2022 will be a year of continued change in the digital marketing space. Here are 3 trends to leverage.
- Digital marketing has become a major part of the small business world, and technology trends shape the strategies that will be most effective for reaching your target audience.
- Providing more authentic content, offering chatbot service, optimizing for voice search, making the most of social media marketing, and creating an engaging user experience are some key trends to follow in 2022.
- You’ll need to thoughtfully determine which trends provide the greatest benefit to you, as well as which trends you should avoid based on your business.
- This article is for small business owners and digital marketers who want to know about major trends and what to focus their marketing efforts on in 2022.
While many principles of marketing remain the same each year, the tools businesses use to achieve marketing success vary greatly over time. Newspaper advertising was once commonplace. Now, digital advertising and artificial intelligence play critical roles in the marketing tactics of businesses.
Every year, there are more technological trends for entrepreneurs to keep an eye on. Business owners who stay ahead of the curve might even find new heights of marketing success. Here are 3 trends we believe small businesses should take advantage of in 2022:
- Voice search
- Data analytics
- Social media marketing
1. Voice search
With mobile devices and voice services like Alexa and Google Assistant increasing in popularity, voice search is one area where your small business can stand out among your competitors. If your business is online, there’s an increasing chance people will find your website or content marketing materials via voice search in 2022 and beyond.
“A few years ago, we had to adapt to the growing use of mobile,” said Chris Hornak, owner of Blog Hands. “And now, according to Google, mobile searches are over 50% [of searches]. Marketers will need to begin adapting to voice searches, which currently make up 20% of mobile searches, and that’s expected to continue its growth similarly to how mobile has.”
A simple technique you can apply in 2022 is to provide answers to questions that customers frequently have about your product on your website, according to Hornak. “Remember to be detailed and conversational with your answers.”
2. Data analytics
Most brands make data analytics a priority, but marketers still have a ways to go, said Curtis Tingle, senior vice president of product for intelligent media delivery company Valassis.
“Marketers must learn how to better use the data that they collect,” he said. “Customers are continuously feeding personal information to the companies they engage with – from purchase behaviors to favorite products to the best ways to reach them through advertising and marketing efforts. With this data share, customers are looking for some sort of return, whether it be in the form of more personalized advertisements or targeted coupons/deals.”
Tingle’s observation is important: Marketers need to do more than gather data. The data needs to be meaningful, and businesses need to use that data to improve marketing campaigns.
Trends in 2022 pivot around predictive data; smarter, scalable and more flexible datasets; edge computing for faster analysis; and hybrid computing that blends off-premises and on-premises cloud solutions. You’re also going to see growing use of machine learning-driven solutions that include augmented analytics; engineered decision analytics; and data visualization for better decision-making, business management, and insights and automation.
3. Social media marketing
Social media will continue to be vital to successful companies’ digital marketing efforts. In 2022, expect to see video, Instagram, livestreaming and podcasts dominating the list. Instagram isn’t going anywhere – it’s got staying power. LinkedIn will also be increasingly influential, particularly as influencers use it to magnify their voices.
Speaking of influencers, 2022 will be the year of experts who have fewer but more dedicated followers. The niche is what matters, and those who dominate the empty ocean of little to no competition will lead the way.
