It’s happened again. The earth has circled the sun once more as it has for eons and will continue to do so until the gravitational pull weakens or it explodes.
And you know what that means: NEW YEAR TREND LISTS!!
Every year at this time marketers are called upon by an ancient curse to create articles forecasting trends for the next calendar year, and who am I to deny a hex?
The following items make up my wishlist, so to speak. These are the things I want to see happen for every 2021 marketing strategy. Let’s get started, shall we?
More personality from brands and organizations
Your organization is being perceived as boring, probably. That excitement for its creation and development isn’t coming across for your customers and it’s hurting you. Not literally (goodness no, that would be terrible) but it is negatively affecting your customers willingness to engage with you, which happens to be a hallmark of modern marketing.
Giving your organization a personality humanizes you. It allows customers to feel more comfortable because they are working with people and not some sort of Urkelbot. I don’t trust Urkelbot.
Last I checked, your organization consists of people working hard toward a common goal. Show off the faces and talents of the people turning the cogs. It’s those folks that set you apart. Of course if you have dogs, show those off too.
More entertaining and educational content
I want to be entertained and I want to learn something. I’m a child of the 90’s and I yearn to relive the feeling of watching Beakman’s World on a Saturday morning. I’m also a life-long supporter of any program Mark Mothersbaugh composed the music for.
The content you produce and share online should have a purpose. Most of the time that purpose is to be carried out by either entertaining or educating, but hopefully both. Educating your audience will let them know that you know what you’re talking about. That you’re an expert and should be trusted with their time and, more importantly, money.
Entertaining them will keep them coming back for more. It’s what gets them to engage with you rather than immediately scrolling past.
Combine these two approaches and you’ve got yourself a multi-season behemoth that still holds live tours to this day. The analogy might not be that accurate, but you get the picture.
Transparency
What are you up to? What’s going on behind that opulent, crushed-velvet curtain of yours?
If you can’t pull back that curtain and show the people what you’re doing, you’re going to lose their trust real quick. Why and how you do something is important to everyone involved, not just you.
Showing your audience how the sausage is made is a great way to educate, entertain and show off your personality.
HOLY S***, DID I JUST FULL CIRCLE THIS THING?!