Do you work for a digital advertising company or do you own your own business? If so then you’ll know that there’s a lot to think about and that the world is moving away from more traditional advertising and to digital campaigns.
But what will the future of advertising look like in 2021? Will it still be on the rise? What sites will dominate and where best to focus your resources?
These are some of the questions that learning about advertising trends can help.
1. More Digital Advertising Due to the Pandemic
Digital advertising was important in the 2020s anyway but the pandemic has increased its value ten-fold. Everybody is sat inside, working remotely. They are also watching television and films and participating in other forms of entertainment online, your audience just increased by a huge amount.
Shares and stocks in online companies have all increased while traditional based companies are collapsing. There’s never been a better time to start up an online advertising agency.
A Search Engine Boost
Search Engine Optimization or SEO has become a big part of a digital advertising campaign and is more prevalent than ever. As well as straight forward advertising many firms now want to increase the traffic to their websites and blogs. This is so they can sell more of their products and services.
One of the ways they do this is through the insertion of paid backlinks on other websites and on newspaper and magazine websites. Major SEO agencies have the leverage and contacts to get a link to your site included on big-name websites.
Sat at home alone or with their families, people are now reading more content than ever before. They are also making more Google searches then they have done in the past.
2. Possible Depression
Unfortunately, one thing we are all likely to be contending with, in 2021, is a possible global depression unseen since the 18th Century and much bigger than the Great Depression that began in 1929.
This means that many big companies will have less money to spend. As a digital advertising pro, it’s your job to encourage people to prioritize your agency over things they might want to spend their money on.
Since we are all working remotely anyway, many companies are shedding their big offices in New York, L.A, and London in favor of going digital. You could pitch your digital advertising brand as a necessary expense as part of their move away from a physical office and physical work.
High End vs. Low End
While ordinary and middle-class people will have to tighten their belts, rich people and people who have cashed in on the digital revolution will have bigger budgets to spend on digital advertising.
The market seems as if it’s going to split in half. There will be clients with a lot of money who are able to spend vast sums that you could target but there will also be opportunities for low budget campaigns.
With the market split into two camps, you will have to decide which avenue to go down and how to market yourself correctly as either low budget or high budget. For example, a small business might just want a few ads on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter that you could set up for them for a small fee.
High-end clients will also probably want to advertise on video platforms like Hulu and Amazon Prime so make sure that your customers understand that advertising on Hulu is an option for them.
Make sure you sort your taxes out though for digital advertising.
3. Instagram Is on the Rise
A lot has been written about the importance of digital advertising on Facebook but Instagram seems to be the rising star of 2021.
Unlike Twitter which has become a toxic place for many where it’s easy to become embroiled in cancel culture and toxic debates, Instagram is a more popular and happier platform.
It is becoming more transparent and Instagram influencers are having less of a pull than they once did but there’s plenty of scope for more authentic campaigns.
As well as the traditional adverts that appear when people are scrolling through stories and looking at posts, you could also encourage the businesses you do work for to set up their own accounts.
People increasingly like to see the real people behind the campaigns not just the corporate face of the business. So it could be important for your employees to have their own personal accounts where they post about life behind-the-scenes at the company.
As people move away from Twitter and Facebook, businesses might find that their advertising campaigns naturally become collaborative. This means that when a business or service uses a service of another business to help them they shout about it on their own platform.
One example is companies that use particular payroll software or accounting software. If it’s working for them then putting it on their Instagram account could work well. You might get traction and likes from them and in return, they might big you up on Instagram as well.
Digital Advertising: Big Business in 2021
Digital advertising is likely to be huge in 2021. With the lockdown showing no signs of abating and all the signs showing that a depression on a scale not seen since the eighteenth century is on its way, people will be looking to digital for everything.
This article was edited and published by Rick Weinberg, California Business Journal’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief. Click here for Rick Weinberg’s biography.
