Social Media Drives The Persuasive Voice In Post-COVID Digital Marketing

The age of the digital consumer market has changed over the last few years, as the pandemic waned on businesses and caused a major shift to online communication and interaction.

The shift meant that digital marketers also had to adjust their strategies, moving away from traditional persuasive messaging to online and digital formats, enabling them to communicate with consumers through digital media aid and visuals.

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These days it’s become nearly impossible to start and grow a business without utilizing some form of digital tools or social media as a means of marketing. According to a State of Marketing Report by HubSpot, in 2020, as the world was in the midst of the global pandemic, social listings were considered the #1 tactic used by most digital marketers.

Since then, our world has changed a lot and our digital footprint has largely been impacted by the way marketers, businesses, and entrepreneurs leverage the power of social media to drive our consumer behavior.

Even in the digital age, combining theory and practice means that digital marketing teams are able to create persuasive messaging that entices consumers, and improves social acceptability.

“The persuasive voice in marketing, especially in the digital era is perhaps more about answering a question that doesn’t yet exist. When brands and companies direct their town of voice and online messages towards their consumers, they’re able to dramatically increase online leads, we call this the ‘Influencing Buyer Psychology,’’ mentions the team from JMarkering.

Using the right consumer-centric strategy through the use of social analytics and software, companies are able to target audiences more accurately, and better understand their clients desires. But there’s a lot already required to understand how these concepts work in the post-pandemic economy and consumer market, so let’s dive in.

• Social Media As A Trust Paradigm

In the aftermath of ensuing lockdowns and continuous quarantine, social media has gained a major stronghold on businesses and entrepreneurs.

A recent survey conducted on 281 entrepreneurs found that 29% of respondents claim that TikTok offers the biggest opportunity for networking and reaching new clients. LinkedIn made up 24.2%, and Instagram saw a 17.4% success rate according to correspondents.

With this, it’s possible to note how entrepreneurs are seeing a new wave of opportunities in social media apps such as TikTok, which incorporates visual media aids.

The Trust Paradigm plays a major part in how businesses, entrepreneurs, and marketing teams can establish trust between the business and the consumer.

On platforms such as TikTok, users are constantly exposed to thousands of videos every day. For a business that leverages these capabilities, it’s possible to establish a more neutral ground through which they can communicate their business strategy, without acting as an intrusive opponent.

Brands are now able to leverage the power of TikTok, and other social media platforms to encourage user-generated content. They’re able to collaborate with influencers, and other relevant names in their industry. Research has found that around 61% of consumers are likely to trust recommendations on services and products if it comes from a friend, family member, or influencer.

In 2018 it was reported that around 97% of all Fortune 500 companies make use of at least one (1) social media platform that helps to promote their company and its initiatives.

Social media is not only for communicating the latest trends, or products and services the business has to offer, but it’s become the main link between the brand and the consumer. It enables them to shift their focus from traditional to modern persuasive messaging as a way to instill trust and brand loyalty in their audiences.

• The Digital Voice of the Entrepreneur

While brands can instill trust and loyalty through the power of social media, research has shown that 82% of consumers are open to trusting entrepreneurs who frequently participate in online activities.

This research does however point to the frequent use of micro-blogging, but when we consider the digital voice entrepreneurs project from their social media platforms. It’s clear why around 77% of consumers are thus open to supporting or purchasing products and services from entrepreneurs who are digitally engaged online.

But the digital voice of the entrepreneur is not only limited to the services and products offered by the company. Rather, it’s been found in some older research that entrepreneurs’ social interactions online can affect company performance on the stock market as well.

While it’s clear that leadership styles may vary across the board, there’s still a lot of room for interpretation when it comes to the way an entrepreneur projects themself to their audience.

When we consider this, we see how entrepreneurs are finding it easier, and more convenient to utilize social media capabilities as means of effective brand communication. That’s why 68% of consumers feel that social media allows them to physically interact with brands and companies more effectively.

Even companies such as Verizon (NYSE:VZ) have highlighted the importance of entrepreneurs having a digital voice through the use of social media. From building networks to finding a supportive entrepreneurial community, social media has become the go-to place for entrepreneurs these days, and it’s only looking to become more prevalent as the digital transition takes hold of global consumers.

• The Digital Cycle Didn’t Change Everything For The Better

In a 2021 Irish Times article, it’s clear that creative standards in marketing and advertising have changed rapidly, as the “New Golden Age ” of media has encompassed the consumer’s digital behavior and ability to actively partake in the sales cycle.

We’ve gone from creating interactive social media marketing strategies to digital campaigns that bombard consumers around every corner of the web.

Research has shown that more than 42.7% of global consumers aged 16 to 64 years use ad-blocking tools at least once per month. In America, 27% of internet users block ads while they’re busy browsing the web.

It’s not just on web browsers that online marketing content has become almost intrusive, sponsored content on social media is also on the rise, and a majority of consumers from various demographics are noticing more sponsored content coming up on their social feeds.

Around 16% of social media users today have clicked on promotional or sponsored posts on social media before. What’s more surprising, is the amount of content and digital ads we are exposed to every day.

A look back in time found that in the 1970s on average, people saw between 500 and 1,600 ads per day. In 2007, that number was up to roughly 5,000 ads per day, and while there isn’t any concrete research, estimates predict that in 2021 alone, consumers saw roughly 6,000 to 10,000 ads per day.

Cutting through the clutter of social media and digital marketing has become a tedious challenge that puts consumers at the center, where marketers bombard users with digital content on dozens of different platforms each day.

The digital marketing cycle, whether we refer to social media or simply web browsing, has become an ecosystem flooded with digital ads that are directed towards how consumers think about a product or service, and influence their buying habits.

The persuasive language behind the digital landscape is perhaps outgrowing the pace at which consumers can keep up, making it difficult for them to find companies and brands which they can properly align themselves with, both in the digital realm and in the real world.

While it’s possible to pinpoint how the pandemic has changed the way we interact with brands online through their digital messaging, it’s also become clear how major brands, entrepreneurs, and influencers have played a massive role in the persuasive digital language directed at consumers.

The digital marketing space has perhaps become a market flooded with persuasive language that’s impacting the way consumers perceive their favorite brands and how they interact with them through digital platforms.

But these are all common practices of the field, and the final results of the product lie perhaps not in the way digital ads are constructed, but in how easily consumers can be persuaded through them.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.