7 Marketing Trends That Will Define Success in 2022 If you're serious about marketing, you'll be making strategic changes for 2022.
By David Cullinan Edited by Russell Sicklick
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In the past, marketing was about getting your name out there. In 2022 though, it will be about creating an effective brand, compelling storytelling and measuring the success of that story. It's no longer enough to create a brand and expect it to sell.
Effective marketing tactics in the past have revolved around using the right platforms for promotion, creating ads that targeted specific audiences or demographics through keywords and hashtags on social media sites with retargeting campaigns where possible.
Marketing in 2022 is going to require business owners who are willing to take risks, invest in their branding, listen more intently than ever before when engaging with customers online or face failure as competition continues to grow at unprecedented rates.
Effective marketing requires both long-term thinking and short-term quick wins, which is why effective storytelling will be even more pivotal to a company's success than ever before.
Related: Top 10 Changes Your Business Needs to Be Ready for in 2022
The following are seven trends to follow in order to achieve success:
Video marketing will become crucial to the success of your marketing plan
Video marketing is the future of marketing.
This might sound like hyperbole, but there's data to back it up. Search engine giant Google has announced that YouTube reaches more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the United States. Facebook reports that video posts receive six times more engagement than photo or link posts on average while Twitter has seen an increase in video views by over 160%.
So what does this mean for marketers?
It means that if you aren't incorporating video into your strategy, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with your audience and build trust with them. Video is key for creating customer relationships because it puts a human voice behind the brand, which builds credibility and loyalty with customers.
Related: 5 Most Successful Video Marketing Tactics Brands Are Using to ...
Content marketing will still be king
As we head into 2022, marketers should expect even more fragmentation and noise, making it harder than ever to break through the clutter with advertising messages alone.
Content marketing is one of the most important aspects of any digital strategy. Content has become a powerful way to connect with customers, engage them and build their trust. Bad content, on the other hand,. can be disastrous for your company. It will do more bad than good in terms of brand image and customer sentiment towards that brand or product.
Good content builds up credibility over time, which means that once you have acquired new leads they are likely to buy from you. On the flip side, if people come across low-quality information, then they might lose faith in your company altogether, leading them down an alternative path when looking at similar items online through competitor sites.
In other words, it's a facet of marketing you should never take lightly. Content marketing is an important aspect of any digital strategy and can have a lasting impact on your business, for better or worse. Effective storytelling can help build a company into something that consumers want to engage with on every level, which is why content marketing will still be incredibly important throughout 2022.
Marketing teams are going to focus more on data analytics and metrics
A larger focus on data analytics is going to be important for marketing teams. Companies are spending less money, so showing return on investment (ROI) will become increasingly important when it comes to justifying budgets and purchases.
If you want more detailed information about how your customers behave so that you can make the right decisions for your company, then data analytics is going to be a key component of this process. One way or another, marketers need access to all sorts of numbers in order to really drill down into who their audiences are and what makes them tick. With such an increased focus on customer service, it's important that marketing teams understand exactly what people think and do before making any major moves when it comes to branding efforts and product development.
Social media content will become even more important for marketers
Social media channels, such as Facebook and Instagram, have changed dramatically since they first came onto the scene. People are scrolling through feeds so quickly that it has become difficult for brands to capture their attention for extended periods of time. The days of the hard sell on social are long gone and this is why it's necessary for marketers to lead with a story-driven approach instead of a traditional hard sell approach.
Social media has also become more visually-driven, which means that it's essential for brands to create high quality images and videos in order to grab interest from potential customers.
Marketers need to focus their attention on creating interesting content that will be shared by users outside of the brand itself.
Marketing will be less about the product and more about the customer's needs
The future of marketing is about focusing on customer needs, not selling. Big data and the internet make it possible to create hyper-personalized experiences based on what customers do online. This ability for companies to understand their clients enables them to build better long-term relationships with them. This then leads to more brand loyalty and ultimately bigger revenue opportunities down the line by understanding what makes each person unique, as well as how best you can serve those individuals.
In order for companies to start seeing success with their marketing strategies, they need to stop trying to push their products on people and instead focus on the needs and desires of their target audience. For example, instead of focusing on a message of buy my product, focus more on the features your ideal customer is looking for.
People want to be approached as the individuals they are, not simply as a customer. With this in mind, marketers should focus on building relationships and providing value before pitching their products or services; otherwise they'll see lower conversion rates.
Marketing teams will work closely with product development teams in order to improve customer experience and increase conversion rates
Collaborating with your product development team can provide multiple benefits for both design and advertising. Product teams are usually enthusiastic about designing an excellent user interface or an exciting new web app, but too often they focus on those aspects of their work at the expense of developing good marketing copy.
A healthy partnership between the two halves of your organization — one focused on research and UX design, and one focused on messaging strategy — means you'll be able to market your product effectively and efficiently.
The consumer experience is now at the top of every company's list of priorities, which means all departments need to be focused on delivering it effectively. This reorientation is challenging, but once the proper resources are available, it can create a more memorable consumer experience — leading to increased brand awareness and higher sales.
Marketing roles are evolving — they're becoming educators and leaders rather than just advertisers
It used to be that a marketer was just somebody who would sell products, but now they have a different role. They need to educate and work with consumers, rather than just trying to push them into buying something. This can be a difficult transition for some, but it's necessary.
As the role of marketers evolves, so does their need to change how they look at things. It's no longer just about promoting products; it has become much more complex over time.
Marketers need to start thinking like educators. It can't always be about selling people stuff anymore. They need to take the time and educate people on why they should want a product. It's not easy by any means, but it has become a must if companies want to stay relevant and remain competitive against larger corporations with deeper pockets.
Marketers who are serious about success in the coming years need to put an emphasis on educating their customers. Consumers now want more information, not just a hard sell. You can take this opportunity to set yourself apart by providing your audience with detailed content that educates them and answers all of their questions. This way you'll be less likely to lose potential customers because they feel like they don't know enough about what you offer or how it works for them.
Related: 5 Game-Changing Ecommerce Trends in 2022
