Now that the craziness of 2021 has passed, it’s time to look ahead to the coming year. To put it mildly, 2021 was a wild ride. As a result, while some post-pandemic trends materialized, others did not, with various forced changes changing the marketing environment.
If you’re a budding digital marketer or a seasoned pro, you’ve almost certainly looked into the latest digital marketing trends. Professionals who want to have a career in digital marketing must keep up with the newest industry developments.
With every passing year after year, every digital marketer must commit time and effort to continually upskill and learn. Knowing how new and upgraded algorithms work, new modifications, and features work offers you a leg up on the competition. It allows you to develop the most successful marketing campaigns for you and your clients.
As the new year begins, digital marketers worldwide are searching for the most recent trends.
We understand that what worked in the past years or 2021 may not work in 2022, and we must stay updated on these trends to provide the best possible results for our clients. We’d like to use this time as we enter a new decade and technology continues to evolve at a quick pace to discuss the digital marketing trends we’re looking forward to seeing more of in 2022.
AI in Digital Marketing
On our list, this is the most important digital marketing trend. Everyone has been buzzing about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will take over every area of your life, which is not wrong. We may not recognize it, but the transformation has already begun. 60% of internet users must have used the once or more times AI chatbot to answer queries across numerous platforms.
The majority of the content we see and interact with on social media sites has been fine-tuned by AI to keep us interested for longer. AI technology is so marvelous that it is expected to reach a $190 billion industry by 2025, and now than ever, digital marketers have a fantastic opportunity to take advantage of it.
AI can perform various tasks and operate as an extension for any digital marketer who understands how to use it. It is economical, precise, and highly effective. With so many large firms using these tools, every team should have a strategy to include AI into their toolkit.
Increased influencer content and live-streaming
Activities were canceled due to stay-at-home orders, and customers could not attend in-person events, and they couldn’t even interact with their friends and family. This increased the number of individuals watching live streams, whether brand lives streams or live videos from their favorite celebrities or online workshops.
Live viewings on Facebook increased by 50% during lockdown periods, while viewings on Instagram increased by 70%. In 2020-2021, TikTok usage increased dramatically, and there’s a high possibility that the trend will continue in 2022.
Influencer live-streams, for example, may build trust and tap into the ‘in-the-moment connection that customers seek.
During the pandemic, Amazon Live also took off. During live events, influencers used the platform to market their favorite products.
Zero Click Searches
We’ll see more “zero-click searches” as voice search becomes more prevalent. This feature means that anyone will acquire information without going to a website, reading a blog post, or watching an advertisement.
Last year, zero-click search results grew by 65 %, accounting for 47% of desktop and 77% of mobile search results. When search engines, such as Google, display a featured snippet from an online resource right in their search results, this is known as zero-click searching.
For example, if you type in “What is a marketing strategy?” you will get a list of possible answers, and Google will provide an answer right on the first page of search results.
When voice search agents like Siri and Alexa hear a user ask for specific information, they read this exact response. After that, they turn the text bits into speech. You must ensure that your web content is optimized for featured snippets to take advantage of zero-click searches. This implies you should put yourself in your customer’s position and consider what information they want while conducting an online search.
You may also benefit from zero-click searches by using proper keywords and metadata to help your resources rank higher in search results.
Content is King and will always be
For 2022 and beyond, the content will continue to reign supreme. Search engines like Google will prioritize well-written content and helpful links when ranking sites or delivering search results.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 93% of the most effective B2B content marketers prefer content marketing over any other strategy. It demonstrates that high-quality content is the main component of any marketing plan.
We can also anticipate an increase in the sale of the material. It’s the process of developing material for selling. A marketing team must have a defined content strategy that syncs with the marketing plan and the consumer journey. Whether for marketing or sales, the material being supplied must be relevant, engaging, and valuable.
Visual Lookup
Users can upload an image and acquire information about anything merely by looking at it rather than entering a description into Google. The search yields species information if they submit a plant photo and history data sharing a landmark photograph. When a user searches for a product, it offers a list of similar products with links to where they may be purchased. Google Lens, Pinterest Lens, and other similar search capabilities transform a user’s camera into a search bar.
How might visual search benefit your company? Add high-quality images tagged with descriptive keywords to your online inventory, implement an image search, and consider advertising on Pinterest (if your target demographic uses it). Advertisers who work with them benefit from improved search results.
Take these tips:
- Search engines will be more likely to locate your photographs if you have an image sitemap.
- Before submitting photographs to your website, give them descriptive filenames and add alternative text (also known as “alt tags”) to all of them.
Conclusion
We certainly can’t expect trends to stay the same after a global pandemic. Digital Marketers have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to adapt to significant changes.
As a marketer, you must continue to adapt and develop new ways to meet your customers’ increasing demands. Keep these patterns in mind to prepare yourself and your clients for future surprises.
If you’re looking for a means to stand out in the world of marketing or advertising, having the necessary tools and technology to back up your efforts is critical. Therefore, get yourself equipped with the latest tech and shine with these latest marketing trends.
