Life before the global pandemic situation seems like a blur today. We only cherish it in our albums or talk about the incidents. Everything we knew, changed overnight. Every industry felt a sudden change during covid times. Though the initial phase was panic and despair for each of us, we gradually adapted to the new normal. Social distancing laws made us all confined in the safety of our homes.
Lockdown and work from home culture were adapted overnight. Many companies started laying off employees in big capacity and saved cost-cutting. Marketers wanted to stop site advertising for their brands. Not just meetings but almost everything started taking place online. The Internet came as a saviour and respite for many industries and revolutionize their spaces in the pandemic era.
If social media spread timely information and trends to keep audiences busy in making Dalgona coffee or take some weight loss challenge, it also provided unlimited entertainment and education sped up massively in its space, and online shopping continued in an undisrupted manner. Weekend get-togethers and family gatherings converted into virtual meetups and with less personnel touch.
In marketing, many brands realized that the pandemic was not the time to step back but forward. They found a way to amplify their products online and set out to engage with audiences on digital platforms. Global pandemic and lockdown indeed discerned the true potential of digital marketing.
We have seen major shifts happening all over the world. Marketing space has spruced up with various tactics to increase their sales and reach out to the masses in digital space. Global pandemic also brought perspectives to look at the things around us. Lockdowns have affected the businesses that were mounting up losses each day, which kept them clueless about keeping up with uncertain times. When business was thinking how to buckle up the sales amid lockdown, they found no way out. Many of them have cut down the advertisement budgets to save a big portion. Many brands explored the digital space to the public their products on global channels and saw it as an opportunity to leap into action in digital media. They have used the online channel to advertise their product line and provide value for customers and they did this through digital marketing.
We indeed have witnessed:
- Shift from offline to online- Various brands have switched from offline to online marketing during the Covid19 pandemic after realizing the true potential of digital marketing.
- Digital Scope is huge – The scope of digital marketing has widened and enabled marketers to reach out to customers through social media, websites, Instagram reels, virtual events, webinars, paid games, giveaways, and much more.
- Every space and industry requires digital intervention and application for its functionality. Hence, digital marketing is the talk of the town and opens many doors for industries and job aspirants who now have a flourishing career to look ahead.
Our generation never before have experienced disruption of life before. Covid-19 helped us realise the essence of technology in tiring times. If technology has opened the doors to virtual way of connecting with people, tech experts have ample opportunities to explore and make future of digital marketing sustainable.
Brands followed ways to penetrate products to masses in this tiring time –
Soaring social media presence –
Brands made an active social media presence to communicate and meet customers’ needs and build trust. It helped in highlighting the brand and engage with customers directly.
Pay per click (PPC) Plunges –
Paid activities were in place before the pandemic too that helped in boosting sales. Even if brands had an organic marketing strategy, their main focus was to bring in more and more leads for sales. When many companies webbed their presence on digital media, there were chances of brand visibility going down. There, brands began to realise the importance of having an ongoing and organic strategy in place. For that, SEO and content marketing was the answer that continued to play a central role during the lockdown.
Lockdown has also mushroomed influencers in digital space-
We witness a spike in memes about working from home, Dalgona coffee making challenge a lot more. For making the product visible in the tech space and market, influencers played a huge role in propagating these trends. We also have witnessed many influencers on the internet during this period, and the trend is bound to continue.
Growth in voice searches-
Considering work from home and huge screen time, people tend to go for an easy way to search for anything on the internet. They adopted voice search on search engines. Many AI-powered devices are readily available, resulting in all kinds of queries people were making. It was natural that the current crisis resulted in surging in voice searches. TechEela agrees to the market research about it is expected that 50 percent of searches will be done via voice in the coming few times.
Sitting at home and operating has eased the work and has given time to many for pursuing their hobbies buried under the carpet for years. Technology indeed has helped us to bring everything in our plate at ease. We have often heard from many that the future is digital. As far as marketing is concerned, yes, it has and the pandemic has only helped expedite it.