The digital market is a dynamic platform that keeps on evolving, and so do the different digital marketing trends. 2022 is likely to hold some dramatic changes that the business and brands should be aware of so that they can be prepared to take advantage of them.
In addition to the various trends that have been popular over the past few years and which continue to grow, there are going to be various new trends coming up in 2022. Some of the reasons behind this include changes like the introduction of Meta, Google third-party cookie changes, the success of TikTok, etc. It becomes imperative for candidates who have gone through a Digital Marketing Professional Certification Course to be aware of such changes and updates.
So here in this article, we’ll be referring to the top 5 trends that are most likely to happen in the year 2022.
Short Videos
Videos are the most engaging form of online content currently. In 2020, about 96% of consumers increased their video consumption and it is estimated that in 2022, an average person will spend 100 min per day watching videos. However, since Tik-Tok entered the market, the short-form videos gained enough popularity and in 2022, it is one of the trends that is going to take the market ahead.
- People love to watch 30 second to 1 minute long videos as they are brief, engaging, and digestible.
- Short videos are not only quick-fire entertainment, but also an increasingly important marketing tool.
- They have the capacity to communicate a lot of information in a short time span through images, texts, and speech.
- Short videos can be used on a variety of platforms and in different social media channels, and they are also pushed forward by the algorithm.
- After the success of Tik-Tok, Youtube has introduced ‘Shorts’ and Instagram has its own version called ‘Reels’.
- According to Hubspot, 64% of global marketers who use short-form videos consider it effective for performance and engagement.
Influencer Marketing
This trend of Influencer marketing has been continuing for the past few years and is growing on an astronomical scale. It is expected that it will continue to be one of the top marketing trends in 2022 also.
- According to IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising), after the pandemic hit, the advertising industry declined by about 20%, whereas influencer and content marketing enjoyed a 46% increase.
- The influencer market was approximately $1.7 billion in 2016, but in 2021 it reached approximately $13.8 billion. This growth is sufficient to prove that this stuff works [Source: Influencer Marketing Hub].
- This works better than traditional paid advertising, because of the simple fact that people trust people more than they trust the advertisements run by the big companies.
- It is like the old-fashioned word of mouth concept where people believe someone who has used the product.
- It is currently one of the best ways to showcase proof of any brand or business today.
Social Commerce
Pandemic has changed the way people used to buy products. The brands have flocked to social media channels like Instagram, TikTok, etc. to offer online shopping experiences to customers. This trend of social commerce is expected to grow in 2022 also.
- It has become much easier to find a product or a service and to make a purchase using social media.
- This has enabled customer payments without leaving social media apps, creating a seamless customer experience.
- According to the Accenture study, social commerce or social shopping is expected to reach around $1.2 trillion globally by 2025, which is 3 times faster than traditional e-commerce.
- TikTok has partnered with Shopify, and Instagram is also making huge developments with the shopping area within the app.
So it is expected that social shopping is just set to become a huge hit this year.
Email Marketing
A lot of marketers fail to realize that they don’t own their social audience, rather they are owned by social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. The server crash of October 2021, when Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp were taken down for an entire day, was an eye-opener, as it completely disconnected the businesses and marketers from their online audience and social followings for an entire day. So email marketing is the most trustable and the best way to market a business and it continues to grow even in 2022.
- Email marketing continues to be one of the most important marketing tools if done well.
- It has always been the best way to market your brand or business, increase revenue, and cash in more conversions.
- There are currently 4 billion active email users right now and that number is projected to go up in the coming years.
- It constantly delivers the highest ROI than the other marketing channels, earning about $42 for each dollar spent.
- According to Marketing Sherpa, most consumers want businesses to communicate with them through emails rather than social channels.
- Now in recent years, we are also seeing that in spite of one-size-fits-all communication, the businesses are sending personalized newsletters that are more engaging.
Zero or First Party Data
Google has decided to stop gathering the third party cookies in 2022 (now pushed to 2023), due to privacy issues. The issue was that the online activities of consumers were being tracked without them knowing what exactly the brands were doing with their data. This made consumers feel overweight and less secure. This means that the advertisers using Google will need to find ways to collect their own data to identify and target customers. So 2022 would be the year where businesses will begin to own their audience.
- The brands will have to integrate data collection methods that prioritize consumer privacy.
- They will have to create first-party data so that they don’t rely on others.
- They can choose other marketing options like email, newsletter, social media, and CRM tools.
- Zero-party data will be a better way as it would help to create more personalized and tailored campaigns as it will be the data collected directly from the consumers.
If you are an aspiring digital marketer, then keeping up with the latest digital marketing trends in the industry is a necessity. With the pace at which the digital marketplace is changing, it has become important for digital marketers to constantly invest time and energy to upskill and learn. So make sure to upgrade yourself with the above-mentioned trends to make yourself a valuable asset for the brands today.
