Top marketing trends of 2022

How many new marketing trends do you think have bubbled up to the surface in the last 10 years alone? Doesn't it feel like there's a new trend coming into play everyday? It's not just all catalogs and mailers anymore. Digital marketing is mimicking the ever-changing and growing world of new technology and innovation. Today, digital marketers have sometimes found themselves having to make fast changes to their strategies just to keep up with the trends. With Gen Z entering the workforce and taking over TikTok, things were bound to take a turn in the marketing industry.

Let's get started with 5 current marketing trends you can follow to spice up your marketing strategy and reach peak potential for your small business or startup.

Marketing growth in recent years

Okay, if we are going to understand where we are heading, it's important to understand how we got here in the first place. Just in the last 10 years alone, marketing has made groundbreaking changes. New technology has led smartphones to fly off the shelves. Think back to the days when almost no one had one. Now even children have their hands on some sort of digital tablet. Then we were introduced to the world of likes and followers that today we know as social media. Content marketing became the norm and the term influencer became more prevalent. The internet also faced some change. The number of internet users has significantly increased, along with the number of results appearing on a search engine after doing a simple Google Search. Remember how many pictures and videos of cats were on the internet 10 years ago? We can't even imagine what the number is like now.

Today, we've got the metaverse, where the latest gadget is VR (virtual reality). Everyone wants to get their hands on it. Augmented reality (AR) allows us to enhance our experiences, just by sitting on the couch in our living room. I mean, it does sound pretty sweet if we say so ourselves.

It's incredible to think where we will be in the next 10 years, especially since now something as advanced as doing a voice search feels like yesterday's news, and the growth the industry has faced in just the last year is mind-blowing. In the meantime, let's look at some current marketing trends.

Video marketing

Whether it be on social media, the front page of your website, or even embedded in email marketing campaigns or blog posts, video content is a hot topic right now, and it doesn't show any signs of letting up. Attention spans are shrinking, so, what better to hold someone's attention than with a captivating piece of video content.

You don't have to go too crazy by emptying your piggy bank, buying all kinds of fancy equipment to film videos. In fact, you can simply film on your smartphone. Some examples of video content to incorporate into your marketing are creating a short video of your product or service, recording a testimonial, or even hosting a live video meeting on social media. Some companies even turn their podcasts into video. Get creative with it and don't be afraid to research what other companies are doing.

Social media

Among one of the most popular digital marketing trends is social media marketing. If you're not an expert in the social media world yet, it could be in your best interest to become one. Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and even TikTok now, there are plenty of social media platforms for your business to grow on. Plus, as a small business owner or marketer, we know that every penny counts - so, social media acts as the perfect free solution to try and increase brand awareness. Of course, there is the option to pay to promote your content as digital advertising, but we won't go into that now.

Social media is a great place to showcase that video content we just talked about. The platforms are favoring video over pictures, and it's predicted that short-form video content is here to stay. Use keywords and hashtags when sharing content on each app to increase brand awareness and exposure.

Influencer marketing

An influencer is just as it sounds, one that influences others. Influencers are known as experts within a certain niche. Brands of all sizes are trusting influencers to endorse their products on social media as advertisers. If you have room for it in your marketing budget and know of an influencer who would be perfect to increase brand awareness for your business, now's your chance to jump at the opportunity - it could lead to a great ROI.

Working with an influencer in your business's niche can help place your product or service right in front of your target audience.

AI based technology

Say hello to the newest form of personalization in user experience, AI. AI (artificial intelligence) is one of the newest digital marketing trends and is changing the avenue of customer service and customer experience as we speak. For starters, AI is intelligence simulated by computers and machines. This system is essentially machine learning where we can find automation in our processes of determining consumer behavior. When we better understand customer trends, we can then do some content creation and come up with innovative messaging to increase customer retention. No more paying for third-party data and analytics (or running into third-party cookies).

AI is great to use for conversational marketing efforts and is key when something needs to be done quickly, such as responding to a customer via a chatbot. This technology can also help when it comes to developing a buyer persona, monitoring campaigns, and personalizing the customer journey.

Virtual events

Just like many companies are moving their work online, more meetings and events are taking place online too. While we would love to talk all about all the marketing efforts that go into making a virtual event happen, this isn't the blog for that. In short, virtual events have shaped the event industry. Hosting one gives your company the potential to eliminate geographic constraints and reach people you wouldn't have normally been able to.

Plus, virtual events can oftentimes be cheaper than live, in-person events. So, if you haven't hosted an event before, hosting a virtual one could be the perfect place to start!

In total transparency, it's totally alright if you don't follow all the trends. Feel free to pick and choose what works best for your small business or start up. There's plenty of potential to increase your business's success.

Allow these trends to act as a guideline for your own marketing strategy. Chances are, if other small businesses are doing it and succeeding, you can too. We'd say we know a thing or two about marketing strategy. We are marketing consultants, after all. So, we can help you create a marketing plan that hits all the bases (trends in this case) to set your business up for success. Set up your discovery call with us for a chance to chat!