7 Digital Marketing Trends For Your Business In 2022
A new year brings a new dawn of evolution for the human race. One of the industries that evolved faster than any other thanks to Covid-19 was digital marketing. And evolution will continue further as time progresses and our IT industry advances. Although a majority of the basics for digital marketing remain the same as conventional marketing, there are a few key changes to the tools that businesses employ to achieve their marketing goals.
Initially, companies would advertise themselves by using television and print media. But with time, large and small businesses have gotten access to other marketing methods. For example, Facebook and Instagram are the two most prominent social media communities on the planet. Thanks to platforms such as these and other digital marketing opportunities from Google, the world of business and marketing has changed forever. And to help you navigate this changing digital ecosystem, we’re giving you the top trends in Digital Marketing that will enhance your marketing strategies to maximize the number of satisfied users for your business. So let’s get started.
Trend #1: Creating Original Content
The internet allows people to browse the web and search for almost anything. And with a population of almost 8 billion, there are high chances that the most generic ideas for content will come to not just one but hundreds of content creators. And because of this, businesses have a hard time finding content creators that can make original content that is both informative and entertaining without using the same ideas as everyone else.
Viewers on almost every digital media platform are known to appreciate original ideas utilized outside-the-box thinking. Another benefit of creating original content for your brand is that you can establish your brand as a leader in a particular industry with little effort in no time. Many small and large businesses use this technique to gain online users. By creating a new topic and getting people to talk about it and share their links, a brand can increase its size in terms of its online following. And this isn’t just limited to blogging. Creating great content for social media like Instagram and TikTok is one of the most powerful ways through which your brand can become a trending channel of information.
Trend #2: Automated Chatbots
Another great thing about the internet is that it allows customers to communicate with businesses through email or chat. Now, this may seem unimportant to the untrained entrepreneur. Most business owners underestimate the importance of having a chatbot on their business website. Nearly 70% of consumers prefer not having to speak to a customer support representative when dealing with minor matters such as product inquiries. This is why getting a chatbot for your website will be a great way to expand your business and enhance your customer experience in 2022. This becomes even more evident because of the fact that the global chatbot market is valued at $3.2 Billion in 2021 and is expected to reach a value of $14.9 billion by the year 2027.
What’s more is that with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, you won’t have to hire another person and pay them each week. Just by paying upfront for a chatbot service, you can make sure that your customers can have their questions answered without distracting you from any important work happening behind the scenes. Chatbots are advancing so fast that humans can’t tell whether they’re speaking to a chatbot or a live human. However, to attain this efficiency level, you will have to invest heavily in chatbots. However, there is still a more cost-effective option based on preset automated replies that can work just as well.
Trend #3: Voice Search
Google search statistics indicate a growing trend of people using their mobile phones to search rather than their computers. And a significant portion of this search volume is coming through the Voice Search feature in Google Search. And research indicates that this volume will grow in the future to comprise a more considerable portion of comprehensive searches in the coming five years. Not only this, but the voice recognition market is currently valued at $10.7 Billion and is projected to reach $27.16 Billion by the year 2026.
With the development of AI-assisted voice recognition software, we can feel the advancements in how our computers listen to us by the day. Some examples of these advancements are Alexa and Google Assistant, which will heavily impact how we consume content.
Because of this advancing trend in the digital marketing space and the growing need for mobile-first web and software design, most businesses that use digital marketing will invest heavily in creating a content strategy that caters to the growing volume of voice searches in the future. Many experts suggest creating simple content that can be considered conversational rather than in the form of an academic article format. This way, digital marketers can reach customers using simple language that quickly answers their commonly asked questions regarding a certain topic area.
Trend #4: Data Analysis
Our phones and computers record certain bits of data about our behavior to ascertain the best strategies to market products to us. And similarly, even the websites we use have built-in mechanisms to help them remember our devices and monitor our actions on their website. But what exactly happens to all this data? And why is it so important?
The data collected by our websites and technology is mostly saved with the companies from which we use products and services. A great example of this is Google. All our searches, check-ins, responses, and clicks are recorded and sent to Google, which helps them identify common trends in their consumers so that they can alter their marketing strategies. Another way Google uses our data is to help businesses get their ads to the right people.
Not only that, but any and all websites today use some form of data collection when it comes to their consumers or users. But not all businesses are using this data correctly. Some sell their data to lead generation companies that help their own clients find the right customer. But the smartest business owners will use the data they collect from users and analyze it with the help of data scientists. This will allow them to identify patterns in your behavior on their website to optimize their services and marketing strategies. Data is a great way to listen to what your users do and do not say, and it can help your business find common problems and opportunities for growth without extensive research. Many businesses have begun to understand the global data analytics market valued at $ 198.08 Billion in 2021 and is projected to rise by 13.5% to $684.12 Billion by 2030.
Trend #5: Social Media Marketing
Our data is also used on social media platforms. Every post we like, every comment we make, and every meme we share is recorded in the servers of global tech giants like Facebook & Instagram to enhance their customer experience. But another way that Facebook and Instagram help businesses reach customers is by providing them with business accounts that can do various things to market even the smallest brand.
By being active and creating engaging content on social media, many businesses have gained credibility in their industry as prominent thought leaders. However, this doesn’t just happen overnight. It requires diligent management of social media accounts and intricate knowledge of how the millennial mind works. Whereas most of all, it requires a grasp of how different social media platforms are best suited to different industries so that the optimum amount of activity is maintained on each social media channel. Currently, the social media marketing and analytics market is valued at around $3.2 Billion and is expected to expand to $9.3 Billion by 2026. This indicates just how important Social Media will become in the next five years regarding brand awareness and promotion.
Another crucial aspect of using social media for your brand is that it allows you to directly communicate with potential customers and listen to their concerns to alter your marketing strategy. This will perhaps become an essential part of managing social media accounts for businesses following the impacts of Covid-19.
Trend #6: New Digital Channels for Businesses
With the creation of new digital spaces that focus on an entirely unheard-of digital experience, companies are making a beeline to become the first to integrate their brand image and marketing strategy into such platforms. Both the Metaverse and the Next Earth project are great examples of how the digital world is changing to an entirely new form.
This can be considered as the single most significant shift in the history of E-commerce, which was brought about almost a year after the outbreak of Covid-19. These new digital spaces are currently being tested and developed so that online shopping can become more interactive and futuristic. Imagine trying clothes from 50 brands without ever leaving your living room couch. This is the ease of access that the latest digital platforms aim to provide. Businesses focus on joining in on the accessibility to further promote their products and services in a fun, new way. One fact that boosts our confidence in the possibilities of the new digital world order is that the Metaverse market is expected to reach an estimated $828.95 billion by the year 2028.
Trend #7: Enhanced User Experience
In today’s digital marketing and web design world, user experience refers to the simplicity of a website or online platforms’ design. Designs have to be intuitive enough to spend as little time as possible trying to figure out how to navigate the website and find their desired pages. Thanks to the growing influence of the online world on the offline world, many companies have begun searching for a way to enhance the experience of their customers visiting their website so that they do not miss out on essential chances to sell their products. This is evident from the expected CAGR of the global UX market, which is expected to go from its current value of $5308 million to an estimated $10956 million in the coming year.
Although the latest UI/UX design trends are enough to make the average user feel at ease, they will still need to be heavily developed to keep up with the daily advancements of other technologies such as AR & VR. Businesses have already begun applying their marketing strategies to the UX design of their websites and online platforms to keep up. However, they must focus on providing a smooth and seamless experience that is easy to understand for even the simplest consumers. And yet they also have to ensure that it is so captivating that a consumer instantly chooses to buy a product based on their impression of the brand’s website.
Conclusion
The human race is advancing, and along with our lives, our technologies are upgrading as well. And even though these trends may require some time to become noticeable on a global scale, they are still the direction in which the future is headed. To maintain the brand image and reputation, businesses must be willing to dive into the digital world in a way that was never seen before. But do not worry, the basic principles of marketing are still in play, just in a different technique and style than what was seen in the last three decades.
