Digital Marketing is as easy and simultaneously as tough for the marketer, simple, if the proper strategies have been put into place and tough because it’s always dynamic and needs undivided focus to target your campaigns to yield the desired results. With the economies now opening up and major changes being observed across consumer palettes, it goes without saying that the older decisions and style of approach have to undergo visible changes to stay relevant in the game. So why does it so happen, that even after putting in efforts, money, involving meticulous planning and time, plans go wrong? Let’s see some points which can help you further streamline your efforts and help you achieve the desired results.

Reasons why Digital Marketing plans fail?

1. Lack of clarity regarding vision and mission of your organization and campaign goals.
2. Lack of understanding of your competitors or under-estimating them.
3. Inconclusive core marketing strategy.
4. Lack of clarity on the product and services offered by you and inability to define marketing persona on that basis.
5. Unclear understanding on your industry standing and how to operate there, therefore, being unable to position yourself strategically.
6. Lack of proper tracking of your business goals and digital marketing plans and if there’s no sync maintained between the two on a timely basis, and then it will definitely create huge issues.
7. Inability to drive traffic to your webpage without converting traffic to leads, or
   getting the wrong traffic, because there’s lack of regarding understanding which keywords are needed to show up in Google.
8. Not using the correct type of digital campaign and mode of their delivery.
9. Being impatient with results, because sometimes it takes even more than a year for your efforts to fructify.
10. Insufficient budget allocation for Digital Marketing.
11. Poor customer relationship which can result in bad reviews for your business, leading to bad word-of-mouth publicity.

These are just some of the reasons why digital marketing plans fails to yield the desired results, listed below are some ways for you to re-orient your digital marketing strategy if it is floundering:

1. Attention on Re-marketing/Re-targeting – This is a type of paid advertising which isn’t resulted from a search by someone, but this happens once a person already is aware about your website and the product or services offered. The ad display you see while you are exploring the Internet is an example of remarketing. There is also a subset of this known as dynamic remarketing, wherein the content of the shown digital ad changes as per the change in the content on your website. These types of ads are mostly seen for the Automotive Dealer industry where vehicles are changed on a regular basis.
2. Streamlining Content-based marketing – Freshly brewed coffee and freshly curated content, both have one thing in common, i.e., they both attract people by re-invigorating their senses, thereby, the importance of attractive content churned out on a regular basis, shall give your business the much-needed boost. Content written for educational purposes and focused on Call to Action (CTA) at the end; can help your business further. Attractive content not only helps your website rank higher for keywords but also gives the readers a peek into your business.
3. Back-linking/ Off site SEO – This is a highly imperative tactic which can be effectively used for building trust and authority for your website on the various search engines, as these two factors determine how well your website shall rank. A trusted and authoritative website implies a better experience for users who land on it; this is simply because the search engine’s main aim is, that their users have interactive search experiences on their platform.
4. Social Promotion – Any content which is created and posted by you should be shared across various Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, etc. Considering this, it is best to create informative and educational content, so that it attracts the attention of the users and doesn’t seem preachy at the same time, thus, achieving your goal of high customer engagement.

These are some ways to achieve your desired digital marketing goals and any error or deviation if tracked timely can be nipped in the bud. Digital marketing is very interesting and can deliver wondrous results if properly planned and implemented, and Zivanta Analytics can help small businesses and not-for-profits to grow your business fast and deliver desired results.

With the evolution of technology happening at a breakneck speed, financial institutions have to adapt and bring selves at par with the changes, to use gathered data and advanced analytics to gain substantial advantage via personalized communication and enhanced customer experience.

Changes are though visible in all the fields but are more pronounced in the field of marketing, there is a vast array of new  technologies  and strategies available, for which banks, credit counseling agencies and credit unions must  not only be agile but also open to willingly accept the change. Creating and establishing an efficient marketing communications strategy— as per client’s perspective — enables growth, loyalty and profitability. Diving straight into the marketing process without proper planning and not taking advantage of the available tools of technology available is a sure-shot failed project, from the start.

Some trends to look forward for the credit counseling agencies-

1. AI and Machine Learning (ML) – The importance of AI based tools can’t be emphasized more for financial institutions. As they maneuver beyond its use in detecting risk, fraud and compliance, AI and ML have taken centre-stage and are becoming mainstream technologies, thus the fact that marketers must understand their benefits and uses, is undeniable. It is imperative for every financial marketing organization to have a well thought of AI strategy in 2021. Use of keywords and search histories to configure consumer intent, is in the past now. With the availability of AI based tools and techniques and machine learning, credit counseling agencies and credit unions can identify the consumer’s intention automatically, thereby effective use of sources such as social media, online account transactions and related behaviors can self-determine the match and the resultant intent to offerings.

(P.C. – Unsplash, @photoshobby)

2. Chat-bots – The use of this technology has already gained stronghold as a key component of various online portals, whether they be of customer care or marketing or banking, etc. With the current trend witnessing a surge in the usage of this application, the use of chat-bots is only going up north. The initial purpose of chat-bots were that to replace human customer service representatives who were managing predictable inquiries, routine tasks or frequently asked questions, in a bid to save extra financial costs, chat-bots were launched and hence their efficacy has improved the fortunes of many. The best part about Chat-bots is the convenience offered, i.e. they can be integrated with a website, an application, or even with a social media platform. The information gathered and stored, can later be used to better customize financial marketing strategies. As more and more credit counseling agencies and credit unions have gained ease for using chat-bots, more has been the increase in the use of chat-bots for sending personalized advisory mails as well as, enhanced and productive engagements with customers and members, has been observed. We at Zivanta Analytics can assist you with this technology to help you gain the exact traction you are seeking.

3. Mobile Marketing- With such a large population now having access to mobiles and prefer performing search inquiries and accessing their financial accounts via their mobile devices, it is high time now that credit counseling agencies and credit unions urgently re-work their marketing strategies focusing on mobile, and not only now keeping it limited to providing account information, but also designing it in a way to inform, engage and advise customers who are on-the-go. This doesn’t halt at ensuring that your site has been designed and created with mobile users in mind from a design perspective, but also seriously focus and emphasize on the content provided. It is of prime importance to work as per the intent of the consumers who in all likelihood are going to search your website on a mobile, and, those as well who shall engage in a transaction on digital devices. Therefore, it is for the agencies and banks to ensure that it is convenient for their client to access the information that may be needed and to productively engage with them using on-time insights generated via analytics.

4. Geo-location Targeting – Geo-location is a part of latest technology offering that can help with the use of devices to help in knowing the location of a customer or a future client. The location of the mobile device can be tracked and monitored via Bluetooth, Internet, IP address and/or GPS.

With the help of this financial institutions can target specific messages created for a those users who lie within a particular geographic region simultaneously, at the same time. With the help of geo-location, credit counseling agencies or credit unions can keep a track on consumer behavior on the basis of information available as per their last location’s, this can be further enhanced with the use of data analytics tools. This information generated and stored over time, can assist financial institutions in predicting the locations/areas frequented by the users and thereby, tailor personalized offers with the help of that information.

5. Interactive website design and content – Consumers are always looking for beauty and comfort, leading to an easy consumer experience, therefore establishing a healthy company-client experience in the initial step itself. Therefore, the website should not only be pleasing to the visual senses, offer ease of usage but also be knowledgeable at the same time and that can be possible only if there’s engaging and relevant content to capture the interest of the users.

(P.C. -N26s polished Google-style website)

The financial market is under lot of stress and generating adequate ROI as well as maintaining and enhancing their customer base is of prime importance. Therefore, enhanced use of technological tools and data analytics will prove to be a game-changer and the key to go forward.

Social media is an immensely powerful tool, which can help social organizations to achieve their target goal and effectively carry out their operations, be it for human or animal welfare or helping the environment, the list is endless; but one thing which immediately strikes the mind of the people is lack of funds, which stands true in a lot of cases across the board.

Since charities and not-for-profits mostly work on a limited budget, it is a challenge that can’t be over-looked and with the ever-growing expenses, performing a multitude of activities becomes a task in itself. Digital Marketing encompasses a lot of different activities be it brand recognition, engaging consumers actively, running membership campaigns, etc. Therefore, it becomes easier for the bigger charities but the real deal happens with the smaller and medium organizations, and here is where Zivanta Marketing can help you set your goals and achieve your target.

A highly feasible option can be maintaining an active and an interactive social media page, across various channels and tap the audience there as well as create a user-friendly interaction and at the same time ensuring that the message for which your charity stands for is being dispersed to the audience at large and ensuring their participation, at the same time.

Ways to promote your message

1. Use of channels like Instagram, Twitter, FaceBook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. – These are varied platforms and offer interaction with audiences in a different way and each channel has their own set of unique users and thus, maintaining an open communication line across different channels, shall bring in people from different walks of life, enlarge your consumer base and most importantly, if the message given is effectively spread out and is felt as genuine, then people themselves shall spread a word about your activities, thus, in the process, making your organization trustworthy and reliable

2. Relevant O.G. tags, meta-tags and use of hash-tags – While creating any social media post, it is important to use relevant hash-tags(#) to easily track, segregate and categorize your content. If your Keyword is preceded by a hash=tag then it lets the user easily search for your content within a particular category, if it falls under their area of interest. In the same manner, pre-fixing relevant meta and o.g. tags for the articles and media galleries on your webpage but not using the hash-tag symbol, can result in letting the user track your content and land up on the desired content. So, basically tags help in organizing same type of posts under a common heading and once the mouse has been clicked upon, it shall divert visitors to the archives page.

(P.C. – Unsplash, @jontyson)

3. Interactive e-mail marketing – Though, people when often are bombarded with a slew of irrelevant mails, they either delete or ignore them, until and unless, they aren’t something of significance to them or unusually stand out apart from the rest. But, it shouldn’t be forgotten that e-mail marketing campaigns are a very strong medium to convey your message to the people, at large. Adding a visually appealing subscription link to your website or social media page and once when the user reaches there, then collecting their e-mail ids to keep them abreast with the latest happenings of your organization, latest initiatives, articles, membership drives, etc. can prove to be a game-changer.

(P.C. – Unsplash, @hostreviews)

4. Use of back-links and influencers – Use and presence of back-links on any website can’t be emphasized more, i.e. in order to build your authority and reach online. Effective use of sharing icon across social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) will definitely help a lot, but the key to seeing optimum results is being pro-active.When your page is linked to other sites, it’s you who is benefitted the most, i.e. your website’s reliability as a source of go-to information is improved. Google shall give higher credit to a website that has a maximum number of back-links, thereby making it more relevant.

Reaching out to relevant influencers and celebrities, who feel about your cause, undoubtedly can help in generating buzz around your activities and give you the much needed leverage, for instance Brad Pitt supporting Donate Life America.

(P.C.- Unsplash, @diggitymarketing)

5.Video Campaign Optimization – Since videos are a constant on your website, they can be used in direct digital marketing initiatives, for instance, using videos in your mail campaigns can instantly double or even triple your click-through-rates and immensely boost your landing page conversion results.

 Videos give a golden chance to the creator to make such videos which can inspire emotions in the hearts of the viewers with the help of strong images and music, this not only helps in creating an impact, building genuine trust but also enable people to make donations for the said cause.

There are immense ways in digital marketing to chart out a customized strategy for you to attain your goals but with proper planning and a well laid out strategy in place, not only can you make your voice heard out and stand apart from the competition but also have a positive ROI to boost your earnings and our experts at Zivanta Marketing can be your partner in this exciting journey ahead.

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” –Simon Sinek

This quote couldn’t have been truer, for any marketer and their targeted audience, it is imperative to sell not only their products or services but the story behind it, because ultimately, that’s what convinces the customer to be genuinely attached to your offering and most importantly, build faith over it. So, where does digital marketing come in? Digital marketing is a tool whose importance can’t be undermined for any business or profession, per se. Therefore, those who are successful have a well thought of and a well strategized plan behind their digital marketing initiatives, those initiatives are designed in such a way which tug at the hearts of the audience, thus, not only an invocating feeling of trust but also building a bridge for genuine connectivity, and we at Zivanta Marketing can precisely help you do that.

Maintaining competitive market relevance, reputation, relevance, and positive customer engagement will determine the sustainability of your business ultimately which links back to great marketing.

(P.C- Unsplash, @clarktibbs)

How does Digital Marketing help you?

1. Helps in consumer gaining insights about your business – Avoiding guess-work is imperative to create the right set of metrics; therefore, testing a different sets of messages before hitting the targeted baseline message for your audience is the key. For every marketer, it is important to understand the needs of their target audience and create the right content to convey the message for what the business stands.
2. Targeted digital marketing helps the business stay relevant – Sometimes businesses take everything to be fine when there is no complaint or any issue raised by the consumer but is that sufficient? Sadly, the truth is no, the most important thing to look out for is determining whether you are on the top of your consumer’s preference. Thus, it is very important to tap on the potential of staying relevant in your clients mind and this can only happen if the relationship is personal and carries meaning for the consumer. But, one thing should be kept in mind and i.e. that before rapidly acquiring new customers, due respect and importance should be given to the existing ones, not only does this help in maintaining brand loyalty but also makes the existing users feel privileged and important.
3. It opens up avenues for revenue and boosts sales – For small businesses, start-ups, not-for-profits, earnings and savings form a major part of their sustenance. Since, in the early days the afore-mentioned types have a limited cash chest to splurge upon, that’s where proper and directed marketing plans can help you penetrate the new markets. Once, your presence is established, therefore, it shall result in generation of more cash and thus opening of more opportunities for you. This shall also enable you to have the freedom of letting go of those customers who don’t further your sustenance rather creates unwarranted burden. If proper marketing isn’t done, then you shall have to tap those limited market opportunities and work with limited clients, even if they aren’t of your liking.

In terms of sales, if the proper targeted channel has been effectively utilized and features on the priority of your audience, voila, your work is done. Hence, following a genuine yet an innovative line of thinking, shall trigger the decision of purchasing your offered product or service and if they like it, then they shall become the best investment, because they act as unspoken brand ambassadors for your business and help in generating a positive aura around your work.

4. Maintaining an effective and an engaging channel with your audience- To stay relevant in the game is of prime importance and that can happen only if there is dynamic and vibrant engagement with the customers and targeted marketing helps you achieve that. Therefore, sharing news-worthy, fresh and relevant content is where the magic happens and most importantly being appreciative of your clients time makes them feel important. Therefore, conveying your message in a short yet engaging and crisp manner definitely rules the roost.

An undoubtedly, effective tool for you in this battle should be those various platforms of Social media, which can help in spreading your message to the people, across the globe and help them engage effectively with your organization. We at Zivanta Marketing can help you in creating and maintaining your social media channels and create useful and engaging content for your targeted audience, to help you generate the right kind of publicity.

(P.C- Unsplash, @merakist)

5. Digital Marketing metrics help the management to make informed decisions – A proper and a detailed study of trends and their subsequent data analytics shall help the management of any company to formulate future course of action, maintain budget and undertake corrective measures, if required. Why is this data of importance, this is so because, it helps maintain a link between the business and the society, so that they are able to generate and receive the directed message, respectively. At Zivanta Marketing, we have a dedicated team of experts who can help you in analyzing the complex data for you and help you in charting out the areas for your future growth and undertake corrective actions, on a timely basis.

(P.C. – Unsplash, @campaign_creators)

 In this highly competitive world of marketing, where competitors engage in aggressive marketing to stay on top of the game, proves the efficacy and efficiency of a well designed digital marketing plan. The importance of the same can’t be denied for any business of any sector, but attracting your customers after a good research and maintaining a positive aura around your campaign can result in wonders for you; but having said that, innovation is the name of the game and hence, continuous new ways to generate attraction and engaging your customers will not only boost your image but also make you stay ahead in the race.

Everything which was a given or was constant pre- COVID 19 has turned topsy turvy, the routine which was a given earlier is now rapidly changing, therefore, people are changing their priorities and way of living. Marketing is one field which is highly dynamic and there shall be possible permanent alterations that have to be incorporated to keep up with the changing times.

Need of the hour- Focus on the basics

 To say the table of needs has inverted won’t be wrong, as the basic needs and necessities have gained prominence and luxury goods and services have taken a hit, which is true for obvious reasons, as people are losing jobs and source of livelihood, managing finances prudently is the need of the hour and even if not that, then since people are mostly spending most of their time indoors, hence spending on items apart from necessity, don’t create much value. This is where businesses dealing in essential services, goods and commodities or selling medicines or safety goods are in a good position to overcome this pandemic and shall stay afloat even after COVID-19 gets over. Unfortunately, the news isn’t that great for tourism sector, entertainment or the beauty industry, per se and a lot of strategic re-working has to be undertaken.

For instance brands like Sephora, L’Oreal, Bobbi Brown, etc. are offering customers’ virtual make-up application try-ons, this has ushered in a wave of tech-based virtual customer acquisition and interaction, thus, where companies may not need the conventional brick- and – mortar stores but can carry on business virtually. Therefore, the immense importance of a strong virtual presence and an interactive website can’t be undermined and Zivanta Marketing can help you in achieving that advantageous spot for you.

Changes in Consumer pattern- Areas to focus on      

1. The Three ‘E’s – E-commerce, Education and Entertainment – E-commerce activities have jumped to a new high during the pandemic and this trend has been noted worldwide, be it for delivery of essentials, grocery, medicines or anything under the roof. People prefer shopping online, whilst sitting at home and avoiding contact with others due to safety concerns and this trend shall definitely continue, more-so, small online players too have picked up the pace and have created their own niche during this time, thereby not only building loyal customers but also building a reputation for selves.

Education – With children staying at home and studying online, so are the college going youth, therefore a lot of online education portals have taken up this space to encourage people to effectively enhance their skill-set. Latest, jumping on the bandwagon are the working and experienced professionals, who have enrolled themselves in these online courses to not only brush up their skills but also keep themselves abreast with the latest developments and progress professionally, for instance platforms like Udemy, Domestika are offering professional, short-term courses at cheaper rates to attract people and have considerably captured a huge market.

(P.C. – Unsplash, @thomascpark)

2. Focus on no-touch product and service delivery – With still major parts of our activity being digital-based, there is still an overwhelming need felt for human-based interactions in some crucial sectors like retail, thus, there arises the need for low and no-touch delivery. From QR code reading to text messages, outside post pickup and delivery, organizations are changing service standards and operations to meet the new safety standards and expectations around adapting to consumer and employee health and safety practices.

Although with these changes being introduced, retailers shall continue to find new ways to display products and services in a safe environment, thus, they should actively leverage tools which can work with the help of augmented reality, virtual reality and building sapid websites that facilitate online orders and/or other e-commerce features.

3.Tapping changes in eating habits – With the pandemic unleashing its wrath on the immunity of the people, there was an unprecedented spurt observed in the focus of the people changing towards health and immunity-boosting foods and avoiding outside food, rather focusing on home-cooked food. In the post-pandemic order, once people start their hectic routine life, they shall still look for healthier options but those too shall be quick and easy, hence, opening avenues for small businesses who are dealing with organic packed food, healthy dietary supplements, home-based pre-cooked meals, DIY kitchen kits, etc. Therefore, there is a huge opportunity for small businesses and upcoming entrepreneurs to tap this market which has a booming potential, and build their own digital space, to not only expand their customer base but also create an interactive digital platform to support the growth of their future business expansion and Zivanta Marketing can help you do just that, by creating and launching a professional and an interactive website for your business, which customers shall love to interact with.

(P.C.- Unsplash, @kimzy)

4. Focus on mental and physical fitness- With the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic affecting even the strongest of the minds, due to lack of clarity and an unaccounted for upheaval, people have turned to online meditation and yoga classes for gaining mental peace, building mental resilience and also building a healthy physique. With sitting and working from home and, leading to a sedentary lifestyle, people have joined online gym classes to continue with a healthy lifestyle and at the same time avoiding contact with others. Therefore, tools like VR/ AR and effective use of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc. have helped generate buzz around these services and have enabled in creating a holistic environment wherein the beneficiaries are able to use all these services within the comfort of their homes, but most importantly have opened a plethora of opportunities for small gym-owners, health centers to build their name and reputation in the highly competitive market.

(P.C. – Unsplash, @jareddrice)

With every challenge comes an untapped opportunity, it is up-to the organization and marketers to decide, how they wish to go ahead. Nowadays, money is being invested more on digital media platforms; therefore, it shall be prudent to create a good digital media mix of mobile phone, social media and videos, by keeping in mind the reaction of your targeted audience. Focus these days, is more on personalization, a clear point of communication has to be established with the customers and most importantly, those organization/brands which focus more on the social good, definitely have an advantage as that helps builds positivity amongst people to weather these tough and negative times. Consumer patterns have changed, and that change is irrevocable, it is now for the companies to decide how to invest their money and reap a good ROI, even in these challenging times.

With the year 2020, nearly on the verge of being rounded up, it’s time to peak out of the window and gauge the upcoming market trends to understand and be prepared for the future and gain competitive advantage over your competitors. Being ready before hand can shape your strategic position and communications and help evolve a business design which can facilitate your interaction with the targeted audience and yield the desired results for you; because the audience per se, these days though can be geographically scattered but the time they spend across various social media handles makes them a positive point for generation of loyal customers. A lesson in point was this year 2020, where people weren’t prepared for the severity of COVID and hence, their business plans got derailed and many suffered from unexpected losses, therefore, as they say, a stitch in time saves nine.

Trends to look out for in 2021

1. Artificial Intelligence and AI powered Chat-bots – AI today is all-pervasive, across all business fields and sectors, and whose importance can’t be undermined, to say the least. AI-powered tools help to analyze data sets, track communications, enhance productivity, help in streamlining, predict consumer behavior and pattern predictions’, etc. Therefore, spending money on AI is an investment for your company’s bright future. Though, money shouldn’t be an overwhelming issue for you, as we at Zivanta Marketing understand the demands of upcoming businesses and non-profits and therefore offer cutting edge AI-powered suggestions to you in your budget.

       Investing in a personalized and a spontaneous customer support option that promptly responds to queries of your customers and engages your on-site page visitors, this can boost your prospects and convert tentative leads into permanent customers. It shall also help in gathering data about the most-asked questions and communication patterns.

(P.C. – Unsplash, @markuswinkler)

2. Trends for shoppable posts – With companies, especially the ones belonging to the e-commerce sector, actively using Social media platforms to directly promote their products or services or they engage a popular influencer to endorse their services, this results in the fact that the audience or the user wants a stream-lined buying experience, i.e. buying only via one social media platform and avoiding the hassle of screen shifting. Least to say, Social media has emerged as one of top marketplaces for the consumers, for instance platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Whatsapp, all have emerged as online shopping arenas.

(P.C.-  Unsplash, @laurachouette)

3. Video marketing trend – Video marketing is going to prove to be a backbone for digital marketing firms in the year 2021, not only does visibility build trust but it also creates and presents a visual imagery in the minds of the users and your targeted audience, thus, imprinting your brand value or message in their memory. Visual cues always generate curiosity and this works for the organizations and more-so, if the content has been curated as per the tastes of the targeted audience, therefore, making DIY videos, consumer interactive stories, animated videos, styling videos, influencer featured videos, etc. can create an indelible impression on the minds of the users and influence them to buy your offerings.

(P.C. – Unsplash, @brookelark)

4. Google Apps- Tools designed for smart bidding – There’s a heavy dependency of Google Ads on machine learning to streamline an organization’s bidding attempts so that they achieve and realize the maximum value on the conversion. The intensifications reported at Google Marketing Live have allowed those bids, which were seen before with the capability to pick conversion activities to the extent of campaigning manifestation.

5. Interactive Content Trend- Content has always been the king and nothing ever said can lessen the importance of it. Interactive content like AR/VR videos, live quizzes, polls, all tend to capture the interest of the targeted audience and ensure maximum customer engagement. This not only ensures more time spent by the users on web engagement, longer time stayed on the website, but also enhances direct communication, thus building trust and opening new channels of communication. This ultimately enhances your brand awareness and increases reputation.

With the year 2020, throwing unprecedented challenges, it is always better to amp up your digital marketing strategy and stay ahead of your competitors. These were just some of the trends we have highlighted which, if focused upon can yield amazing results for you and our team at Zivanta Analytics shall guide you in further re-defining your digital marketing strategy and ensure that you stay ahead of the curve.