20 Digital Marketing Trends You Should Know in 2022

Did you know that you can search for content on Google using images instead of texts? A few years before Google introduced Google Images, someone might have laughed at Google for thinking such a thing would interest people. But when you remember that Google had to create Google Images due to users’ frantic search for pictures of the Green Versace dress Jennifer Lopez had on in February 2000, you’ll get a better idea of how user behavior drives the evolution of marketing trends.

In fact, Google went ahead to add reverse image search functionality to it in 2011. Fast forward to date, many innovative technologies are in play, rapidly changing the way marketers reach and attract people to their products and services. Today, there are many more trends in the digital marketing landscape; marketers and business owners looking to stay ahead of the competition must stay apprised of this trend.

Here are top 20 digital marketing trends you should know in 2022.

1. Artificial Intelligence

AI-powered optimization is driving many processes today, of which marketing is one of them. With artificial intelligence, marketers can analyze consumer behavior, reaction, and search patterns, and use the data generated to improve service offerings and achieve better customer targeting.

2. Voice Search Optimization

Since the introduction of voice search in our smartphones, it has been massively embraced by a lot of consumers, mostly the younger generation. In 2021, more people are obviously adopting and getting adept at using voice search every day. This trend, of course, will drive more businesses, apps, and websites to adjust by optimizing their platforms for voice searches.

3. Programmatic Advertising

Somehow, AI finds application in real-time bidding and waterfall programmatic ad buying. It automates the process, allowing digital marketers to target more specific audiences. The automation makes the whole ad buying and selling process faster and much more efficient. Ultimately, this means more conversions and lower customer acquisition costs.

4. Chatbots

You know why chatbots have come to stay? They are truly chatty and economically friendly. Besides, they are pretty efficient at helping businesses achieve the one thing they are designed to do - keep customers engaged with human-like conversations.

5. Personalization

Again, AI scores really high on this one. Personalization is not just a trend to watch out for; it is a practice you should adopt if you’re looking to stay on top of your game in the industry. Research shows that customers respond faster and more often to personalized messages and emails than generic messages.

6. Quality Content

Consumers love good content, and they’ll always come back for more. In fact, Google will reward you for putting out good content on your site. The more you dish out content and materials that people are looking for, the better your visibility to potential customers.

7. Social Media Marketing

Do you know how much you can achieve with Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest? Part of the reason digital marketing is accelerating fast is the rapid growth and adoption of social media marketing. Putting your business on social media platforms will not only help you drive more traffic to your site, but you’ll be able to engage one-on-one with more customers.

8. Email Marketing

Automated and personalized email marketing is another aspect of digital marketing that business owners must explore. This is an efficient way to remarket and keep customers continuously informed of your service offerings, especially if you run a retail or e-commerce venture.

9. Conversational Marketing

To achieve a one-to-one, real-time interaction with your customers, especially prospective clients, you’ll need to integrate conversational marketing into your sales funnel. Here, you’ll see that chatbots are not only built for support services, as they can serve as powerful marketing tools when rightly deployed.

10. Video Marketing

People love video content. Trends on platforms like YouTube and Instagram tell us how much video content can do for businesses that know how to use them. Research has shown that using videos to introduce a new product is sure to generate more reactions and responses from the audience than using texts or images, even though they are well written or designed.

11. Visual Search

Like we already highlighted in the introduction of this post, the visual search service from Google Images and Bing Visual Search features a technology that completely redefines search engine operations, blowing competitors out of the water and making them play the catch-up game. Meanwhile, the average user will be getting more value from the development, meaning they’ll stick with it.

12. Instagram Reels

The introduction of Instagram reels was great news for marketers and content creators all over the world. It is the latest feature on Instagram, and even though you can only upload 15-minutes long videos, it allows you to share content with all users on the app.

13. Influencer Marketing

This is a major trend and will transcend 2021, extending far into the future of online marketing. Influencer marketing follows the same pattern of using models, allowing you to leverage the popularity of public figures and celebrities to spread your message to a larger audience.

14. User-Generated Content

Did you know that content generated by users actually garners more reactions than your own content or promotional campaigns? In fact, it has more credibility than the most expensive and attractive ads. This is because it comes from the experience of users, which is more like a testimonial.

15. SEO

There’s no overemphasizing the relevance of SEO to your digital marketing efforts. Staying visible and competitive in today’s ever-evolving digital marketing landscape requires that you pay as much attention to SEO as you can possibly afford.

16. Big Data and Deep Learning

The growth of Big Data and Deep Learning is fantastic news to marketers, but probably only to those who know how to use and incorporate these technologies into their marketing process. Actually, this is still a developing trend, which is clearly seeing more light in 2021. You want to watch out for this one and jump on it as soon as you can build capacity for it.

17. WhatsApp Marketing

With Whatsapp Business, small businesses and even large corporations can reach people of all ages, starting with those on their contact list. And with the end-to-end encryption of chats, Whatsapp ensures that users’ data is protected while they interact on a platform that promotes business transactions among millions of users every day.

18. Geofencing

This is a location-based service marketing that allows apps to use radio frequency identification (RFID), Wi-Fi, GPS, and cellular data to generate targeted marketing actions, such as texts, emails, or in-app notification when the user of the device enters or leaves specific geographic boundaries. Geofencing shows positive results in click-through rates (CTRs) and is adaptable for smartphones.

19. Local SEO

Local SEO is a great marketing strategy for start-ups and small businesses. This is essentially where Google My Business comes in very handy. It is a great way to position your business in the local market and gain more customers. You should ensure that your reviews are soaring high, your business hours are clearly stated, and that your services are well-communicated to customers.

20. Google Ads Smart Bidding

To augment the highly competitive race for organic ranking, Google Ads Smart Bidding offers another good alternative by using automated paid advertising to reach your customers. Not only will it become more prevalent in 2022, but reports also have it that it will be a force that marketers will have to reckon with going forward.

Want to Learn More?

Digital marketing is growing and evolving, becoming more and more sophisticated and competitive as new technologies emerge. It will be unwise not to plug in as quickly as possible. For more insights and expert guidance on how to improve your online marketing strategy, contact us for expert advice at Mission HR. Based on our digital marketing expertise, we help businesses successfully implement the best growth strategies.

Also, as leading partners in the PEO, HR, payroll, and benefits outsourcing marketplace, we provide result-oriented services for small and medium-sized organizations and government contractors, serving as a trusted partner in integrated human resource compliance, risk management, employee benefits, employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), and payroll processing.