Increasing Internet Traffic
As the country reopens little by little, we can hopefully start to put the bad memories of the pandemic behind us. But how do you approach this new world from a marketing perspective?
As a marketer or business, you’re likely to have lots of questions. For example, should your marketing strategy be different now to pre-pandemic efforts? What is the state of the internet currently? Where should I focus my attention in the coming weeks and months?
In this guide, we’re going to touch on some of the most important considerations when planning your marketing strategy for this year. We’ll look at some of the current trends and expectations for 2021!
Read More: Top COVID-19 Search Trends
Overall Traffic Growth
First and foremost, overall traffic has grown significantly over the last year. According to Kepios, around 60% of the world’s population now has access to the internet and uses it regularly. If we look back 12 months, the number of global internet users has grown by between 7% and 8%. What does this mean? A total of 4.7 billion people online in 2021.
The interesting thing about this statistic is that the pandemic has limited the capabilities of research companies. Therefore, the real number could actually be much higher than the figures in this guide.
Thankfully, it’s easier for social media companies to keep an eye on their user base. Therefore, we know that the growth of social media users is faster than the growth of internet users. Social media companies collect their own data and can quickly see how people use the platforms over time.
Before the pandemic, some would have claimed that people couldn’t possibly spend more time on social media. However, they didn’t know that a global pandemic was about to change the world. Compared to early 2020, the number of people using social media has grown by over 500 million.
Why? It’s likely an attempt for people to stay in contact with colleagues, friends, and family members while forced to work from home. During the various lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, people wanted to feel connected, and social media was one of the best ways to achieve this.
Naturally, we’re focusing on North America and a market where around nine in ten people now use the internet (a similar figure to Western and Northern Europe). In fact, the United States has just over 6% of the total global internet user base.
Social Media is Key (Not a Surprise!)
If you’re to take advantage of the internet traffic growth, you’ll need to pay attention to social media as an advertiser. Therefore, we won’t spend too much time discussing it. We mentioned that 500 million more people now use social media in the world, which means that 1.4 million people joined social media PER DAY between March 2020 and March 2021.
Facebook has over 2.7 billion active monthly users, YouTube is pushing 2.3 billion and WhatsApp has 2 billion. As an advertiser, you need to use social media both for organic posts and paid ads. With billions of people using these platforms, it’s an ideal place for exposure, brand awareness, and conversions.
Of course, the secret to success is choosing the right platform for the right audience. Just because Snapchat only has 500 million active monthly users, this doesn’t mean it’s instantly not as valuable as Facebook and others. Consider your audience, consider each platform, and make sure they work in harmony at all times.
Local Searches
Another area in which you can focus as an advertiser this year is on local searches. As more of the population receive their vaccinations, consumer confidence continues to increase. After one whole year of staying at home, people are ready to visit restaurants, museums, hotels, hair salons, nail salons, and other local businesses.
While take-out was the ultimate solution for some time, people now want to eat out with their friends and family. Quite quickly, the trend for dining-in searches is replacing the take-out wave. This information isn’t just pertinent to restaurants because it shows that people are shopping locally and are more willing to visit physical stores for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
If you have a physical store of any kind, make sure you’re focusing on local search and appearing to those within a certain radius.
Read More: 10 Ways Geo-Targeting Can Advance Your Marketing Campaign
A New Digital Environment
While individuals are happy to get back out into the world, it’s fair to say that businesses are exercising more caution. Over the last year, new trends and habits have developed that will take much longer than a couple of weeks to overhaul. In the Western world, a significant number of businesses have already considered keeping a certain percentage of the workforce at home. They can save on office space and overheads, the staff enjoys splitting their time between the office and home, and everybody wins.
Read More: How Your Business Can Support WFH Employees
If you rely on B2B sales, keep in mind that most businesses (like yourself) are still relying on digital tools. After a year of Zoom meetings, most businesses won’t want to go back to physical meetings if they aren’t necessary. Not because of the COVID-19 risk, but because it allows them to save resources.
Though most consumers are ready to go out and see the world in some areas, this isn’t to say that we will immediately undo the patterns and habits built since March 2020. As an advertiser, we recommend a hybrid approach where you’re available for consumers wherever THEY need you. While some will want to visit a physical store, some still lack confidence and prefer to shop online.
Your marketing strategy should consider the evolving needs of consumers (as always!). If you can appeal to both, you have the best chance of growth while the pandemic still lingers.
WhatsApp the Underdog
We’ve seen all the numbers and how Facebook and YouTube lead the way for user base size, but a recent survey discovered that WhatsApp is now the ‘favorite’ platform for many social media users. In the study from GWI, around one-quarter of all respondents chose WhatsApp as their personal favorite social media platform. Although YouTube was discounted from the study (it was classified as a video-sharing platform instead), WhatsApp still finished above Facebook and Instagram.
Read More: YouTube and Big Tech: Are They Profiting from the Pandemic?
After these two runners-up, no platform even got close. Twitter, TikTok, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Reddit all had under 5%. In particular, WhatsApp was the strongest for all those between 35 and 64. On the other hand, Instagram was the favored platform for those between 16 and 34. Meanwhile, Facebook maintained a high average through all age groups despite not winning any individual age groups.
Once again, this provides an opportunity for advertisers. People enjoy using WhatsApp more than any other social media platform, so offer this communication method to customers, start conversations (with their permission, of course), and upload stories onto the platform.
Brand Presence
As an advertiser, there’s another reason why you need to have a presence on social media: because a significant number of people look to social media when seeking information about a brand or product. Although this is more prominent in younger consumers (around half look to social media), even around 30% of those between 55 and 64 looks on social media when researching a brand.
Make sure your brand has a presence on social media and ensure that customers find positive information when they search. Post regularly, keep all profiles up to date, thank customers for positive feedback, address negative feedback, and make sure that your business is represented well on these platforms.
Read More: Brand Building 101
Motivation and Purpose
There are more people on the internet than ever before, does this mean that selling is easier? Well, not necessarily. It makes people more accessible, but around 50% of social media users still say that keeping up with friends and family is their main reason for using the platforms. Therefore, not everybody wants to spend money on brands. Advertisers need a plethora of content to guide people through the purchasing funnel and warm up cold leads.
The second-biggest reason for using social media is to fill spare time, and this is where advertising is welcomed. Elsewhere, people also use social media to keep up with news, read entertaining content, and see current trends.
Summary
We’ve presented some interesting information in this guide, and we hope you can use it to boost your marketing strategy this year. Yes, more people are using the internet in 2021. However, it’s only when you consider how, when, and why people use the internet that you really open up marketing opportunities. Good luck!
Read More: 10 Best Cross-Platform Social Media Management Tools
