Get Ahead of Your Competition With 2022's Must-Have Digital-Marketing Trends Now's the time to look ahead and hone in on the strategies that make the most sense for you and your business.

The digital ecosystem has been continually changing and expanding, particularly since the pandemic began in 2019. From the minute consumers wake up in the morning, companies are trying to sell to them.

But marketing is shifting away from salesy, static approaches and towards engaging experiences that benefit customers. As a result, businesses and marketing professionals must be aware and adaptable if they want to succeed. Although we can't foretell the future, we can brainstorm the top digital-marketing trends for 2022. Separating the true trends from the duds is what will set you apart from the rest.

So, what are the digital-marketing trends that will put your business ahead of the competition?

Video production

We're sure you've heard of the "mobile-first" trend that has been gathering speed for a few years. And today, with 5G and faster mobile-data plans, video streaming on smartphones and tablets is easier than ever. You can record your video anywhere and watch it whenever you want — something that was far more expensive when mobile-data plans were limited to megabytes of the internet rather than gigabytes.

People love watching videos; that's how TikTok gained so much popularity. Without question, video production will be one of the most important digital-marketing trends in 2022. If you aren't already producing videos, you should think about expanding your digital approach.

Related Article: 9 Marketing Trends You Need to Jump on in 2022

"Read the room" on social media

Have you seen a drop in social-media influencer trust? When it comes to promoting a certain product or boosting brand recognition, influencer marketing has long been the go-to method. This began to shift a few years ago, and it peaked around the end of 2021.

Many Instagram superstars' problems have led to a huge trust issue though. When it comes to influencer endorsements, people are growing increasingly skeptical. However, this does not mean that influencer marketing is ineffective. It just means people are more selective about whom they trust.

If you want to delve into influencer marketing, we suggest really researching the influencer you want to work with. Pay attention to what's being said in his or her comment section — don't just look at his or her follower count.

Related: Why So Many Entrepreneurs Don't Know Their Digital Marketing ROI

Voice search (finally?)

You might remember back in 2019 when tons of marketing experts claimed that voice search would be the next big thing. However, it didn't quite take off as they'd anticipated.

But you might want to reconsider your marketing plan this year and add voice-search optimization. Don't worry. It's not as difficult as you might think. With search engines like Google still using textual information to deliver results for spoken inquiries, optimizing for voice search is no different. The one disadvantage is that it results in so-called zero-click searches, which can be inconvenient for looking back at your pay per click (PPC) results.

Getting personal

We leave a vast amount of data on the internet. Many of us, in turn, look for hyper-targeted personalization. We can't ignore this marketing tactic while discussing digital-marketing developments.

Consumers want to see the exact material they want at precisely the right time. That means it's essential to tailor your digital-marketing message and deliver it the right way.

The good news is that it's really easy to use more customizable messaging. Whether it's advertising with Google Ads or sending welcome emails with Mailchimp, endless marketing platforms allow for automated personalization.

Don't forget to segment your users while developing your email-marketing plan. Using sophisticated systems, you can construct several subscription pop-ups and separate consumers into categories based on when and where they subscribed.

Additionally, don't just target all of your customers when developing social-media advertising. Consider the different sorts of customers who could be interested in your products and build ad sets that target their tastes.

Be cautious when writing personalized messages though. Don't be overly personal. People want relevant advertisements, but they may be scared off if you demonstrate just how much you know about them.

Related: 5 Marketing Tips to Boost Content and Promote Your Blog in 2022

Metaverse and VR/AR

Mark Zuckerberg announced the metamorphosis of Facebook into Meta in October 2021. The company also announced its development of the "Metaverse," a next-generation social-media platform. Will it impact the perception of internet social life and how people consume material on social media? We're still waiting to find out.

Regardless, you can begin preparing Metaverse plans right now. There's a lot of information on how it'll look, and you don't have to wait for it to be fully realized to investigate the possibilities of virtual-reality and augmented-reality marketing. Many applications function with augmented reality that you can access with your smartphone's camera.

VR and AR marketing will take an even greater hold on marketing in 2022, as mobile devices get more advanced and VR sets become more affordable.

Now's the time to look ahead and hone in on the strategies that make the most sense for you and your business — waiting until these emerging trends are entirely commonplace is a sure way to fall behind the competition.