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Marketing trends in 2022: the reality of a digital world

The last two years saw dramatic changes in the digital world to fit the reality of a viral pandemic. Although digital marketing efforts had previously lagged behind traditional marketing, digital marketing now dominates most companies’ marketing spend. Digital marketing is king, and the industry’s growth rate is explosive. The world is going online and companies that haven’t joined the digital revolution might struggle to keep up.

Although necessary, this rapid growth has also highlighted important industry issues such as security, privacy, and digital ethics. Companies like Google, Meta, Apple and Amazon continue to face intense scrutiny. Facebook alone has had an interesting year. In the past six months, the company has: • Experienced an extensive network failure that brought every service under its umbrella to a halt • Faced accusations in Congress regarding the company’s prioritization of profit over the health and wellbeing of its users, in particular adolescents and teens • Rebranded the company name to Meta in light of the company’s new focus on building and growing their impact in the “metaverse.”

In other words, it’s been a wild year, and more and more consumers are demanding transparency regarding how their data is being used and how big-tech companies are operating. Following are our top trends going into 2022.

Localization in SEO is key: Local SEO has always been a powerful tool in driving consumers in your area to your business. Thanks to Covid, we’re seeing a national shift as individuals leave larger urban areas and move to smaller, second-tier cities. This movement has made local SEO more important than ever. Unstable supply chains and the desire to “shop local” in a time of tragedy have driven local-product demand increasingly higher. One study found that an estimated two-thirds of consumers shop in neighborhood stores and it’s likely this figure will grow as people continue to resettle. Ranking well on Google and showing up in the local map pack will be critical for success in 2022.

Work from home is changing the

consumer: Just as COVID-19 has increased the emigration of people from large urban areas to smaller city centers, it has also impacted our cultural acceptance of work from home. The past two years have proven that not only is it possible to run multi-million dollar businesses from largely stay-at-home workforces for many workers and companies, it’s preferable. Many individuals may not return to the office, choosing instead to work from the comfort of their home where they can balance their work life with their home life.

This growth of the “crib-economy” will be critical in how marketers target local audiences and will continue to drive localization online. Stay-at-home workers also mean that your target audience will be online at different points throughout the day. Just as people changed their rhythms to adjust to COVID-19, they also changed their rhythms to match their new model of work-life balance. Knowing where your audience will be key.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere — and it’s impacting search: From phones to Alexa, artificial intelligence is something all of us take for granted. Whether it’s asking Siri to route us to the nearest grocery store or having Alexa recite the weather forecast, users are increasingly “searching” their content vocally. For marketers, this means a growing focus on long-tail search terms

CHRIS MANLEY and phrases as opposed to simple keyword searches. A user may not write out “What are local restaurants near me?” but they will certainly ask Alexa that!

Quality vs. quantity on social media:

Despite privacy concerns and inquiries into their role in facilitating hate speech and bullying, social media platforms continue to be powerful channels. Online advertising, influencer marketing and video content will continue to grow in 2022. While more and more users continue to interact with content of social media, it’s worth noting that the majority are growing more restrictive of the quality of content they consume.

Short-form video content is and will

remain dominant: Short-form video content, live streams and webinars have defined the last few years and will continue to define marketing in the future.

Mobile is increasingly more dominant:

This has been a growing trend over the last decade with the rise of wearable technology and cell phones. More and more users are interacting with the digital world from a mobile device. Brands that can optimize their websites and content for a mobile world will continue to see success as users continue to make reservations, purchase items, and look up information on the go.

Augmented reality and virtual reality

are the new future: Five years ago, the “up and coming” trend was video. Today, video is dominant. Now, the “up and coming” trend is virtual reality. Brands like Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft are pioneering a digital frontier where individuals can interact in an online environment as if it were real. An example of this is a furniture company that allows you to “try” a piece of furniture in your living room using an app. The couch isn’t there, but you’re able to view it as if it was.

Trends come and go, and the marketing techniques of today will look very different in 10 years. Adopting video, focusing on local SEO, and considering new design aesthetics for your social channels will only drive your message so far. Marketing, in its most basic form, has always been communicating a message to people interested in hearing it. Thus, the greatest determiner of success in 2022, and beyond, will be how well your organization does two very critical and very basic things: 1. Identify your audience, who they are, what they need, and how you help. 2. Make sure your message (on whatever channel you choose) is compelling to that audience.

By knowing your audience, you can speak, write and create directly for your target group and personalize communication, even in a remote world.

CEO Chris Manley co-founded Engenius in 2008 and is the company’s team leader and strategist. His experience driving sales through web design and digital marketing dates back to 2000. He also leads a nonprofit, Rebuild Upstate.

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MARCH 29, 2021 | VOLUME 24, NO. 6

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