As 2020 finally, finally came to an end, it’s time to start looking towards the future. The beginning of a new year is a great time to make resolutions for the coming months, whether that’s learning a new skill or hitting the gym. If you’re in marketing, your New Year’s resolutions might look a little different.

So while you’re enjoying a socially distant end to this seemingly endless year, think about some ways you can hit the ground running in 2021.

Analyze 2020’s successes (and failures)

Let’s be real: no one wants to think about 2020 for a second longer than they have to. However, as they say, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Between the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn, 2020 tested many of us in ways we never thought possible. Once the ball has dropped, it’s important to look back on the year that was and examine what worked — and what didn’t. …

Just about every business website has some form of chatbot now, though their level of usefulness does vary. The right chatbot can give your customers a great experience and improve your operational efficiency. But the wrong ones may frustrate customers and cost you business.

The key? Make sure you’re aware of your options and the user experience before committing to any solution.

The origins of the chatbot

The proliferation of chatbots over the last decade may give the impression that they are only a product of the internet. …

Video delivers the experience that most customers prefer, which makes it a must-have for marketing.

Authenticity, storytelling, engagement. These are all terms that marketers now attempt to incorporate into their campaign strategies to really connect with and motivate audiences.

All those are attainable with good video content. That is what makes it your secret weapon for engaging your audience.

Hand someone a whitepaper, and you have to pay them to read it. But everyone enjoys a good story. If you can bring that story to life by showing it through video rather than merely telling it, so much the better.

That’s why video use keeps growing among marketers who recognize its effectiveness. …

Influencer marketing can be a massively successful strategy for companies looking to grow brand awareness and increase sales. However, there’s more to influencer marketing than putting products in the hands of high-profile social media users, and that goes double for 2020. After all, this is the year that changed everything.

According to a recent study from Bluecore, 18% of the 1,005 consumers surveyed in Q2 2020 said that influencer marketing had the most significant impact on their purchasing decisions, placing it in third place behind word of mouth and online ads. However, 29% of that same group said influencers were the least impactful, second only to celebrities. …

As we recently discussed, the artificial intelligence revolution is upon us — and it continues to ramp up almost daily.

The advancements made in AI tech over the recent years have been highly beneficial to marketing teams around the world.

On just a surface level, AI enables marketing teams to become more productive. By today’s standards, even the most rudimentary AI tools can allow marketing teams to create more output while minimizing production costs.

That’s all well and good — but there’s much more to the big picture, here.

Today’s AI-powered technology doesn’t just help marketing teams do “more of the same”. Rather, modern AI has paved the way for the modern marketer to evolve their processes across the board. …

Welcome to Relationship Marketing 101, a new monthly series that examines the evolution of marketing — from radio ads to social media — and the lessons this history shares. In this installment, we’ll explore branding’s origins and discuss how marketing behemoths like Coca-Cola learned to connect with customers.

The history of branding dates back thousands of years, though the term didn’t have its current context until the 1500s. According to Skyword, Stone Age cave paintings depict early humans branding animals with paint and tar. That method soon gave way to burning ownership marks onto cattle, while artisans in ancient China, Egypt, and Rome added brands to hand-crafted creations. …

Cyber Monday, like Black Friday, is really a misleading term. No one is limiting their online shopping to a single day, particularly this year. In fact, many have begun their shopping in October with sales kicking off already last month.

Never mind one day, 2020 became the year of eCommerce

Online retail spending far exceeded any predictions, as consumers stuck at home turned to their devices for shopping. In Q3 alone, as reported in APN News, the amount spent online on retail in the US amounted to $218.1 billion, representing a 50% increase from last year’s Q3 of $145.5 billion.

The NRF reports that, continuing the trend that took off under lockdown, 60% of people surveyed said they intend to do their holiday shopping online. The overwhelming majority of those (91%) planned to use free shipping, while 44% said they would opt for BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store). …

Black Friday is synonymous with a crush of shoppers in stores vying for bargains. This year is different.

November has arrived. We switched the clock back, and holiday marketing is in full swing already. In fact, many marketers didn’t even wait until after Halloween to get the season started.

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The attempt to push holiday marketing early happens every year, and so Black Friday has evolved and stretched to pretty much all of November over the past several years. Yet there were always some holdouts who would wait for the super deals on doorbuster specials available in stores only on the day itself. …