article Local SEO Checklist 2020.
4. Expand Channels of Communication With Consumers
In a period of tough competition and economic crisis, it will be necessary to look for alternative sources of interaction with the consumer. Email, which has been one of the main marketing tools, is losing its effectiveness. In 2019, click-through rates of emails decreased by 9.4%. Chatbots have replaced email newsletters. These virtual assistants are the main marketing trend in 2020.
Steps to Take
Trends in marketing communications are associated with overcoming consumer barriers. Experts advise focusing on creating branded content, emphasizing the reliability of the company, and safety for consumers. It must be easily accessible to the audience; otherwise, you risk creating a new barrier for orders.
Some marketers point out that people are increasingly delaying large purchases. This trend is most likely temporary, but it can be prolonged due to the epidemiological situation in the world.
Focus on Future User Intentions
So, if we look at what are the recent trends in marketing, we will see that they are more related to the future intentions of consumers. People are preparing for another coronavirus outbreak, so they are considering what they will do at home. As a result, search queries related to construction and interior furnishings have increased.
Let’s use an example of a building materials request and test it with SemRush. As you can see, the trend has gone up over the past few months. In addition to seasonality, the demand for home improvement during possible forced isolation also plays a role.
Semrush
According to the forecasts of experts, people will increasingly seek new opportunities for leisure activities, such as with friends or family. The pet adoptions request was trendy in April, at the peak of the pandemic. However, judging by the statistics from SemRush, it remains quite popular. Most likely, this is due to the desire to spend self-isolation with a friend, albeit this is a pet.
Semrush
The donate to the search request is also among the leading ones.
Semrush
Brands, the content of which was associated with social activity and charity during the pandemic, received recognition from the audience. For example, Aerosoles have not only donated footwear to healthcare professionals but also donated 10% of its Share the Love collection revenue to the Feeding America fund. Naturally, they created their advertising content based on this action and actively promoted their idea on social and online media, which allowed them to get additional targeted traffic to the site and profit.
In addition to the growing demand for home entertainment, household items, and building materials, people are looking for online courses. Online training requests, according to the research from Google Trends, reached its peak in April. Now the trend is declining, but if strict quarantine is introduced again, the audience will be interested in the prospect of learning a language or getting a new profession online.
Looking at the statistics, one can assume that now it is worth working for the future. Create content that can help the audience find new ways to spend their time, product reviews that they might find useful for home improvement, and so on.
Another interesting trend is associated with micro-moments. Back in 2015, Google introduced this marketing concept due to strong growth in mobile traffic. These are similar requests from mobile devices: “Where can I … ?, I want to know…” The person has already made a decision and is looking for additional information where they can find a specific product/service. You can learn more here about micro-moments and how popular brands use them.
If you look at statistics from SemRush, you can see that people are mainly looking for where they can buy necessities or receive essential services during a pandemic, for example, sanitizer, make a financial transfer, and so on.
Semrush
By creating content for these types of search queries, you are encouraging consumers to make a decision here and now. Many of them will be related to the prospect of buying goods or ordering services since many customers postpone these deals. But with the positive development of the situation, you will have a better chance of the consumer returning to complete the targeted action on your website.
To conclude what are trends in marketing, it can be noted that most of them are aimed at ensuring the safety of the transaction for consumers. Companies offer safe delivery, change schedules, and work formats, even during the easing quarantine period. The audience pays more and more attention to conscious consumption; therefore, they are considering purchasing luxury goods or large purchases in the future.
Experts recommend focusing on branding and promoting brand searches. But it is rather promising for large companies, although newcomers in the market will be able to declare themselves in this way, especially if they also use local SEO. Now, this trend also continues because the epidemiological situation has not returned to normal.
In 2020, most large companies have focused on SEO as a more effective promotion channel. But at the same time, experts advise not to miss out on other tools for getting in touch with the target audience, for example, chatbots.
