As Covid-19 spread across the planet, all sectors were impacted. Many stores were forced to shut down. Some small business owners decided to close their doors for good. This also had an impact on digital marketing agencies. 66 percent of them saw a decline in revenue.

The good news is that 2021 brought higher vaccination rates. This made it easier for businesses to open up again and allowed life to return to normal. This is set to underpin an optimistic outlook for digital marketing agencies in 2021.

One of the best ways to diagnose the health of an industry is by talking to business leaders. When we do this, we find that most agency owners are feeling optimistic about the future. According to surveys, 88 percent of them said that they were confident about the financial health of their business.

There are a few factors that can explain this result. First, in many places, the worst of the pandemic is over. Businesses are starting to open back up again. As they do, they will need to start advertising to customers again.

However, the bigger driving force is the increasing importance of online marketing. Over the last few years, there has been a big social shift, with people spending more time online. It’s rare to find anyone who doesn’t have a social media account. It’s estimated that the average person spends a whopping six hours and 42 minutes online each day.

By 2022, the online retail sector in the United States is expected to represent 5.4 trillion. This number has been steadily increasing. It’s believed that the pandemic has accelerated this trend. People were able to get used to shopping online. This has presented a great opportunity for those in the world of digital marketing. More businesses are turning to them, determined not to be left behind.

Even among digital marketing agencies who weren’t so positive about the future of their business, there were important lessons to learn. Many owners report taking the time to re-evaluate their approach. This gave them the time to figure out what was working and what could be improved.

Even strong digital marketing businesses used the pandemic to re-evaluate the way they were working. For example, the lockdown meant that employees had to work from home. For some, this could become a permanent policy. This gives employees more flexibility while allowing businesses to reduce their overheads.

Top Reasons Businesses Are Investing in Digital Marketing

There are a few reasons why businesses want to invest in digital marketing in 2021. The most obvious reason is to reach audiences. In 2021, people are spending a lot of time online. As a result, traditional marketing like billboards and TV ads is starting to lose its efficacy.

However, another benefit is the ability to change strategies in the middle of a campaign. As the ads are rolling out, the marketing team can look at the real-time data. This lets them see what is working and what isn’t. By doing this, they can change the approach. This gets maximum bang for advertising buck.

Additionally, more companies are expressing interest in a targeted campaign. They can choose which demographics they want to see their ads. They can then use analytics to only show ads to people who are interested in their product. This will increase the number of people who are clicking on the ad, generating more sales.

As the world gets faster, companies are looking for ways to bring advertising to the market quicker. This will allow them to take advantage of any situation that presents itself. A good digital ad can be made in a few hours and hit the market within days.

However, in 2021, the goal of many advertising agencies is to create viral content. People will pay more attention to content recommended by their friends. Plus, if they can something that people will want to share, the message can spread around the world. Traditionally, this wouldn’t have been possible without a huge budget.

How Digital Marketing Agencies are Preparing for 2021

It’s also interesting to look at how agencies are planning to capitalize on the rising demand for their services. First, many can find a strategy that will benefit their partners. For example, they will be able to help clients find the right social media to advertise on. They can also design an ad that will get people’s attention.

Furthermore, digital marketing can deliver more transparency. These agencies can track and report their results. For example, they can tell how many clicked on an advertisement. They are also able to tell how many people went to a landing page or read an email.

This data serves two purposes. First, it lets them know how the campaign is going, giving ideas on how to tweak it for better results. Secondly, this data is a great way for an agency to prove to clients that they are delivering value.

Length of Client Relationship

A good way of measuring the health of a marketing agency is by looking at how long they have been working with a customer. If there is a high client turnover, it will be harder to build a stable cash flow. On the other hand, long-term clients will allow an agency to build a strong relationship. This makes it far less likely that a client will switch to a rival.

In the digital marketing space, agencies have shown that they can build long-term relationships. 43 percent report having clients for over 43 months. Only four percent were unable to keep them for a year.

Job Outlook in 2021

Digital marketing is predicted to have strong growth in 2021. This is likely to translate into a rise in the number of people that are going to be employed by these agencies in the coming year. This demand can be seen by looking at jobs data on recruiting website LinkedIn. As the pandemic started to ease and the world returned to normal there was a rapid rise in the number of job openings being offered.

Most of these focused on advertising. When businesses were opening, they wanted a lot of advertising to communicate this to consumers, enticing them back into stores. Half of these marketing jobs were specifically targeting people with digital marketing skills. This has made it one of the most in-demand sectors.

Employers are looking for people who have skills like:

• Search engine marketing managers
• Social media marketing co-ordinators
• Digital media managers

In particular demand are those who know social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Employers are also looking for people who know how to use photo editing software, like Abode Premier.

Digital Marketing Salary Expectations in 2021

As we’ve seen, there is an increasing demand for those who have digital marketing skills. This has led to a rise in salary expectations over time. The amount of money that you will be able to earn in this industry will often depend on your level of experience. It will also depend on your ability to negotiate and the agency that is employing you. Generally, though the salaries will look something like this:

• Digital marketing managers in the United States can expect $50,000 a year.
• Social media managers will earn about $44,000 a year in the US.
• Content strategists can earn $61,000 a year in the United States.
• In the US E-commerce specialists will earn $56,000
• US digital marketing strategists will earn $52,000

Long-Term Expectations for the Digital Marketing Industry

So far, we’ve focused on how digital marketing will do in 2021. Now, let’s take a longer-term view of the industry. This also seems to be very positive. The digitalization of the world is expected to continue. The online world is set to be an increasingly important part of our lives. The number of active social media accounts is expected to continue to grow.

Another factor fueling the demand for digital marketing is the expansion of the internet into third-world countries. For example, there is a greater focus on connecting countries like India to the internet. This would bring an additional 900 million people online. This will create plenty of opportunities for businesses, creating new markets for digital marketers to target.

There are other ways that this market can expand. For example, there might be new technologies that marketers will be able to use. For example, virtual reality and virtual marketing is set to become an even more important part of our lives. As this happens, it will create new opportunities for digital marketing professionals.

As the industry expands, it will create lots of new jobs. The demand is expected to grow for those who know technical skills. These will be things like managing a social media account. Likely, there will also be more need for people who can find trends in the data.

Final Thoughts

The digital marketing industry has had a profound impact on our way of life. It’s allowed businesses to use the internet to reach customers. As the internet grows more powerful, the need for digital marketing increases. As a result, the future of the industry looks strong.