5 Digital Marketing Trends During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Even if the lockdown is lifted—or in the process of being lifted, the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t over. Neither is its influence on everything we know, including digital marketing trends.
One of the most important benefits our society has during this outbreak is the internet. Being online allows some businesses to continue their work, even if the stores got closed.
But to keep afloat, a business also has to keep being relevant. To be found by its customers—and new people as well. For this, you need to be aware of the latest marketing trends and try to use most of them to your advantage.
You should be aware of how this pandemic is influencing digital marketing. The more people have to stay inside, the more time they will spend online. That means that interactive posts will be more effective than static content.
It also means that online trends are changing faster than ever. Studies show that information is in the foreground, while everything else is on the back seat. People have specific questions that need answers.
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Digital Marketing Trends You Should Know About
Interactive Content
Even though people spend more time online, their attention span is getting shorter. This means that between a static post and an interactive one, interactivity is more successful.
This type of content includes things like 360o videos. Or using Virtual or Augmented Reality technologies. By getting in on this trend you’ll enhance your relationship with the customer. Immersive technologies can boost the visual impact of your content.
You could also use infographics in your content. At the moment, those are some of the most shared forms of content online. Interactive infographics need, as you’d expect, more resources than the static ones. But, if done right, they can bring you traffic, backlinks and increase user engagement.
Another idea could be using polls and surveys. This is a great way not only to engage with your audience but also to get more information from them. What do they like? What do they expect from you? What could you do better? These are only a couple of questions that can be answered through this type of content.
Social Media Commerce
Social distancing and isolation have all us spending more time on social media. This made social networks a perfect space for advertising your products. But, you should be careful—each type of platform has its type of audience.
Before you start advertising, you should analyze each social network to see what kind of people use it. If it resonates with your audience, make sure to make your content suitable for the platform. By doing this, you won’t be seen as an “intruder” and people will check out what you have to say.
Another thing you should take into consideration is the need for empathy. Social Media is a great place to listen to your customers, see what they need. You could also try to understand their current situation and find a way to help those in need. Taking positive action when you’re able too can get you a long way.
Featured Snippets
Searching online evolves quickly, and even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not so long ago we stopped using the other search pages, except for the first one. Now, most of us only look at the first 5 search results before clicking on a link.
This is mostly due to all the optimization efforts—people get what they are searching for with less effort. And this is a good thing. Because if you know what people are searching for—you can provide the answers they need.
During these uncertain times, people have specific questions that need a quick answer. “Can I freeze this?”. “Does X business deliver?”. For these types of queries, featured snippets are really useful.
These snippets provide an instant answer. They increase your click-through rate, leading to more traffic and more potential leads. Lately, Google is prioritizing educational, authoritative, and trustworthy content over traditional SEO factors.
To land a featured snippet create content that answers very specific questions, relevant to your audience. The most common type of content here are things like definitions, steps, lists, or tables. To see what people are looking for, you should check out coronavirus-related trends.
Mobile Optimization
This was a very important trend even before corona, but perhaps it’s vital now. Most of us work from home right now. This means spending at least 8 hours per day in front of the computer. It’s very unlikely that anyone would want to spend another minute at their desk after the workday is over.
So what do most of us do? Go to our mobile phones. While it’s still a screen, we associate it with relaxing and winding down after a long day of work. Chances are that if a customer visits your website, it will be from a mobile device. So it’s only common sense to have it optimized so that your clients get the best user experience.
If things get too technical, you can always rely on a web design agency to help you with your website. Sometimes you can’t do everything yourself and that’s okay.
Smart Bidding with Google Ads
This type of bidding is making use of Google Ads machine learning to optimize your bids. There have been many improvements made to smart bidding. This is rapidly becoming a digital marketing norm.
Google analyzes historical search conducts and circumstantial information. This is done to predict the likeliness of your conversion and raise your bids accordingly. This is a good strategy because it saves you a lot of time and it optimizes your bids to make the most of your budget.
What to Take Away
Digital marketing trends change faster than ever. This COVID-19 pandemic has altered people’s behavior and needs. If you want your business to stay afloat, you have to keep informed about these changes and try to be as relevant as possible for your audience.
Try to interact with your audience as much as possible. Use AR and VR in your posts, try to include 360-degree videos in your content. Make use of social media to listen to your customers. Optimize your website and try to keep the Google algorithms on your side. Check all the boxes and watch your business grow, even in these uncertain times.
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