According to many trends and research studies, branding is everything right now. While times are hard, nervous consumers are looking for familiar brands. They want to hear positive messages from brands which they recognize, trust and remember from happier times. Strengthening your brand, reputation and image has never been more important. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean slapping your logo on every square inch of space, or running huge events like the latest Apple release. Branding can be low-key, and it doesn’t have to be an expensive strategy. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

Here are just a few of the ways that marketers are making a lasting impression:

• Creating a familiar look and feel across products and online profiles.
• Using social media to signal-boost and create a full-time presence online.
• Building and retaining communities through email marketing.
• Overhauling their customer service to improve satisfaction rates.
• Encouraging, collecting and re-sharing social proof from customers.
• Creating content to entertain and engage consumers at home.
• Conveying brand purpose through their ads, social initiatives and donations.
• Engaging with customers through branded games 

Most of these are things that marketers should have been doing already. But now they’re more relevant than ever.

In addition, the relative importance of many of these points has changed. For example, brand purpose has become essential in 2020, while social media marketing is moving towards new networks and content formats.

4 Ways Your Marketing Strategy Is About To Change In 2021 (hotinsocialmedia.com)