The State of Digital Marketing in 2020

Ok so as an industry insider and owner of a boutique agency, I've been hearing the silent screams and feeling the screeching anxiety of numerous business owners.

The Covid-19 Pandemic has sent shock waves through businesses worldwide and one of the first items to get cut has been DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGETS. The logic is understandable and completely expected of businesses who have lost all hope and drive to fight back, but it's the worst thing you can do if you're a business that plans to exist and thrive post-pandemic.

Yes; family, food, shelter, and household basics are the most important thing to tend to first but that's the ABC thinking of an everyday human, not a business owner. Business owners are not everyday humans. You are in many ways - a Super Human. You think differently and you challenge the status quo to be a designer of your own destiny. Employees think without starting. Entrepreneurs start without thinking. Employees wait for the right time. Entrepreneurs act without thinking about the right time. Employees dream about their plans. Entrepreneurs plan their dreams. Employees think ‘Money is everything’. Entrepreneurs know ‘Time is everything’. With Employees, frustration is permanent. With Entrepreneurs, frustration is temporary.

Now, this may sound a lot like a pro entrepreneur article, versus a story about how digital marketing has changed in 2020, but it's more like a setup for this simple fact: If you are a business owner, you should NOT be cutting back on your Digital Marketing Budgets. While the first thing many business owners do in uncertain and challenging economic times is to frantically cut back on non-essential spending (normal thinking), digital marketing tends to (unfortunately) get grouped into that category. This is a humongous mistake that the majority of small businesses make all too often. They view digital marketing as this extra thing that's typically reserved for larger or more established businesses, postponing it as a business-elevation goal to pursue at a later time when the profits are at their highest. Successful business owners understand and accept the fact that from SEO for your website to developing a social media strategy and beyond, digital marketing is a very necessary ingredient of Small Business Success.

Consumers expect to see some branding - an online presence from the businesses they choose.

It's very important to be where your customers are - at all times of the day and night. You may be a local business in a very small town, but guess what.. you’ll still need a gorgeous website and a sound strategy to effectively compete with local search. After all, you’re not truly limited to only a local audience. That being said, the only way to reach your full growth potential is to craft a strong web presence and make yourself visible to similar audiences outside your local area. Most small businesses completely miss out because they believe that reaching a larger marketplace requires tons of resources. But the best of the best of us know how to growth hack our digital marketing campaigns to give us the most for the least spend. We just know that the investment can pay off tenfold.

So, after this educational quasi-rant, I'm likely leaving you hanging on.. still wondering " Ok, now what's the state of Digital Marketing in 2020?" - Ok, I won't drag you along any longer, so here we go:

1. Brand Storytelling will matter more than before. It's time to step back inside the box by thinking outside. Businesses need to show and share more about what makes them tick, what they believe in, how did they startup, what were their biggest f-ups, how this pandemic challenged them, how did they survive, what makes them tick, what's their purpose, how do they maintain the health expectations of their business and patrons, etc. More photos, more articles, more blogs, more social media, more video, more connections. Bottom line is that if people are willing to give you their money - they deserve to know more about you than ever before. No more pretty photos with no story behind it. No more empty posts that leave you feeling zero emotion. The story is everything now.
2. Agile Marketing will take over. Digital marketers in the post-COVID-19 era will have to rethink their preferred tech stacks. The new deciding factors will now be heavily weighed by which ones can help limit spending, and help them transform their businesses which at this point have likely been negatively altered by the pandemic. The new tech/tool stacks that solve the above - will be now be considered the “new essentials” and the rest will become vanity tools that we use only when profits are sky-high, and we now just want to experiment and play with new tools to make our jobs more fun.
3. "Compassion" is the new BLACK. As the world slowly squeezes through these very uncertain times, COMPASSION in advertising will become a crucial ingredient to keep brands operating within a positive and encouraging light. Businesses must transform themselves into a dependable and reliant resource for their employees, consumers, and key executives. Applying a compassionate layer atop all future advertising initiatives will lead to consumer trust, satisfaction, and loyalty.

In closing, Digital Marketing in 2020 needs to be more human and less mechanical. The old playbooks no longer matter. The new playbook is owned and executed by the consumer.

About VYUDU, Inc.

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Luxottica | Tourneau | Cole Haan | Balmain | Gucci | Brinker & Eliza | Mango & many more.

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Specialties include: Designing / Developing attractive web & mobile shopping experiences with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Laravel PHP Framework.

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We work with strategic partners (Agencies & Consultants) to help produce engaging digital content, attractive design, and intelligent functionality for startups and established brands.

Our goal is to keep web visitors engaged enough to return and refer new business to facilitate repeat transactions by way of product sales and service offerings.

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“Most people pour maple syrup on their waffles.

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Contact me at [email protected] if you need any help with your business strategy, website, app or marketing / SEO campaign.