Why 2021 Is the Best Year for Digital Marketing and E-Commerce

If you are a marketer or an e-commerce owner, you have surely encountered the COVID-19-related difficulties in 2020. We all waited for some months in the hope of better days but the whole year turned out to be affected. Many businesses launched their online presence and started selling online to recover from the damages caused by COVID-19.

People, on the other hand, changed their lifestyles as a result of quarantine and lockdown and replaced physical shopping with online shopping (if not already having done so). They also made online courses a safer substitution for physical learning. All in all, the routine transformations are significantly large now which signifies how business strategies can be outdated or totally ineffective within a few weeks.

The doomed 2020 has ended and here we are with gloomy 2021 now. No one can be certain about how 2021 is about to be, but it is possible to predict and customize digital marketing and e-commerce strategies with regard to the estimations.

How Has Online Shopping Become a Trend in 2020?

The 77% growth of online shopping in May 2020 is quite thought-provoking. It is obviously wrong to say that it was not a common method before COVID-19 but it was never a habit as it is today to most people.

To comply with anti-COVID-19 rules and regulations and to provide more safety, people have preferred online shopping over traditional physical shopping in stores and shops. The new condition moved people towards preferring online shopping but what has caused it to become a habit is the so many advantages of online shopping. These privileges are the accessibility to a wider variety of products, promotions, and discounts, safety, convenience, time-saving nature, etc.

Regarding the change in people’s attitude toward online shopping, many businesses started to consider online sales for their damaged revenues. As for the privileges of online shopping, e-commerce businesses will still make profits even if COVID-19 leaves us free.

How Have Online Academic Events and Education Become a Trend in 2020?

Another transformed form of routine habits is participation in classes, courses, and educational events. New concepts such as online teaching are now completely accepted by the majority of people. Webinars, virtual conferences, social meetings, live sessions, etc. are nowadays widely used to learn something new or to enhance knowledge in 2021.

Virtual learning and online participation have become a trend due to several reasons. Among these reasons, we can mention time efficiency, budget-friendliness, being accessible from any region and location, being easy to take part in, etc.

How to Boost Digital Marketing for eCommerce in 2021?

Now that we know why 2021 is the best year for digital marketing and e-commerce, it is time to know how to boost your digital marketing strategies. Here are some tips:

1. Consider Voice Search

Despite the common thoughts, voice search is growing and getting more popular remarkably. As the name suggests, users should only speak about what they are looking for instead of typing. Voice assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, and Alexa are getting more attention these days.

One good advantage of voice search over traditional search is that in voice search you do not have to search for the location though you need to write it in traditional search. Voice search has already influenced local SEO so when you search for a flower shop, your search results will be all in your local neighborhood.

Therefore, considering voice search for your e-commerce would be highly efficient and helpful for your audience or customers.

2. Create Short Videos

In the modern era, people are too bored to tolerate a one-hour video about the presentation of a new product. We have become less tolerant and too preoccupied with daily tasks that we do not have too much time for long videos. In addition, due to the growth of media in general, we have been exposed to many various images and concepts that we can hardly get fascinated by normal uncreative content.

Hence, short videos with highly creative content are getting more popular lately. This can clearly explain the fast popularity of Tik Tok, the platform which is featuring short videos. No matter the subject of your video, you should keep them captivating and short. Be it an advertising video, informative video, entertaining video, etc. you should always think about how to engage your viewer within a short amount of time.

The short amount of time means that you should keep them shorter than 2 to 3 minutes. So, they will watch your video and therefore you get close to the fulfillment of your goal which is sales.

3. Work on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Conversion is the process in which the leads you have attracted turn into your customers through buying your products. The decision they make to buy from you depends hugely on the series of strategies you adopt to create a better journey for them out of your conversion funnel in your website. In other words, it depends on your Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).

Conversion rate compares the number of your website visitors and the total number of your purchases. CRO enables you to carry out better and more effective strategies to convert your qualified leads. Therefore, it allows you to get more customers from your traffic.

As advertising channels have become more diverse in number and nature, you as a business owner or marketer should really consider CRO for your e-commerce business. One important thing you should always do is to measure the online behavior of your prospects. Check the number of clicks, bounces, time spent on each page, etc. to get a clear idea about how you can enhance your conversion rate.

In addition, you can do the same for your social media as well. For instance, if you check your Instagram analytics, you can see how your audience interacts with your posts and stories. If you do not have as many followers as you want you can get organic followers from Instagram follower apps.

4. Make Your Website Mobile Responsive

With the advancement in smartphones during the recent years, there is not much difference between a PC or laptop and a smartphone. Therefore, people have gotten used to using them interchangeably. According to a survey, it has been predicted that 73% of consumers would buy online using their smartphones by the end of 2021.

So, if your e-commerce website is not optimized for smartphones, you lose a great number of your audience. Use Google Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your website is mobile-responsive or not. Then learn factors for great site engagement and take necessary actions.

5. Take Sustainable Development into Account

Many eCommerce businesses are taking part in sustainable development goals worldwide as pollution is severely destructing the Earth. Take these goals into account and devote some sections in your website or social media to promote your sustainable goals support. For instance, you can devote some percentage of your revenues to environmentally friendly actions.

This way, people become more encouraged to buy from you because they know that some of the money that they pay goes to helping and rescuing the environment for future generations.

Conclusion

E-Commerce has already occupied today’s world of business on the one hand and transformed people’s shopping habits on the other. Though there is a better situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, you should take all necessary strategies to make your brand more available to your customers and keep yourself high in the market. The above-mentioned tips help you to take the right steps. Wish you the best of luck!

I am Parichehr Parsi, a born writer, and a freelance copywriter in the fields of travel, fashion, and Instagram marketing. I currently write for AiSchedul and online magazines in Italy and I love reading, writing, and researching. Find me on LinkedIn!