2021 is finally here, which means that it is time to think about new digital marketing trends and strategies. 2020 has witnessed drastic changes in digital marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it seems like many of these changes are here to stay.

So, how can you create an effective digital marketing plan for 2021? Don’t worry; we are here with some ideas that should help you assess your digital marketing strategies and set up new ideas to reach your optimal marketing objectives.

1- Define your Marketing Objectives:
You need to define your marketing goals and specify what you really mean to achieve in the upcoming year. Use the SMART criteria to help you set your goals, for your goals need to be Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. In this sense, if you aim to drive traffic to your landing page or website, you should create high-quality content, and if you aim to boost your conversion, you should optimize your resources and invest in SEO to increase targeted users.

2- Assess Your Past Performance:

You should evaluate and assess your past efforts because they will inform your 2021 strategy and budget. By assessing your past digital marketing performance, you can identify the best tactics and strategies and the best channels and platforms. It is important to note that if one strategy or channel has not performed as you had hoped, that does not necessarily mean that you should dispose of it altogether; it means that you may need to revise your approach based on the findings from past actions.

3- Marketing Strategies for 2021:

Brainstorm new ways to use existing and new marketing channels to help you achieve the new year’s goals. Look at the market at large and see what your competitors are doing and where you are lagging. You need to consider whether you have explored all marketing options, including social media and native advertising, and applied all the best practices to ensure the highest results and maximum ROI. Some of 2021’s marketing strategies will include SEO (search engine optimization), blogging, video marketing, conversion optimization, and personalized marketing (especially for e-commerce).

4- Develop a Digital Marketing Budget:

We do recommend that your marketing budget ranges between 7-15% of your total business revenue. Once you settle on your budget, you can distribute it on the various channels and based on the different tactics and strategies you chose to boost your business.

Some of the most popular digital marketing channels that can raise your brand awareness, increase your conversions, and maximize your ROI, include the following:

But how can you split your budget in a way that enables you to achieve your marketing goals? You need to find a good balance, for you don't want to be a spendthrift, but neither do you want to spend less than it takes for the marketing strategy to be successful. We suggest the following general guidelines:

So if you own a new business that wants to scale quickly, you can set a 15% marketing budget. You can divide it between social media to drive awareness, CRMs and marketing management software, content and email marketing to build trust and relationships with your customers, and native advertising to generate leads and secure conversions.

Determining your marketing budget does not only involve deciding on how much money you can afford to spend, but it also involves dividing it up and allocating it to the right channels. Remember that even if your revenue is not very high, you need to spend money to make more money.

As Native experts in the MENA region, we can safely tell you that native advertising should be an integral part of your digital marketing strategy. For it is predicted that companies would spend over $52.75 billion on native digital display advertising by the end of 2020 (Source:statista.com).

This number will only grow in 2021 as the pandemic tightens its hold on the economy, and people will spend more time online. Display ads will become less effective the more users are exposed, and native ads will soon be the most reliable vehicle through which brands can get their message across to customers.

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