Marketing Predictions for 2022

Marketing in 2022 is going to be epic. Here's a look at the key predictions that will help your business to thrive.

In what remains uncertain times in the world, it’s best to stay alert and ahead of the curve to best prepare your business for the year. Marketing is imperative for your business, So, without further ado, let’s have a look at the key marketing predictions for 2022. 

Marketing in 2022 - The Predictions You Need to Know

Marketers need to take note of the following marketing predictions that will change the work they create and share with audiences in 2022. 

More Businesses are Utilizing Robust Tech

Tech is available to all businesses, and we’re seeing more of them invest in it for its benefits. This changes the competitive landscape and means customer’s experiences and expectations are changing. Automations are improving business processes and creating seamless customer journeys. This frees up time for the business, and means that customers get a high-quality, standardized experience with a brand. When you email your customers, they expect it to be personalized, for your product recommendations to be suited to them, and for valuable content to be delivered to them. 

Get Creative with Content

There are many ways to share a message. Content creation is of the utmost importance for your brand, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be one dimensional. Create text, imagery, audio and video content in a multimedia mix. This not only appeals to audiences by keeping them engaged and holding their attention, but it also helps your business to capitalise on the growing voice and visuals searches occurring online. If done well, it can also lead to compressive and interning storytelling that carries well. 

Get into Real Time Marketing

People want to see things as they are and as they unfold. Get involved in movements and trends as they drop. This shows what your brand is capable of creatively. This is no easy feat, and you’ve got to get the timing just right, though. When you do, you can reach new levels of marketing success and improve positive perceptions relating to your brand. There are many ways to achieve this, like including interactive elements, for example. You should also be sharing lots of quality Story content and Lives with your audiences in 2022. 

Video, Video, Video!

Video content remains king, but naturally as the world favours this content and it continues to develop, you’ve got to up your game with it. It is expected to become the predominant form of content shared online in future. So, when looking at your videos, consider the following: Is it well produced and edited? Is it short enough? Attention spans and platforms favour shorter bits of content - I assure you, what you want to say in 10 minutes can be shown in 15 seconds. It needs to grab attention and hold it. Read more about video advertising in 2022. 

More Ways to Talk and Shop

If you’re an eCommerce store, you’ve got to offer your customers multiple ways to shop. An example of this is the click-to-buy direct shopping on social media platforms. When it comes to customer care and service, you’ve also got to cater to multiple forms of content. An important one to mention here is through direct messaging, like WhatsApp for Business. This gives people direct communication with you in a manner that is comfortable and convenient for them. And yes, this includes the use of chatbots which have become far better at understanding and communicating on your behalf. 

Influencer Currency Carries On

A few years ago, some analysts expected the ‘influencer bubble’ to pop. They couldn’t have been more wrong. It has since grown, outshining the celebrity culture (read more about how influencers are evolving). Businesses in 2022 should harness this, and aim to inspire and appeal to influencers online, especially the micro-influencers with niche audiences. Sometimes all it takes is one video - and if your product or service is good enough, it doesn’t need to cost you either, though if it does, the payoff of the views is well worth the investment.

The Money Matters of Marketing 

You’ve got to be prepared to invest in marketing. While many digital platforms are free, gaining organic traction will only become more difficult in 2022. If you’re on social media, for example, be prepared to include ad spend in your budget. A little can go a long way, but it is needed to optimise the content you’re putting out there. You’ll also need to ensure the content you share is high-quality, which may require the expertise of professionals. 

Don’t Lose Sight of the Basics

If traditional marketing works for you, then continue to use it. Likewise, don’t abandon ship of all of your current digital marketing strategies that are working. For example, email and content marketing are still highly effective ways of communicating with customers. That should remain steady, and improvements should be made where possible. As much as marketing is evolving, it is important to find ways of growing in your abilities and strengths. If you don’t have A/B testing in place, be sure to include it for 2022. 

All of the marketing predictions named above follow existing trends and movements. These are not going anyway, so be sure you’re in the know of them too:

• Search engines as a final destination: Search engines are becoming final destinations, since a snippet of info can easily answer a search request in some instances. This makes the challenge of getting people to read more and click through to your site even more challenging. Businesses should also ensure that the info that Google has relating to their business is accurate (with updated trading hours, for example). 
• Changing content strategies: Focus on conversion rates rather than bringing in a lot of traffic. These are the metrics that really matter for your business. To achieve this, ensure you’re sharing valuable content that is in-depth and in-line with what people are searching. This means keyword searches remain vital, and marketers need to continually work on the digital presence of a brand. This should extend beyond your website, reaching to all points of contact and online channels, as failing to do so can be detrimental for a brand. 
• Well-positioned content: In order for content to work for you, you’ve got to set it up for success. What we mean by this is that marketers need to utilise every available tool and resource. For example, no image should be shared without including alt text (you can do this on Instagram too), and blog posts need to include schema codes. Keep things updated, and let your content reach as far as it can. Look at patterns in algorithms and ensure you’re in tune with them. 

That wraps the marketing predictions you need to know about for 2022. These changes will help your marketing efforts and outputs to perform better and resonate with audiences. If you’re looking for where to start when it comes to any aspect of marketing mentioned above, or simply need an agency to take care of everything for you, chat with us at Nexa to learn more about what we can do for you.