2020 forced most companies to deviate from their intended marketing plans. Events were canceled, campaign budgets were slashed, and consumers demanded more than excellent product and top-notch customer service.​ While 2020 forced teams to adapt their marketing strategies on the fly, this year presents the opportunity to tailor strategies to the new digital marketing landscape. ​ Here are 7 trends to inspire new ideas for your 2021 marketing plan.

1. 2021 Marketing Trends
7 tasty ideas to fuel your marketing strategy

2. It’s a new game
& you need a new playbook.
2020 forced most companies to deviate from their
intended marketing plans. Events were canceled,
campaign budgets were slashed, and consumers
demanded more than excellent product and top-notch
customer service.
While 2020 forced teams to adapt their marketing
strategies on the fly, this year presents the opportunity to
tailor strategies to the new digital marketing landscape.
Here are 7 trends to inspire new ideas for your 2021
marketing plan.

3. #1. Virtual Events
2020 saw the rise of digital tradeshows, digital trade show
booths, and other virtual events. This year, plan ahead to
improve on your digital event presence with raised
awareness and accessibility, more solutions for two-way
communication, and more features for customer
engagement.
With virtual events proving themselves to be more cost
effective while generating more insights than their in-
person equivalents, virtual events are here to stay.
Visit Marketo.com to learn more.

4. #2. Video Content
Stats show video content increases ROI and engagement,
yet companies are still slow to adopt video as a major
component of their strategy.
It has been estimated that by 2022, online videos will
make up over 82% of online consumer engagement,
marking a 15x increase over the last 3 years.
Struggling to generate video ideas? Start by converting
proven text-based content into short and simple narrated
videos to share on social media. You don’t need a
Hollywood production to engage your customers.
Visit Omnicore to learn more.

5. #3. Focus on Retention
From data scandals to ethical stances, the events of 2020
put customer loyalty to the test. As we continue to push
through the pandemic, companies should look to
reassure customers and remind them of what made them
customers in the first place by shifting focus from new
leads to retention.
Consider these questions:
• How has your customer’s world changed?
• How can you support them through that change?
• Can you improve the lines of communication?
• Are there new areas for you to provide value?
Visit Marketinginsidergroup to learn more.

6. #4. Get “Smarketing”
87% of sales and marketing leaders say sales and
marketing collaboration enables critical business growth.
ABM, Digital tools, and other tactics have pushed
marketing and sales teams to align. This year, take it a
step further and blend the two together for a full-funnel,
fully integrated "Smarketing" team. Doing so should help
you develop a more detailed and actionable
understanding of your customer and their needs.
Visit Hubspot to learn more.

7. #5. Build a Community
In 2021, companies should aim to provide more than
product. Look to tie virtual events, video content, social
media, and other digital engagements together to form a
greater value-added experience for customers.
Build a community where customers gain insider access
to your brand, ongoing expert information, a consumer
social network, loyalty programs, and more.
Visit Hubspot to learn more.

8. #6. Next-level ABM
and Personalization
Every one of your customers is unique.
63% of consumers are highly annoyed with generic
advertising blasts. Teams should leverage the ever-
expanding data their digital tools provide by deploying
more personalized strategies.
Segment your campaign targets into smaller groups, add
more options to your chatbot decision tree, and further
invest in one-on-one communication.
Visit Singlegrain to learn more.

9. #7. Live Chats and
Direct Communication
While email marketing still has a place in your stack, it's
getting harder and harder to cut through all the noise.
With nearly 50% of all emails being spam and 3 of the top
5 globally-used social media platforms being messenger
apps, companies should consider evolving how they
communicate with customers.
According to Comm100, Live Chat beats out Email in
terms of customer satisfaction by 21%.
Visit SuperOffice to learn more.

10. Try something new
In person events aren’t coming back and third-party
cookies are on the ropes. Inspire new ideas by applying
these trends to your business and use this year as an
opportunity to build on what you leaned in 2020.
Not sure where to start?
Contact the Stryve team for support on your
2021 marketing strategy.