COVID has drastically accelerated many digital business models, with companies increasing their spending when it comes to digital marketing, all as a result of the pandemic. 

So exactly what has changed? 

Consumer Spending Habits

It’s no surprise that people are more cautious when it comes to spending money. The constant changes in the economy and rising unemployment due to the pandemic, means people are more concerned about job losses and their earnings than ever before. As a result, marketers are having to work that extra bit harder to entice people into buying their products. 

In response to the cautiousness of spending money, digital marketing efforts are being shifted to ensure campaigns offer value to their consumers, moreover, campaigns that work well online…seeing as no one is leaving the house! Digital marketers have had to create content across several online platforms, to ensure their businesses continue to accelerate and evolve. 

Redefined Business Goals

As well as your audience now spending more time than ever online, your competitors are too. This means business owners have shifted their focus to ensure their brand remains in the path of their ideal audience. 

Recent studies have shown that most people plan on sticking to their new online purchasing behaviours, which in turn means that marketing strategies will need to be redefined to understand how the impact of COVID is going to continue long into the future. 

Sky Rocketing Social Ads 

Financial reports shared by various social media giants reveal that ad revenue is continuing to skyrocket, even 18 months after the pandemic began. 

At the start of 2021, Facebook posted a 46% rise in ad revenue, driven by a 30% increase in the price of ads and a 12% rise in the number of ads served on the platform. It’s not only Facebook that’s reported these stark increases either, similar trends can be found in reports from other social media companies like YouTube and Instagram. 

So we’ve already established that shopping habits have drastically changed, but an additional study commissioned by Visa found that one in four online purchases in the UK is now made as a result of interacting with a social media ad! 

Both of these noteworthy figures signify a renewed confidence in social media advertising, proving that digital marketing and social media is the way forward for businesses. 

Final Thoughts… 

Those working in digital will be aware of how quickly consumers change their preferences, based on current world affairs and it’s their job to pivot and change their strategies to respond accordingly. 

Over a year into the pandemic, business goals and marketing strategies are still having to change and adapt frequently as unfortunately what’s on-trend today might not be tomorrow!