There is no denying the fact that advertising has never been the same since the COVID-19 crisis started. The tourism and leisure industries have been the hardest hit and have cut their online advertising budgets. Yet other sectors have thrived during the crisis, especially those in eCommerce with the future looking bright.
Here’s a look at what to expect when it comes to online advertising in 2021…
1- Online Advertising Will Shoot Up
The first trend is a no-brainer.
Following widespread cuts to ad budgets earlier this year, a rebound is anticipated in 2021, with Zenith forecasting that ad spend will recover by 5.8% globally.
Source: ADWEEK, 3 Digital Marketing Trends to Come in 2021
The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a more digital world and triggered changes in online shopping behaviors that are likely to have lasting effects.
Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
To add to that, Muslims have become more digitally connected since the pandemic started.
This has added impetus to the demand for pragmatic, digital Islamic economy solutions. The demand covers various sectors from Islamic finance and halal food to Islamic lifestyle products and services.
Source: The $3 Trillion Reason Why Mainstream Brands Cannot Ignore The Muslim Consumer Market
Opportunity and Competition
Many brands that are renowned experts in their industry have had to abandon live events like seminars and workshops. They now focus on delivering online masterclasses.
This has created opportunities to engage with larger audiences. However, this phenomenon has created new competition online in niches that had relatively little competition.
The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, or should I say “Digital Rebirth”:
Digital Rebirth transcends digital transformation. It involves a revolutionary reinventing of the purpose, nature, and processes of a company, with accompanying digital business and technological platforms.
Source: Digital Rebirth: How Smart Companies Recreate Themselves in the Digital Era
If you are looking to increase your engagement with Muslim consumers or increase the volume of Muslim customers you must advertise online. You should however be wary of spending too much of your budget on platforms like Google Display Network, Facebook, Google Search, etc.
Given the fact that the likes of Google and Facebook are now getting saturated and will remain so post-COVID-19, your efforts will be more cost-efficient if you use platforms that specialize in your niche. So if you are offering Islamic finance, modest fashion, and so on, you are better off using the only Ad network that specializes in targeting Muslims. This goes for mainstream brands that also want to find a way to engage with Muslim consumers. Even if you do choose to use Facebook Ads or Google Ads, you will not be able to target Muslim consumers the way Muslim Ad Network does ( you cannot target by belief or religion on Facebook and Google).
Trend #2: An Increase in Local Targeting
Since many of the small and medium-size organizations are forced to focus their budget on online advertising, they need to utilize local targeting. A good example would be a non-profit organization that depends on door-to-door or street donations.
The concurrent lockdowns nationwide make their source of collecting donations almost non-existent. Some have adjusted to this by advertising online, targeting geographical locations and profiles of people who are most likely to donate.
This is a great tactic for non-profits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a snippet from WordStreams’ article, How COVID-19 Has Impacted Google Ads Results for 21 Industries:
“Some businesses are experiencing increases across metrics during the time of this pandemic.
Non-profits and charities
In times of crisis, we often see the best in people, and that’s even true on the Google SERP (search engine result page). As COVID-19 has spread, non-profits and charities have seen:
- A 10% increase in search ad impressions.
- A 23% increase in search ad conversions.
- A 20% increase in search ad conversion rate.”
If you are looking to zoom in on the right Muslim audience locally, Muslim Ad Network can help you do this cost-efficiently; just get in touch. If you are a charity, take a look at our Giving Back page.
Trend #3: Advertisers Will Have More Say
During the COVID-19 crisis, Google, Facebook, and Amazon have stepped up ad visibility. And why not, this is how they make money. These three also happen to be the most dominant companies, accounting for nearly two-thirds of ad dollars spent on U.S. digital advertising in 2020.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “for the first time, more than half of U.S. advertising spending is set to go to digital platforms such as Google and Facebook”.
Search Engine Results Page Getting Saturated
The biggest beneficiaries are Google, Facebook, and Amazon. They have done a good job of showing ad performance—and when they show performance marketers shift dollars.
Now take a look at the search engine result page below for the keyword “laptop”. You will realize that more space is being awarded to ads, eating up more organic results. The ads, in fact, look so much more like organic results than they used to. This started before the pandemic, however, it suits well with the change in buyer behavior becoming more online oriented.
More money is being allocated for online advertising. At the same time, more space and attention is being offered for online advertising by the three biggest players in the industry. This equals online advertisers having more say in 2021.
The downside is that your pages that were ranking well organically are now pushed further down the search engine result page. You have a choice: start using Google Ads and take part in a bidding war with your competition or do nothing.
However, if you are lucky enough to be targeting a very specific niche, like Muslims looking for halal takeaways or halal make-up, etc. you don’t have that problem. As we mentioned before, you can turn to Muslim Ad Network. The only Ad network out there that specializes in bringing brands and Muslim consumers together online.
In Conclusion
The year 2021 shines a ray of hope on us simply because it is a new start. Moreover, with the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine, people have become even more hopeful. However, as stated earlier, online advertising and consumer behavior changes are here to stay.
This means more focus on online advertising. However, you could lose a lot of money if you do not strategize properly in an online advertising world that is on its way to becoming even more saturated and expensive than ever before.
We have served over 1 billion ads to Muslims online for over a decade. Let us help you kickoff 2021 in the best way you can.
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