It is an understatement: 2020 has been a crazy year! Many organizations have moved to a work-from-home model. Workers are finding themselves balancing their work schedule with that of their spouse and kid’s schoolwork. The fight for the computers and laptops is likely settled by now. For 2021, what is keeping marketers up at night? Here are some marketing trends to watch in 2021:

Branded content

The next step in video marketing. More than just showing the product or service, branded content takes storytelling to the next level. Using artificial intelligence and interactive content, this will be more about creating an experience for the customer that’s unique and memorable.

User-generated content (with the obligatory acronym UGC)

Any kind of content created by the customer or user. Requesting stories and photos from users, inviting customers to talk about the experience in their own words and pictures. When participants of employee reward and recognition programs share experiences, it can increase engagement and maintain enthusiasm and participation throughout the program period.

Social commerce

With 71% of shoppers looking to social media for recommendations, social channels are growing as the place to advertise and communicate retail marketing messages. In employee incentive, reward and recognition programs, built-in social channels are increasingly important in engaging participants and providing a network to share experiences.

Nostalgia marketing

According to HubSpot, nostalgia marketing is the advertising equivalent of comfort food. Nostalgia marketing takes us back to memories of simpler times and a less complicated life. While we might expect that Baby Boomers would most appreciate nostalgia, the main targets are Millennials and younger. They are in the workforce during a competitive and complicated time and are the most likely to romanticize “the good old days”, even if they weren’t around for them. In an employee recognition program, this can translate to “old school” rewards that are new to this younger audience.

Going Live

In 2019, internet users watched 1.1 billion hours of live video. Both Instagram Live and Facebook Live have been going strong for some time. We’ve seen live video on Twitter and YouTube; even LinkedIn has now added Stories. Going live at virtual or in-person events is another way to engage users. Especially useful for keeping remote employees connected to each other in real time.

Loyalty and retention

During the pandemic, advertisers spent a lot of time and money describing how they are keeping customers safe. This is just as important for B2B companies and employees. Employee incentive, reward and recognition programs are key components of employee engagement strategies and retention of key talent is at the top of the list of benefits of successful employee programs.

Contact us today to discuss how we can incorporate these trends into your corporate marketing efforts to increase revenue, retain key employees and maximize performance.

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