Now that we’ve finally arrived in 2021, there’s cautious optimism for the future. With a unanimously hard 2020 behind us, we look at how the pandemic will affect marketing in the new year, where the advancement of the vaccine is giving many people hope, but there’s still a lot of anxiety and unrest about what’s to come. As marketers, we know that public sentiment and current events greatly affect how we interact with prospects and customers. COVID-19 brought a lot of change to digital marketing in the last year, and it’s important to anticipate what will stay and what will go.

Many sources date the first press release back to 1906, following a Pennsylvania Railroad accident. The agency staff released coverage about the event before journalists could cover it on their own. It's rumored that some newspapers re-published the release nearly verbatim – a brilliant success for the Railroad's PR team.

With more time at home in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, people are turning to social media more than ever before. Now at an all-time high, social media use is an avenue for staying connected with loved ones, political engagement, shopping, and so much more. While financial institutions seek to take advantage of this massive, concentrated audience, the tension of general economic unrest can make it tricky to navigate the best ways to connect. According to a study conducted by The Financial Brand in April, most prominent financial brands saw a drop in their social media sentiment scores immediately following shutdowns due to the pandemic.

Let’s do a word association game. When we say Instagram, what comes to mind? Perhaps funny memes, your favorite products, visual inspiration? Now, what about when we say email? Is it suddenly feeling stuffy in here?

As we continue forecasting what marketing trends we think will be a major hit for 2020, today, we turn our sights on branding. Easily one of the most exciting facets of the marketing world, branding just gets better and better as companies have to try harder to compete to gain the attention of overloaded customers. Today we are taking a look at the best trends of 2020 when it comes to branding, and why we're so excited about them.

Over the last few years, we've watched influencer marketing explode like a mac truck in a Van Damme movie. The past year was the biggest yet, indicating nothing but a continual climb for the marketing channel in the future. But as big as influencer marketing has become, many small businesses are still unfamiliar with how it works, as well as if it's right for their brand. That's why today we're explaining exactly what influencer marketing is, and why no matter who you are, it needs to be part of your marketing. Let's dive right in.

the Mobile Economy of Communications

The invention of the smartphone changed our working world as we know it, having our office always in our pocket. We are reachable at all times whether we like it or not. For better or worse, this has dramatically shifted our perception of communication with our coworkers, clients, and partners. We are connected and responsible in a way that continues to push the boundaries of traditional communications.

In light of this, 1500 word emails, meetings where people pile into a conference room, and back and forth phone calls are largely passé. Thanks to a host of disruptive apps in the market space, workplace communications have become more intuitive, ubiquitous, and more user-friendly than ever. Today we look at the apps that have had the most significant impact on how we communicate with each other at work, and the benefits they bring to your business.  

There are a lot of do's and don'ts when it comes to giving an excellent presentation. Oddly enough, one of the most significant factors to a killer presentation is just that, your presentation. How you present your materials and information to your audience can play a vital roll in how they receive you.

So you have some great info; if your visual style is dated, it might not go as well as you'd like. There might be some level of disconnect, or your audience might be less likely to trust you. You might have fascinating points to make, but when they are bulleted out on a static page, they'll be less likely to engage. Thanks to advances in software, it's easier than ever before to create an engaging visual presentation. Let's talk about doesn't work, what does, and how to use them to your best abilities.

There are two constant truths in marketing that you’ve likely heard over and over again. While both true, they’re as equally important as they are a potential conflict. The first is that “Content is king.” The second? That your prospects are inconceivably busy. But if content truly is king (and it is, my friend), and your readers are struggling on the daily to keep their heads above the information flood line, what are you to do? How are you supposed to reach them with all these valuable content pieces that you have? It's not like today's users are exactly clamoring to get their hands on one more “must-read” article, blog, Facebook rant, or even eBook for their backlog.

Presentations: we’ve been giving them since our fourth-grade science projects, yet somehow, we still dread them. In truth, dread hangs around the word “presentation,” from every angle. And you don’t only have to be the one giving it to feel the dark cloud descending. Just try getting invited to one. Most people don’t meet the invitation with a hop, skip, and a heel click. Have a guess at why? I bet you do.