Digital marketing becomes increasingly sophisticated with each passing year. Marketers have to focus on fundamentals like SEO, branding, PPC, and UX; on top of that, they have to juggle content, personalization, and automation as well as emerging social platforms and evolving regulations.
As we look ahead to the new year, it is vital to understand the most essential techniques and strategies to expand reach, raise awareness, and maximize revenue. Here are the top 10 digital marketing trends to watch out for in 2022.
1. Video Marketing
Videos can become viral on TikTok, allowing brands and regular people to reach thousands of online users every day all around the world. With the use of user-generated content as gasoline to spread the wildfire, artists can establish a trend while increasing brand exposure, influence, or reputation.
Instagram Reels, on the other hand, is all about creating more engagement with followers. Since its global release in August 2020, marketers and influencers are constantly experimenting on video transition effects for epic reels. It’s also no accident that Pinterest and LinkedIn are investing in their video features, as the trend allows brands to attract an engaged community of followers.
However, just because video marketing is popular doesn’t mean you have to start paying for expensive video services. The emphasis is on storytelling and the narrative of your content to connect with your target audience and to establish your brand voice.
2. Search Intent
Search intent (also known as audience, user, or keyword intent) refers to the reason a user searches for something online. The four types of search intent are: Informational, Transactional, Navigational, and Commercial.
The better you are at matching consumer intent with your content, the more consumers you can reach. Take advantage of search engine optimization (SEO) keywords so your landing page content will match with keyword intent. It can also help your site appear higher in the list of links that appear in a search result.
3. Niche Marketing
This refers to putting the spotlight on a single product or service in order to form a closer, stronger connection with your target customer. With niche marketing, you focus more on your audience’s needs, wants, and desires. You put more weight on the quality of your delivery – making it much easier to identify and target your audience, whether it’s through organic marketing or paid ads, as there is much less competition.
It allows you to establish yourself as an industry expert and attract loyal brand advocates. This, in turn, allows you to charge a premium and to effortlessly stand out on social media. Examples of niche-related services are organic pet products, eco-friendly utensils, or mobile gaming.
4. E-Commerce Platforms
Ecommerce platforms are very popular these days because they provide customers with an important first touchpoint with a business of all types and sizes from any industry. According to Shopify, sales in 2021 are predicted to exceed $4.9 trillion, an increase of approximately $2.1 trillion over 2018.
Through e-commerce sites, retailers and product-based businesses can boost their visibility, spread brand awareness, and widen audience reach. Store owners can use integrated online shopping on Instagram and Facebook with “shoppable” posts and ads, making it a seamless experience for online users.
5. Visual Content
Stand out to users by incorporating visual content in your digital marketing strategy. Compared to text, content that contains images, videos, animations, gifs, and memes has the ability to cement your brand’s identity in the minds of consumers for a longer amount of time. Visual search is popular among users now, allowing them to find exactly what they’re looking for just by uploading an image to Pinterest, Google Lens, and other e-commerce platforms.
6. Mobile Marketing
Some of the most in-demand mobile marketing strategies include social media marketing, in-app marketing, proximity marketing, location-based marketing, and SMS marketing. According to Google Consumer Insights, 61% of online buyers completed their purchases via smartphones or mobile devices from November 2018 to January 2019, which accounts for a 27% year-over-year increase. In-store purchases have drastically declined due to the pandemic, making it crucial for any business to have a mobile-friendly online presence.
7. Personalization
While every customer wants you to protect their privacy, they will also expect personalization. Branding consistency in content, design, and approach should be your priority in personalized marketing. Making an effort that each customer receives unique, customized, and personalized material will lead to increased levels of engagement, conversions, and positive feedback.
8. Marketing Automation
Businesses that use automation to generate leads, nurture prospects, and create satisfying customer experiences have a significant edge over competitors who don’t automate processes, according to major marketing publications such as HubSpot, eMarketeer, and SalesForce.
Email newsletters, social media posts, appointment schedulers, customer relationship management (CRM), sales automation – all of these and more could help businesses educate their followers, add value to products and services, and take potential clients through the conversion funnel.
9. The Metaverse
This does not refer to Facebook only nor about one-off gaming experiences. The metaverse refers to the persistent environment of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and 3D holographic avatars where people play, work, and socialize.
Brands should understand and harness the full potential of metaverse as part of their 2022 marketing strategies – especially if the target market is millennials and Gen Zers.
That’s in part because it has the potential to offer an entirely new set of performance metrics. The key is to create digital marketing experiences that are parallel to what your brand already does in real life and that are relevant and relatable to the real-world experiences of your customer base.
10. Data Privacy
More than half of online users are concerned about data security when using the internet. This concern has resonated with governments around the world with the implementation of European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other data privacy laws.
First, you shouldn’t really be surprised that customers would be more cautious about sharing their personal information. Second, when they have entrusted you their data – it is something that you should never lose because customers that trust are always the first to convert.
The best thing to do is to educate yourself about governing data privacy laws, strengthen your site’s cybersecurity measures, and always allow users to opt in or out of data collection, tracking, and analysis. Be proactive and uncompromising in your thrust towards providing safer online experiences for your customers.
Now that you’re aware of the latest digital marketing trends that will help you stay ahead in the changing world of work, let SwaysEast be your dynamic partner in helping you create an integrated digital marketing plan in place, grow your channel performance, and clear your path to success. Get started for FREE today.
