What trends can we expect to see in 2021?
An insight to the trends for the year.
2020 made everyone think. Really think. It reshaped our audiences, relationships, lifestyle, and social lives. It was the year of the digital revolution.
So, what does this mean for 2021? Will the virtual necessities of 2020 become permanent?
What we do know is that there are already trends you need to be aware of. Here are our top three.
1. Online events will thrive
Virtual classrooms, conferences, gigs, and pub quizzes have become such an important way of accessing education, culture, and live entertainment. It’s our new norm.
We’ve seen the flexibility, accessibility, and economy of taking everything online. There’s no travel required. They’re not expensive to run or attend. And they come with features and interesting perks that cater for higher participation, not just from guests but also from speakers.
These aren’t just great benefits for your existing audiences, they are great for opening up your events to entirely new groups.
If you haven’t invested in this space, why not start now?
2. Personalise, Personalise, Personalise
Without the option of physical consumer experiences, customers are demanding greater personalisation with their digital ones.
Personalised recommendations and communications are standard now, and any brand lacking is falling behind.
Expertise creates trust and credibility, in any form. If you haven’t already, you need to look into capturing and utilising consumer data. You need to understand your audiences’ habits perhaps more than they understand themselves.
Amazon is – obviously – a leading example. How they suggest products to buy and explore, know exactly where you are in your buying cycle, and use this information in meaningful and personal ways leads the way in using data to shape a truly personal shopping experience.
3. Extending shopping experience to social media
It’s already begun in some cases, but 2021 will see the rise of in-app purchasing on social media.
Like Instagram Shops. Users can move through the buying cycle from awareness to purchase without ever leaving the app.
It can be a great way to shop – everything’s in one place. But they need to be careful.
Instagram were first criticised for monetising the platform after introducing ads, and now many see the Shops feature as just another money grabber.
Design your presence as a natural extension of your customer’s social media experience. Rather than the hard sell, it’s more of a casual suggestion thing. When it’s done right, it can be huge.
