Charles Darwin once said “You do not adapt – You perish”, and the saying has never held as much water as it does now. The rate at which digital marketing strategies and trends are evolving is breathtaking.
Modern marketers must be highly agile and flexible to thrive in the current volatile marketing landscape. While these platforms keep changing and thus spawning creativity, a marketer’s goal remains constant.
In March of 2021, it was estimated that about 5 billion people accessed the Internet. And this number of people continues to go up every year. This means your business needs to put a lot of effort into engaging and attracting more online users.
In the US, the number of businesses embracing digital marketing continues to rise. Especially since the states have a high penetration of internet usage.
For example, in Wisconsin, 82.6% of people are accessing the internet. This results in more opportunities in the state. Hence, most businesses approach digital marketing agencies in Milwaukee and other cities to expand their marketing efforts.
Here are some of my top marketing trends for 2022 to watch out for. If you do not take advantage of them, your competition will.
- Influencer Marketing
Many digital marketing experts claim that influencer marketing may be a dying fad. Honestly, I do not see how that is possible.
About 50% of consumers trust and depend on influencers’ advice and recommendation over that of movie and television celebrities.
Furthermore, most online shoppers trust the recommendations from friends on social media more than any other form of advertising.
This means that your business should consider investing in influencer marketing if you want to attract more internet users. Twitter feeds, YouTube channels, Facebook, and even TikTok all play a prominent role in how people shop today.
- Live Streaming
Live video is spreading like wildfire. It is such a promising feature of digital marketing that many sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and others are embracing it. Consider the fact that about 82% of people would prefer to watch a live feed from a brand than read a blog or social media post.
How is this effective for a business? It delivers the “human element” to your content and is more likely to attract and convert.
The best part is that these platforms make it easier to offer mobile device content. And they are completely free! Your feed can easily be viewed by potential customers across your targeted areas.
- Video Marketing
Not every business has the resources or time to put up with live streaming. That is when regular online videos come into play.
A study by Cisco suggested that video marketing will make up 82% of all Internet traffic from consumers by this year, 2022. This demonstrates just how vital video creation is for boosting a brand.
This is a bit different from live streaming. In this case, I’m talking about using platforms like YouTube to create infomercials or other engaging forms of content.
Creating engaging videos on websites such as TikTok and YouTube is still one of the hottest social media marketing trends of today.
- Content Marketing
Many businesses depend on content marketing as a means of digital marketing. In the early days of digital marketing, text was fuel for engaging and attracting an audience to a brand.
Today, the Internet has dramatically expanded to what can be considered “content”. It could now include not just blogs but also videos, podcasts, live streams, and more. All of these methods need to be part of your marketing platform.
I know, it seems a bit overwhelming. However, have it in mind that different people have different preferences for accessing and absorbing information. Those who prefer YouTube may not be able to read your blog post. Your TikTok followers may not follow you on Twitter as well.
The point is that you cannot assume one form of marketing will be the driving force behind your success. You need to branch out and connect with your targeted audience on their preferred platform. You also need to keep track of your domain authority to measure if your strategy is performing well.
- Voice Searching
Voice recognition technology has come a long way. And thanks to search engine algorithms, anyone can find anything they want online by talking to their smartphone. 20% of queries from mobile devices on Google are made via voice searches. This does not even include using Siri, Alexa, or Google Home devices.
You need to structure your content effectively to capitalize on voice search. This means you must understand search intent while aiming at your target audience and addressing them.
- Embracing a Social Presence
If you are one of the few who haven’t embraced social media, you are only hurting your business. Even the smallest companies can attract a more extensive customer base by being more social online.
This is not about creating a profile and expecting people to follow you. It is all about interaction, hence why it’s called “social media”. The more connected you are with people, the more likable the brand becomes.
Regular posts, responding to followers, and sharing business insights are only part of delivering an excellent social presence. After all, more than 4 billion people use social media in some form.
- Keep Focus on Local Consumers
Because of how prominent mobile devices are for searching for a company, you must keep the focus on nearby customers. The initial results for online searches display businesses nearby. For you to attract more targeted customers, you need to ensure your company ranks in those results.
Using elements such as your city and state in your content’s title and meta descriptions is a bonus. However, it would help to start using Google My Business and other online directories. Utilizing white label GMB services would be a great way to get those GMB rankings up!
If you owned a catering business in Colorado, would you realistically offer services to someone in Maryland?
This is why local search focus is essential. It improves your return on investment as your ads would not be shown to someone outside of your service area thereby reducing cost.
- Using Predictive Data
Predictive data is growing in popularity. Using algorithms and information collected from various sources and software can help determine courses of action.
This includes knowing when to send out your brand’s tweet about a certain product or service to when to stock a particular item on your eCommerce site.
The key to predictive data systems is integration. Because this trend is so popular, a lot of analytical systems can be easily connected.
The result is a highly detailed mapping system that forecasts business operations over specified periods.
Conclusion
Although the internet offers tools and many potential customers, it also delivers a plethora of competitors.
Do not assume that what you are doing right now is enough. Ensure to keep up with digital marketing trends.
These incredible trends can support you in boosting your site traffic, generating more quality leads, and expanding sales while conserving your loyal customers.
They also play a crucial role in helping you understand digital marketing trends and how they will influence the larger competitive landscape.
