Looking ahead to 2021

After the year we’ve had, I think everyone would agree that they’re ready to get their Christmas trees out and call it a year! However, before dismissing 2020 completely, we should use the last couple of months wisely, preparing for the year ahead. New Year, New Strategy.

Looking ahead to 2021, there are some paid media trends to watch out for to ensure you are ready to start the New Year with a bang.

“Siri, where’s my nearest furniture store?”

According to recent statistics, 41% of adults are using voice search in their everyday routine and by the end of 2020, it’s estimated that 50% of all online searches will be initiated by voice. Therefore, it’s crucial to consider how this could affect your business and understand how you can adopt a voice search strategy in order to help customers undergo an optimised and unique online experience.

A development in paid voice search advertising hasn’t yet made it to the mainstream, but that’s not to say that it won’t. Due to an increase in technological changes, it’s inevitable that we should expect to see these advancements start to emerge soon. Until then, you can get ahead with some preparation strategies.

Researchers have discovered that voice search queries are generally longer, with seven or more words included. If you already advertise via paid search or are looking to start, then your new strategy should include a campaign bidding specifically on ‘long tail’, more detailed keywords to capture these type of searches. Then, if you notice that most of your voice searches typically include multiple words or a certain phrase repeatedly, it’s time to optimise for that search query.

Adopting a more conversational tone on your website is a voice-search friendly method to utilise for free. As people are typically more conversational when making voice searches, doing so will improve your chances of being served as the answer to their question, helping you to get ahead of the game. This style of writing is more commonly found on FAQ pages, so ensuring you have implemented one of these onto your website will also help.

Similarly, updating pages on your website with ‘long-tail’ keywords is another way to set yourself up for voice search success. Although the implementation of long-tail keywords will undoubtedly drive less traffic to your website, the return on investment will be greater compared to shorter keywords, as the searcher’s intent is higher.

The world is visual – now search is too

Whilst a strategy optimised for voice search may be better for certain aspects of your business, such as increasing footfall in your physical stores with phrases such as, “Hey Siri, where’s my nearest furniture store?”, a surge in visual searching will help boost your online sales.

Visual search has been available since 2017, however, if you are not familiar with it, this search effectively works by taking a picture to begin your search as opposed to a standard text query. For example, take a picture of a vase you like and the visual search will provide you with relevant links to buy it. Nowadays, people want rapid results. This technological advancement helps to achieve this, finding people exactly what they want, fast. See for yourself here: lens.google.com

With search expanding beyond the usual, traditional forms, it is important to understand and take advantage of the new features that continue to be introduced as soon as possible. Along with these evolving features, comes a higher demand of users who will expect them to be implemented. According to research, 62% of millennials and members of Gen Z want to use visual search over all other search types. If this target audience is most relevant to your business, then you need to seriously consider adopting this strategy to ensure you don’t miss out on a high percentage of sales. Search engine giants continue to push the boundaries of what search is and test innovative ways of what it can be. It’s crucial to plan for the future of search, which right now, is skewed towards sensory search.

The year of animated video marketing

Think cartoons are just for kids? Well adults love them too! Animated explainer videos are most popular amongst B2B companies, helping to describe complex business ideas in a fun and entertaining form. Animated videos have also been utilised across other industries, from the financial sector, healthcare, and property to digital marketing.

Want to stay ahead of the game? Consider adopting some of the upcoming animated explainer video trends predicted for 2021, which includes a mobile-first approach, personalisation, the combination of 2D and 3D animation, whiteboard animation, animated customer onboarding, animated site backgrounds and animation in emails.

It is anticipated that in 2021, video marketing featuring cartoon animation will become the most effective digital marketing trend. In a report by Marketing Charts it was forecast that the average online video consumption would not reach 84 minutes per day until 2021. However, a recent report predicts that the viewing time will in fact reach that figure in 2020 and by 2021, it is estimated that the average person will spend 100 minutes every day watching online videos.

Trying to reach a younger audience that spend the majority of their time on social platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter? It is predicted that spending on social video ads will grow by 44%, reaching $14.9 billion by 2021. This will make up 30% of total video spending by 2021, according to a forecast from eMarketer.

As you can see, PPC strategies are constantly evolving. If you want to stay competitive, your marketing strategies need to evolve too. Are you in the position to kick start your advertising campaign for 2021? Fox&Bear is here to help. Get in touch today.