If we learned anything from 2020, it’s that nothing in life (or business) is certain.

And if we learned two things, it’s that people adapt. As business owners, we saw customer needs change faster than ever before. For us as digital marketing professionals, this was both scary and exciting. By staying in close contact with our clients and partners, we uncovered insights in real time which created opportunities to evolve our service offerings and enhance communication with our community.

We hosted virtual events, including our very first “Living Room Business Summit,” designed new tools, templates, and training programs for our #FlexYourInfluence Member Community, and launched new, flexible ways to work with us with The Hybrid packages.

So where do we go from here?

We’re evaluating emerging trends, and turning away from strategies that no longer serve us. This might mean designing more streamlined, targeted campaigns for our clients as opposed to the “full 360” campaigns of years past. It might also mean getting smarter about customer listening, and making adjustments to preconceived notions about what they want.

All things considered, here are some marketing strategies we plan to implement in 2021:

• Virtual First - we are adopting a virtual-first mindset for all aspects of our business. We believe that virtual accessibility will continue to be a valuable competitive advantage, even as people return to in-person meetings and events, and have partnered with companies like Meeting Nerd to stay ahead of the curve.
• Agile Everything - we are investing in systems, technology, and strategies that allow our agency team and clients to stay nimble and react to changes faster than ever. In practice, this means dedicating time to document standard operating procedures so that our team knows how and where to access important agency information. For our clients, this means creating a content strategy framework that ensures key metrics are met but also allows for flexibility when developing creative content (hint: it’s all about THEMES!)
• Decluttered Digital Presence - no, you don’t need to be everywhere with everything! We are focusing our efforts strategically, developing custom content for each of our podcasts and targeted campaigns for LinkedIn while maintaining an evergreen presence on all of the table stakes platforms.
• Increased Visibility - this past year has given us a renewed energy around the value of SEO as people are searching for products, services and information more than ever before. (We even revamped our SEO services and are offering a free website audit!)

We hope these strategies will inspire you in your own marketing efforts this year. Connect with us and let us know what you plan to leave behind in 2020, and what you’re looking forward to implementing in 2021.

Wishing you a safe, inspiring, and prosperous 2021!

~ Faryn and the SocializeLA.com Team