If you’re looking to stay ahead of the curve in digital marketing, it helps to know what’s coming next and when it will happen.
Looking at trends from earlier in the decade will show you where things are headed in the near future.
For example, with that in mind, here are some digital marketing trends/ ideas that marketers should consider for 2022 and beyond.
Table of Contents
Understanding Digital and Social
It’s important to understand that marketing has changed drastically due to technology.
Digital channels have revolutionized how brands connect with their customers, and social media platforms allow for brands to create a personal relationship with them. But despite these changes, some things remain constant.
A strong brand is still vital and it will always require consistency across every channel of communication. In fact, digital-only marketing is not an option anymore as consumers are demanding more from brands than ever before.
To succeed, brands must embrace new technologies while staying true to themselves by connecting digitally with their audience.
And most importantly, they need to keep up with trends on a regular basis; every year new technologies emerge so predicting what lies ahead 10 years down the road isn’t easy! However, by identifying emerging trends and patterns marketers can better position themselves to be successful 10 years down line.
So what will marketing look like in 2022? Let’s take a look at some of these potential trends:
Social Media
Most users are now active on multiple social media platforms (an average of 2.5+ platforms per user), and there is a growing demand for customer service to be available on social media channels.
Firms with multiple customer-facing departments, such as sales and customer service, can enable these departments to coordinate their efforts with greater efficiency via social media integration.
For example, firms are increasingly using Facebook Messenger to allow potential customers to contact salespeople immediately rather than having to wait on hold or use an online form, which can lead to reduced costs per lead and increased conversion rates compared with traditional methods of contact.
Companies such as Uber and 1-800 Flowers have successfully used Facebook Messenger for direct customer communication.
Conversion Funnels
More than 90% of consumers use their smartphones when researching products, but only 2% buy via a mobile device.
So how can you capture more of those mobile shoppers and convert them into buyers? One solution is to employ conversion funnels for your mobile website.
Funnels are digital roadmaps designed to lead consumers from point A (e.g., discovery) to point B (e.g., purchase), often with single steps and multiple channels (such as a form filled out on desktop that gets sent directly to a business’s sales team).
By incorporating these easier-to-use roadmaps, companies can drive more traffic from search engines and social media posts through responsive design that provides an optimal experience for shoppers who are viewing pages on their phones.
Conversion funnel software also enables businesses to track offline customer activities such as coupon codes or flyers scanned at grocery stores—and pair that data with customers’ online behavior.
The result: smarter marketing decisions tailored toward individual consumer behaviors.
Influencer Marketing
In 2007, Foursquare was just a startup, Facebook was still limited to college students, and Twitter didn’t exist.
Today those three companies are at or near billion-dollar valuations—and they’re all built on their early success with influencer marketing.
In 2018, over 434 million Instagram users follow more than 100 influencers; 170 million people follow over 250 influencers on Pinterest, and Facebook Watch just launched.
- Don’t dismiss these numbers: Influencer marketing is being used by big brands (more than 80% of advertisers say they use it)
- small businesses (two out of three US-based SMBs believe influencer marketing has worked for them), and everyone in between—including you! If done right, influencer marketing can help your brand reach new audiences that are not as familiar with your products as existing ones.
- It will also help you strengthen your relationship with existing customers through authentic engagement and community building.
And when done well, there’s no reason why influencer marketing shouldn’t become one of your top acquisition channels by 2022.
Are You Ready to get make-money tips using photos? ——> (Proof)
Advertising and Mobile
Digital advertising is an indispensable part of marketing and it’s only going to become more crucial in time.
However, as we get further into 2022 it’s becoming clearer that many large social media sites are stepping up their efforts to make digital advertising more difficult to utilize on their platforms.
These sites aren’t making a conscious effort to thwart digital advertisers, but they do want people to spend less time on their platforms (and online generally).
As a result, it’s likely that digital marketers will need new places for customers to find and engage with ads.
What’s not clear yet is what these new platforms will be or how effective they will be, so we can expect marketers to experiment with a variety of solutions over the next five years.
Quality Content Still Reigns Supreme
Over time, most consumers have become much savvier when it comes to digital marketing and are quickly able to tell which companies are trying to sell them something. As a result, many companies are finding that producing truly unique and valuable content is their best bet.
After all, there’s no point selling someone something if they don’t know you exist.
For example, Apple doesn’t spend billions of dollars each year on TV commercials or billboards – it focuses its marketing efforts on creating useful content for people to watch or read about new products as they become available.
At this point in time (and throughout our lifetimes), good content is king – let’s hope that trend continues into 2022!
What is B2C digital marketing?
By 2022, it is predicted that B2C digital marketing will reach about $500 Billion, with 60% of that being spent on mobile advertising.
Additionally, by 2022, experts estimate that B2C social media advertising revenue will rise to about $40 Billion.
This would reflect a massive increase from 2017’s levels which was around $30 Billion.
Social media is one of today’s most powerful marketing tools because users are more likely to interact with an ad when they see it on a platform they already use every day.
This makes them incredibly valuable platforms for companies looking to gain new customers and stay connected with their existing ones.
The Importance of Data-Driven Customer Insights
In a world where companies of all sizes are increasingly striving to be customer-focused, data has become an essential tool for making decisions and guiding business practices.
In order to make smart decisions about how to engage with their customers, businesses need to know what types of messages they should send, when they should send them, and who they should be sent to.
This can be accomplished through a variety of methods; one involves collecting data on your current customer base (such as demographic information) and using that data to inform your marketing strategies going forward.
Summary
The marketing industry is constantly evolving and digital channels play a significant role.
From paid ads to organic engagement and brand awareness, marketers have plenty of options for reaching potential customers online.
The growth of mobile, social media, and AI will no doubt reshape how brands approach marketing in the years to come, while security breaches will continue to impact businesses across industries.
