It’s list season, so what kind of blog would this be if I did not create my own list?

Large and small organizations have a cap. Does their staff have the resources, the knowledge, the tools, the budget? Without a cap would we really need a consultant or an agency?

Keeping capacity in mind, I put together a list of 3 things that I’m working with organizations to incorporate as part of their 2021 marketing plans. These tactics are not meant to be the basis of a comprehensive strategy. They are meant to provide a few more impactful tools to your marketing toolbelt.

Here’s my list of attainable marketing tactics that you should look at as part of your 2021 marketing strategy.

#1 – Messenger Marketing

We’ve all interacted with chatbots (there are more than 300,000 of them on Facebook Messenger alone). 2021 is the year they’ll shine as martech stacks get more integrated it’s more attainable to create comprehensive flows that better engage with consumers across platforms

We’ve all seen customer service bots or tried to return something to Amazon or any other large organization that offers a ‘chat.’ While this is predominately where chatbots have settled in, I strongly advocate for using bots to acquire new customers and engage with consumers at all phases in their journey.

A recent report shows that 56% of messenger app users have messaged brands at all stages in their customer journey. Let’s put that in perspective, on Facebook alone there are more than 40 million active monthly Messenger users. That means more than 20 million people have (or at least tried to) engage with a brand sometime during their decision-making process. That’s a huge audience that can’t be ignored.

Chatbots are an important part of engagement because they provide scale. Studies show that over 66% of consumers feel more confident about making a purchase when they see the brand is active on messenger platforms. Being active also makes more than 50% of people feel more connected to a brand. This is key as younger consumers often purchase from brands form a bond with and social sales are increasing.

It’s not practical to pay someone (or a whole team of people) to provide responses or be ‘active’ on messenger platforms. We live in the world of now, so a delay in responses can be a turn-off for consumers.

A couple of ideas to incorporate chatbots

As I mentioned above, I’m an advocate for using chatbots throughout the customer journey. Here are a couple of ways you can use bots as part of your digital experience in 2021.

• Help with compliance – This is an extension of the customer service bot. It would focus on the data you have on customers and help you comply with GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy laws. Provided requested information to customers can a lot of staff time, but it doesn’t have to.
• Expanding paid efforts – Connecting with customers is key. Chatbots used as a continuation of paid ads can provide a personalized approach to customer acquisition on platforms like Facebook where consumers can become customers without ever leaving the social experience.

#2 – Personalized Video

Overall I can not emphasize the importance of personalization across all marketing.

72% of consumers only engage with personalized messages from brands. And more than 90% say they are more likely to shop with brands that provide personalized experiences.

While much of my focus for this post is on consumers, these tactics also are effective for nonprofits and membership organizations. There’s a lot of choices in today’s society. A lot of reasons for people to not do something. Providing personalized content, recommendations, etc. is one small way to give them a reason to stay. A tangible example that shows you, as an organization, listened and care about your customers.

One of the most interesting personalization tactics I’ve employed is personalized video. I’m not talking about the whiteboard style video we’ve all seen in the past as part of a virtual Christmas card. I’m talking about a commercial quality video that’s full of personalized scenes and information.

Looking at the numbers, 85% of America’s internet audience reportedly watch video online. 93% of that audience admit they don’t get relevant marketing communications. We can change that through personalized video.

There are a lot of ways to create a personalized approach to video. It’s not just about a name or showing them that you have their information, it’s a way to add value, to create connection.

As an example, an organization that sells different types of healthcare supplements can create a lot of personalized videos. Maybe they use data to create a video when it’s time to buy more products or leave a review. Yes, it can include their name, but it can also include product images of the product they purchased. It can provide a discount and it can provide a geographic connection through imagery. Oh, and did I forget to mention the video would be created automatically.

A couple of ideas to incorporate personalized video

Using data to power video content makes personalized video attainable. Yes, it requires coordination and organization, but it provides the opportunity to create something unique and memorable. Here are a couple of ways you could add personalized videos to your marketing mix:

• Include in messenger marketing – Messenger marketing (as described above) is the perfect chance to progressively profile consumers. That data can be used to create a video that highlights recommended products and provides an additional nudge to viewers.
• B2B onboarding – When you onboard new partners a personalized video can highlight their benefit of working with you while introducing them to your ‘family.’

Native Sponsored Content + Paid Content Discovery

Today’s publications are blending advertisements and editorials more than ever. It’s created a rise in advertorials and a blurring of the line between paid for and independently created content.

2 of 3 consumers under the age of 55 trusts sponsored content more than traditional digital ads. Today’s consumers do their own research and with a plethora of options available, trust is key. Being able to position your product on platforms matters. Creating and sharing content that explains your product to people who are interested increases the understanding of your products. This content ultimately feels less like marketing while providing the same (if not more) value.

We’ve all seen this type of content. From paid posts (like this one from Allbirds) to content recommendations across the bottom of your favorite news site. These paid efforts put your content in front of the right audience at the right time.

A couple of ideas to incorporate sponsored ads + paid content discovery

Here are a couple of ideas to include this as a mix into your 2021 ad mix:

• Sequence messages – Most platforms allow ad sequences. You can introduce consumers to your brand and ensure they see content that is created for where they are in their personal customer journey.
• Do your research + use your data – For these efforts to be successful, you have to know your audience. This includes the right content mix. A general sequence could start with a video, then showing an article, then a product page with reviews, then a video that shows results. If a person visited the product page already they can jump ahead or if they never visit the product page they could get a different variation of a video or article.

It’s never good to just throw money at marketing. You need to have a strategy. I help organizations large and small insert a personalized approach to all stages of their funnel. This takes time. It’s hard work, but when done correctly, it’s incredibly powerful.