2020 has been quite a year to say the least. Uncertainty, fear, and doubt are just a few emotions that business owners have felt in the past year. So far, more than 100,000 businesses have been forced to close their doors.
In March of 2020, local governments started shutting down businesses for 6 week periods (or longer), forcing businesses to stop all in-person forms of interaction and sales. For most, this was devastating, but for others, this was no big deal.
We were interested in the businesses that this didn’t affect. Why were they seemingly immune to this horrible situation that had caused major problems and such heartache for so many people?
Luckily, we have the opportunity to work with a wide variety of businesses in different industries. Some industries and businesses that were affected by the pandemic, and some that thrived and had a record breaking year.
We dove into the data that we were able to acquire by spending over $2+ million dollars across Facebook and Google in order to provide results for our clients.
Here Are Some of the Trends That we Noticed
Existing Online Presence
The businesses that thrived during this pandemic had an established online presence consisting of a:
- Website (mobile friendly, user friendly and SEO optimized)
- Google Business Listing (optimized and properly categorized)
- Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn accounts
Why do these online platforms matter? Imagine that your store was forced to shut its doors for 6 weeks. How would you let your customers know? How would they reach you? How would you keep in contact with them? How will you let them know that you’re running a promotion or launching a new product?
The online assets listed above help solve all of those problems.
Adapt and Innovate
When the shut downs started happening, people weren’t going anywhere. The amount of online ordering skyrocketed. Before March of 2020, contactless pickup and delivery, curbside pickup, businesses being run through zoom meetings, contactless payments, virtual parties and so much more, didn’t really exist. All of these things were invented and implemented because businesses needed to adapt and innovate in order to keep their doors open. The businesses that made the change and adapted to the new normal were much better off than those that didn’t
Paid Advertising
On top of having an online presence, our clients continued advertising their products and services on Facebook, Instagram and Google. These platforms allow them to get their message in front of people that aren’t familiar with their products or services, as well as keeps their existing customers aware of new products, promotions and/or a different way of doing business.
During the pandemic, ad costs have risen slightly as a result of more businesses than ever started advertising online. We noticed that the businesses that revised their strategy and stayed focused achieved great results.
Some businesses backed off of their paid advertising or to reduce expenses took to the do-it-yourself strategy which left them feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with rejected or disapproved ads and accounts being removed for policy violations. (Did we mention all the policy and privacy updates for Google and Facebook? That’s for a whole other conversation!)
A Strategy That Works Together
The first thing we talk to a new client about when we are onboarding is having a cohesive online presence. That means all of the online assets and platforms they use, work together to accomplish their ultimate goal of driving sales.
For example, if a potential customer sees your ad, clicks on it, visits your website, but doesn’t fill out their information, then that’s okay! Using a cohesive strategy allows our clients to retarget that user with relevant ads that help push them down the sales funnel in order to turn them into a qualified lead.
Conclusion
Having an online presence in 2020 proved to be an absolute necessity, and 2021 will be no different. These are the main takeaways:
- Having the ability to communicate with your customers though your online assets puts your business at an advantage over others.
- Being able to adapt and innovate your products and service to the new normal.
- A cohesive online presence integrated into your paid advertising strategy will bring in new customers that you would not have been able to reach otherwise.
- Have an experienced digital marketing partner to assist you and strategize your brand, messaging and effectively communicate across multiple platforms.
Be Prepared
As we lead into 2021 we know that the date on the calendar won’t make this past year disappear and we must be able to adapt in order to overcome whatever is being thrown our way.
Want a team of digital marketing experts working on your side? Contact TMD Marketing for a free assessment of your business marketing and advertising needs 801-829-9181
Article written by: Coleman Merrill – TMD Marketing Digital Strategist
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