COVID-19 has taught marketers that in 2021, having a good online presence for your company is essential. Previously, having a website was merely a choice; now, it is a commercial need. Every year, we learn a lot more about marketing. The year 2021 is coming to a close, and the changes will be visible in 2022. Every organization, regardless of its size, operations, and functions, must keep up with changes in the marketing industry. We can’t anticipate what the future of marketing will look like with 100% certainty, but marketing professionals can forecast how the business sector will react to the changes. We should expect considerably more in 2022 than in 2021, which revolutionized the face of marketing.

As the pandemic continues, there are still interruptions in the corporate world. Because of these impediments, marketing has undergone significant changes. It won’t be the same for marketers in the next few years, as company models, cutting-edge technical applications, and previously implemented regulatory adjustments will all undergo quick change. It used to be that you had to give the audience your brand name. It’ll all come down to developing a strong brand, telling captivating stories, and assessing the story’s success. Marketing is no longer just about establishing and selling a brand. New marketing strategies for promotion, ad production, audience targeting, and social media management have grown throughout time. Marketers will be challenged in 2022, as they will be required to take chances, invest in branding, engage with customers online, and deal with tremendous growth. Let’s go to the future marketing campaign without further ado.

• Focus on short video marketing
• Voice search optimization
• Mobile optimization
• Personalization
• Influencer marketing
• CSR
• Conversational marketing
• VR and AR
• Push notifications
• Live Streaming
• Micro-moments
• Inbound marketing
• Zero click searches
• ABM
• Customer experience

Focus on short video marketing

Do you recall your first phone, which had merely the ability to make calls and send SMS? Everything has changed at this age. We now all have smartphones with quicker data plans, video streaming apps, and a slew of other functions. TikTok is one of the most well-known instances. With this platform, you may record and stream videos from anywhere at any time, as well as watch them from anywhere at any time. There’s more to this transformation; data plans used to be limited to megabytes of internet, but today we have gigabytes. Users are more drawn to video material, and this tendency is expected to continue in 2022.

We have Instagram and YouTube, in addition to TikTok, where you may reach your target clients. Short films stress a fast-paced approach to highlighting content and communicating a message via simple and effective messages or interesting content. The main benefit of this short video is that it allows individuals to quickly put together a video that isn’t flawless using their smart devices. If you want to keep your customers, you’ll need to implement a video marketing strategy to stay ahead of the competition.

Voice search optimization

According to marketing gurus and studies, voice search will be popular in 2019. This has not altered this year; marketers are still utilizing the same method to keep in touch with customers. The marketing expert was concentrating on content marketing, modifying and optimizing blog posts in order to rank first in the SERPs. The need for voice search continues to grow as customers choose to have their questions answered by assistants such as Google, Amazon Alexa, Echo dot, and others. According to statistics, almost 48% of consumers use voice assistants for general web searches.

Similar to SEO, marketers must concentrate on voice search optimization. You can develop voice search content with accurate data on the most frequently asked inquiries about your brand by customers. These queries may be asked over 1000 times every day, but if you want to keep your clients and stay competitive, you must use this strategy. Because mobile users are predominant, you must ensure that your website is user-friendly and has a faster loading speed to improve your SEO rating.

Mobile optimization

When compared to desktops and laptops, customers spend more time on mobile devices. According to reports, mobile devices, including tablets, account for more than half of all website traffic. According to Pew Research, the number of adult internet users has climbed by 5% in the last several years. With the advancement of technology, the way individuals buy and shop has evolved, as has the rise in internet usage.

Companies must make sure that their websites are mobile-friendly. You can tweak the website design so that it adapts to smaller screens automatically. Content loads faster on smartphones and tablets thanks to AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages). The following are some of the reasons why mobile marketing will continue to thrive in the market:

• Mobile web design is a priority for 33% of worldwide marketers.
• In 2022, 84 percent of marketers who focus on mobile site design plan to keep investing the same amount or more.
• Mobile optimization is considered an effective investment by 64% of SEO marketers.

The increased use of mobile devices is evident in the eCommerce experience. On social media, consumers have a seamless and touch-free experience, which will have a good impact on mobile commerce. In this regard, we can look at some of the luxury brands as examples. One of them is Klarna, which uses the BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) service. Another example is Walmart and Kroger, both of whom have implemented BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In-Store), which has resulted in a 92% boost in sales for Kroger.

Another area where mobile marketing is involved is the introduction of 5G. When it comes to the global market, China is the most powerful player. In the year 2020, Alibaba’s Taobao live made an incredible $7.5 billion in just 30 minutes.

Personalization

We live in an age of incredible technological developments. We all leave a lot of data on the internet. However, the truth is that we all desire hyper-targeted personalization. When discussing marketing trends, this form of marketing technique should not be overlooked. All users require the content they want at the time they want it. This means that marketers must customize their messages and deliver them to people at the appropriate time. Marketers may now modify their communications thanks to new marketing trends. Marketers can deliver automatic tailored messages to their customers using a variety of marketing techniques.

When developing an e-mail marketing strategy, marketers must categorize their users. You can separate users into different groups and design distinct subscription pop-ups for each user using complex capabilities. When creating social media ads, you should concentrate on different customer kinds rather than focused groups. Make sure your tailored messages aren’t too particular; if you focus too much on the consumers’ interests, they won’t appreciate it.

Influencer marketing

The influencer economy has exploded in recent years, and this trend is projected to continue in the future. In 2020, it was worth $9.7 billion USD, and by 2022, it is expected to be worth $15 billion. TikTok has been instrumental in its expansion. Influencers have demonstrated that their supporters will follow them across platforms, giving creators and brands additional exposure.

AI will be used in everything from influencer identification to performance influencer marketing in the next generation of influencer marketing. You will only be charged for the conversions and sales generated by the influencers in our predictive AI-powered model. Facebook intends to pay $1 billion to creators between now and 2022. Businesses can locate artists that match their specialty as more influencers emerge and provide content. Around half of the marketers say they spend more than 20% of their money on marketing and obtain a positive return on investment.

Here are some pointers on how to stay on top of influencer marketing.

• Increasing the amount of money spent on influencer marketing.
• Working with creators to prioritize video content creation.
• Using many social media platforms or distribution channels.
• Making use of influencer marketplaces to streamline collaboration processes.

CSR

While 31% of marketers believe that social responsibility is useless in terms of campaign engagement or results, 45% of marketers continue to spend in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Because customers nowadays are interested in social responsibility, ethics, and transparency, this is the case. During the worldwide events of 2020 and 2021, this tendency began.

The pandemic, as we all know, had a huge toll on the workforce. They began to become more dissatisfied with their jobs and politics. Consumers, according to McKinsey’s study, will support firms that show concern for all customers, staff, and shared causes. Taking this into account, organizations have begun to employ social media tactics to focus more on inclusive activities, promotions, and products, as well as the causes or missions that they support. Even if this doesn’t help sell the goods, demonstrating social responsibility is still an intelligent and effective technique.

Conversational marketing

Because brands have been engaging with customers for years, marketers are familiar with the term conversational marketing. However, as social media and chatbots become more prevalent, this type of conversational marketing will continue to rise at a rapid pace, transforming the landscape of how businesses communicate with their customers. Live chat, chatbots, voice assistants, and other conversational marketing solutions are just a few examples.

Conversational marketing will become more popular in 2022 as it has a positive impact on businesses. Shortening the sales cycle and enhancing the marketing funnel are two benefits of effective customer communication. The most important considerations in this transformation are time and money. Chatbots are used by 80% of businesses to communicate with potential clients. In conversational marketing, this method is crucial. Large volumes of data will be collected using these tools, which will aid in understanding the needs and expectations of customers. This not only increases brand awareness but also gives customers a nice and satisfying experience.

Personalization and this trend go hand in hand. The usage of AI in conjunction with conversational technologies will improve the user experience with brands. Another conversational marketing idea that will gain traction is the usage of video conversations. Customers will find this method to be more comfortable than text-based communication.

VR and AR

AR and VR will be popular not only in 2022 but also in the years ahead. These innovations will permanently alter marketing. What are the key distinctions between the two technologies? VR (Virtual Reality) is a computer-generated reality that provides a three-dimensional fantasy world. VR glasses will immerse users in the cosmos, allowing them to interact with objects with their hands. AR (Augmented Reality) is a technology that allows you to buy and trade products and services in real-time. In augmented reality, users engage with customers using their phones or tablets.

360-degree marketing refers to the use of virtual reality and augmented reality. Organizations employ this sort of marketing to raise consumer awareness and influence purchasing decisions. TOMS shoes, Topshop, Oreo, Sephora, and Ikea are just a few of the well-known brands that have benefited from this technology. Take, for example, Ikea, a leading furniture retailer that uses augmented reality (AR) technology to give customers a hands-on experience while creating their living spaces. Customers can have a variety of experiences with this technology, including seeing how things look and feel before purchasing them. AR technologies have the potential to drastically alter client purchase decisions, resulting in increased total sales.

One of the benefits of incorporating AR and VR into your marketing strategy is that it gives you a competitive advantage. Organizations must engage with their target audiences in a unique way. In comparison to other technologies on the market, the technology is expensive. Vuforia, ARKit, and ARCore are some of the most popular AR development tools. According to experts, businesses can begin using AR in their business cards by creatively highlighting contact information so that clients get more attached to your brand. The same AR feature may be found in social media apps like Instagram.

Push notifications

Push notifications, like email marketing, are a growing digital marketing trend. The email marketing landscape is growing so crowded that staying in touch with your audience through the channel is becoming increasingly tough. The rising use of mobile devices by clients is another element that is altering the digital strategy. As previously stated users are increasingly lured to mobile phones for all forms of online activities, including brand research and online shopping.

Now that the situation has changed, businesses are focusing on push notifications as a better approach to attract customers’ attention. More than half of customers today have enabled push notifications on their phones so that marketers may communicate with them. According to industry studies, when the number of daily pushes is modest, the unsubscription rate for push notifications is less than 1%. These unsubscribes will begin to increase once they reach a specific threshold.

Live Streaming

There has been a significant demand for live streaming in recent years. This is due to the fact that users find it more engaging. Brands can utilize this method to more honestly portray their personalities, beliefs, and messages. Live Streaming not only allows users to connect with companies and make purchases, but it also has the potential to completely transform the sales process. As technology advances, more and more channels are incorporating built-in purchasing tools to assist companies and influencers in recommending a product and sharing a direct clickable link during live streaming.

This type of communal shopping experience is commonly referred to as “social commerce.” This will pick up steam in 2022 and the years ahead. The most well-known features of this sort of marketing include Facebook live, Instagram live, Twitter live, and YouTube live. In the future years, these characteristics will grow more prevalent and advanced across a variety of businesses. The following are some live streaming tips:

• Hosting a Q&A session to address frequently requested questions.
• Announcing the launch of a new product.
• Organizing a live shopping experience.

Micro-moments

Users’ attention spans have been decreased as a result of the proliferation of cell phones. We make snap decisions on what to eat, where to dine, where to go, what to buy, and so on. Marketers must keep these considerations in mind while devising a digital marketing strategy. These are referred to as immediate micro-moments by Google, and they are divided into four categories:

• I want to know moments
• I want to go moments
• I want to do moments and
• I want to buy moments

To satisfy this new, fast-paced decision-making process, businesses must captivate readers’ attention in seconds. According to a recent Microsoft study, our attention span has shrunk from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. Personalization and >b>advertisement targeting is tightly linked to these micro-moments. Users are typically found on a variety of platforms, and you must be present on these platforms as well in order to engage with them. Consumers live in a fast-paced environment and have little time or interest in checking your adverts.

Inbound marketing

Although this form of marketing strategy has been around for a long time, 27% of marketers say they will use it for the first time in 2022, and 11% think it will be their largest investment in the following years. In the current age of digital marketing, firms would be wise to adopt this technique. Outbound marketing strategies have grown less effective in attracting prospects and leads as the world has changed dramatically. Inbound marketing has risen to the top of effective approaches as the change from office jobs to work from home (WFH) company practices has occurred. As a result of the epidemic, there has been a large increase in virtual events, as marketers have been forced to get inventive in order to attract customers’ attention.

By redesigning the strategy to push buyers to seek out your content, inbound marketing may be a tremendous asset for increasing brand awareness and building trust online. Inbound marketing necessitates the creation of high-quality content that is tailored to your target audience’s attitudes and wants.

Zero click searches

We all prefer to optimize for Google, however as we can see, there are more new featured excerpts in search queries currently. This could be a problem for some digital marketers because they always want to rank first with their content, which means Google will use some of it and display it immediately in the SERP. If this section of material is significant to the user, they will most likely read it and never return to your site. There isn’t much that can be done about it. You might want to rethink your content and concentrate more on the topics that require more explanation. You must examine how different search queries appear in Google and determine whether it is important to obtain that featured snippet.

ABM

In 2021, 62% of marketers used ABM (Account-Based Marketing) to win over clients. And in 2022, 33% of marketers who haven’t used it yet plan to do so for the first time. ABM isn’t exactly new to the industry, but it’s swiftly gaining traction and recognition among both startups and large corporations. For those who are unfamiliar, ABM stands for account-based marketing, which is a blend of sales and marketing in which marketers gather information on prospects and customers provided by the sales team in order to tailor campaigns to them.

Customer experience

Every technological transformation is for the benefit of customers; hence every year is Customer Year. The client, as we all know, is the king of the market. We are witnessing a significant shift in people’s perceptions of what marketing is all about. Marketing is no longer just about persuading people to buy from you. Instead, it has turned its focus to delivering clients with exceptional experiences that would help them keep customers loyal to their brand. If your goal is to develop a positive business culture and provide excellent service, marketing will take care of everything. Customers require everything from personalized messaging to customer-focused solutions, and organizations must provide them with a positive experience across all channels. In addition to the tailored marketing messages, you will have to listen to and reply to their questions. To get the best results, try to integrate your digital marketing team with your sales and customer service teams.

The growth of online content has given consumers more influence. Consumers are no longer the only ones who will rate your items or share their experiences with them. They will conduct their own study, so you must offer them sufficient information. According to data, 73% of individuals value customer experience because it influences their purchasing decisions, but only 49% of US customers believe today’s businesses provide a better customer experience. Efficiency, knowledge, polite service, and simple payment alternatives are all critical aspects of the customer experience.

When developing a marketing strategy, marketers must examine every facet of the client experience. This will aid in giving clients a pleasant and memorable experience. This implies that you must work for, with, and for the benefit of your customers.

Final thoughts

Prepare to see the most significant changes in 2022. Plan your New Year’s resolutions using the most up-to-date marketing methods, and then devise a strategy for achieving them. The basic purpose of marketing is to understand the needs of the audience and communicate with them clearly and consistently. Marketing trends come and go, but the main goal remains the same. This is why creating customer-centric content has always been the most effective strategy to build a strong bond with your audience. It suggests that content marketing will continue to reign supreme in the digital marketing world for some time to come. In some manner, most of these trends are dependent on content. To be successful, you’ll need a solid foundation of quality and customer-centricity across all of your marketing platforms.