Want to beat your competitors and drive sales? Then you’ve got to up your marketing game. To help you turn heads and boost conversions, check out these marketing trends for this year.

1. Social Commerce

Social commerce allows customers to buy your products by clicking on social media posts. The idea is to offer a fast and convenient shopping experience. Social commerce can help to boost sales, and engage customers. You can include social commerce as part of interactive content. According to Insider, ‘US retail social commerce sales will rise by 34.8% to $36.09 billion in 2021.’ As your competitors start to jump on the bandwagon, you can’t afford not to.

2. In-Store Experiences

Throughout the pandemic many people missed shopping in person. To improve your marketing, focus on creating unique in-store experiences. Consumers like the opportunity to take a selfie, so ensure that you create plenty of Instagram worthy spots throughout your store.

Quirky in-store experiences might include one-off events, augmented reality, pop-up booths or workshops. There are so many ways to get creative with your in-store experiences. Focusing on experiences is one of the best marketing tips you’ll get this year!

3. Live Stories

Hubspot recently reported that, ‘one-third of the platform’s most-viewed Stories are from businesses.’ It’s not just Instagram where brands can showcase their Stories, LinkedIn recently added a Stories feature of its own.

Stories are like slide shows which feature either videos or images. The Story lasts just 10 seconds per page, and is usually only available for 24 hours. Brands are using Stories to draw attention to industry topics, or to show content about their brand and products.

4. User Generated Content

Your users will already be making their own content about your brand. Customers like to make videos or take photos of themselves as they use your brand products. This content works exceptionally well for marketing purposes. User generated content is authentic and it’s often engaging and fun. With the help of UGC you can humanize your company, and engage with your customers.

Only use UGC content that conforms to your brand values. It’s important that you remain consistent across all channels, your website and your apps.

5. Event Marketing

Events give you the opportunity to meet your customers in the flesh, and establish real connections. Event based marketing allows you to engage new consumers, improve your social campaigns, and offer innovative experiences. Virtual events platforms offer tools for live interaction such as surveys, polls, 1on1 chats with hosts, you can check out Everytale for such a service. Putting on a great event takes lots of planning, so it’s best to start getting organized well in advance. Great events should focus on personalized customer experiences, to make a real impression on your attendees.

Remember not all marketing has to happen online, people are ready to get back out there and experience the world. What that means is, events are all the rage! Digital billboards are another great way to promote your company in the real world. To learn more, check out Allvision Billboards.

All your strategies should be focused on your consumers. Keep referring to your customer values, to help you develop the right strategies.