It’s time to talk trends. As a new year approaches, we’re looking back on what went right and wondering where the future will take us. Planning your digital marketing strategy for the months ahead should be an inherent part of your year-end itinerary, just like setting some new resolutions and taking down the holiday décor!
It’s time to talk trends. As a new year approaches, we’re looking back on what went right and wondering where the future will take us. Planning your digital marketing strategy for the months ahead should be an inherent part of your year-end itinerary, just like setting some new resolutions and taking down the holiday décor!
As you work on your content calendars and take stock of your strategy, here are a few trends to keep an eye on:
1. First-Party Data
Remember cookies? They aren’t the go-to method for customer data collection anymore. Google announced plans to stop tracking cookies, a welcomed response from the tech giant amid growing consumer concerns about privacy.
The dissolution of cookies as we once knew them has led us into the age of first-party data. Gathering information voluntarily given to you directly from customers is a happy middle ground for shoppers and marketers alike.
Our Advice: Make sure your website has forms and capture opportunities throughout, so you can gather details and keep in touch with customers. Verify your analytics are set up properly as well. That way, you can see what users are most interested in when they visit your website, how long they spend on pages, and where you may be able to add new conversion points.
2. Video Marketing
Content marketing has been highly regarded as a crown jewel in digital marketing strategies for years and years. And with SEM Rush reporting that video consumption is one of the most popular ways to consume content, there’s a no-brainer bridge to cross for you and your content strategy.
Not only are people casually consuming video content in their spare time, but they are also basing their buying decisions off the videos they seek and see. Lemonlight’s data revealed that 94% of their survey respondents in March 2021 shared that watching a video has helped them make a purchase decision at least once. Of those, 72% were swayed by a product demonstration video.
Our Advice: Whether you put your team in front of the camera or you focus on product videos or create animations with voiceovers, video is a must in 2022. Getting started doesn’t need to be expensive, but you should approach it in an organized way. Start by jotting down 50-100 – yes, that many! – video ideas that you can pull from throughout the year.
3. Automations
Digital marketing is a lot of work, especially now that personalization is on the rise. When the first Twilio Segment report came out back in 2017, it revealed that personalization had become a “basic expectation” among consumers. That means the average shopper now expects brands to remember their preferences, viewing or shopping history, location, etc. across platforms and campaigns.
But with growing customer expectations, marketers are looking for solutions that make everyone happy in 2022. Thankfully, automation can help ease the effort that personalization requires. From automated email flows for new signups or during promotions, small business marketers can set up campaigns triggered by buyer behaviors and incorporate dynamic information all the while, leaving more time for the other rigors of running a growing business.
Our Advice: Use tools that make setting appointments and staying in touch easier. Create welcome flows and abandoned cart flows that keep your audience engaged, even when you aren’t manually initiating interactions with them. Incorporate a scheduling system, too, to minimize time consuming conversations that keep your team away from their work.
What to Do in the New Year
There’s no one size fits all approach to digital marketing. Even if you map your entire strategy off of 2022 marketing trends, you may not find the ROI you’re looking for. But you don’t need to do it alone!
Find the approach that works best for you – one that incorporates these marketing trends for 2022 in a way that works for your business, goals, and resources. Work 1-on-1 with a digital marketing expert to develop a plan you can stick to or use on-demand training sessions to start leveling up your digital know-how in time to take on the trends.
No matter what you do, we’re confident that you’ll find your footing and see great growth in 2022!
