2022 Digital Marketing Trends To Follow

Digital marketing is constantly evolving and marketers need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at the 10 most important digital marketing trends. These trends will give you a head-start on your competition. 

1- Email automation 

An automated email marketing system sends emails to your customers based on predefined triggers and schedules you set. This method of digital marketing is very effective for businesses wanting to reach out to their customers.

However, due to the over usage of mass email marketing tactics, many people have stopped responding to these emails. This is why it is beneficial to implement personalized emails.

According to Backlinko, you are more likely to get a click if it’s from an email than a tweet. Also, adding a call-to-Action (CTA) button in emails can lead to a 28% increase in click-through rates (CTR)

Creating a personalized email template is an important part of any business’s strategy to make its customers feel special. It lets them know that the establishment is more than an imaginary entity.

One of the best-automated email marketing:

In 2016, EasyJet launched an email campaign that told each customer their story. The campaign used their travel history to create personalized stories that suggested where they might like to go next and that led to a 25% higher CTC as compared to non-personalized emails.

2- Chatbots

Chatbots are digital marketing tools that enable businesses to interact with their customers through text or voice. They are also designed to provide a personalized and engaging experience for each individual.

With the rise of digital platforms, businesses can now use chatbots to interact with their customers in real-time. Since there are a huge number of users searching for the same query, having a chatbot allows the company to provide a better and more personalized service.

Almost 60% of people prefer to communicate with bots than with traditional phone systems. With chatbot technology, businesses can offer better customer service and reduce manual work. For example, Starbucks has launched a chatbot that works seamlessly through the MyBarista app. This application allows you to order by voice or message. Aside from having the ability to order coffee right up until it’s ready, the chatbot also allows customers to pay and tip. It also lets them pick up their order.

Moreover, LaMDA is a project launched by Google that will change the way chatbot systems are developed. It is going to provide a platform for developers to create their own chatbot systems.

3- Instagram reels 

Instagram Reels is great for content creators since they were able to replace TikTok in some countries. Plus, Instagram Reels is helping digital marketers reach more engagement rates than traditional video platforms. With the new insights’ features, you can now monitor and analyze your work.

Louis Vuitton’s Instagram reels, for example, are some of the best-looking and innovative films ever made. Each one of these has gone viral and has earned over 5M views.

Therefore, in order to capture and keep your customers’ attention in 2021, you’ll need an effective Reels and video content strategy. To dig deeper read our blog about Instagram hacks for better results. 

4- Video SEO for visual searches

Video marketing is becoming more prevalent in digital marketing trends in 2021. It is also expected to be at the top of the list for many years to come.

According to Impactplus:

• 72% of businesses report that videos have increased their conversion rate.
• 70% of consumers say they have shared brand videos.
• 52% of consumers say that watching product videos increases their confidence in making online purchases.
• Users are 50 times more likely to be driven by video content than by plain text.

One of the biggest challenges that marketers face is the inability to provide long-form content in a video format. This is because it is very difficult for users to read and understand.

However, video content is more likely to rank higher in organic search results than text. This is because people tend to find compelling content in web pages that lead to top results. A good video marketing strategy should include keeping up with the latest trends and techniques. This will help you create a truly memorable and effective video.

Few of video content that people tend to find more compelling:

• Online Training and Educational Videos
• Shoppable Videos
• Virtual events
• Live Streams on mobile
• User-generated video content 

Besides, YouTube Short Stories is a new feature that allows users to produce short-form video content for up to 15 seconds. This addition is very similar to Instagram Reels, which allows users to create and distribute their own video content.

5- Geofencing 

Geofencing or location-based marketing is a type of mobile marketing that uses GPS, RFID, and Wi-Fi data to trigger targeted marketing actions. It works by entering a geographic boundary and sending a text or email to a specific recipient. 

According to researchers: 

• Geofencing is applicable to 92% of smartphones. 
• 53% of shoppers visited a retailer after receiving a location-based message.
• Mobile ads with geofencing have double the CTR (click-through rate).

According to Market Research Future, the global geofencing market is expected to grow at a robust rate of 27% during the forecast period 2017-2023. This is mainly due to the increasing number of customer interactions and the benefits of geofencing.

Another brilliant example of geofencing by Starbucks: 

Starbucks uses geofencing to target its customers. They usually send out push notifications when someone walks by their establishment or is in a nearby area. It also lets users save a deal for themselves.

6- Google’s Ads smart bidding 

Getting ranked high on Google search results is very challenging for businesses and brands. An alternative is paid to advertise, which makes it easier for marketers to get noticed and rank on top.

One of the key features of Google Ads is its Smart Bidding, which helps businesses save time and improve their performance.

Smart Bidding has the following advantages:

• Machine learning at its best
• A diverse set of contextual cues
• Performance controls that are adaptable
• Transparent reporting on performance

With Google AI, advertisers can easily hand over their pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns to the AI system to improve their efficiency and maximize their ROI.

Google Ads smart bidding lets you use various signals for your bid optimization such as:

• Physical location 
• Location intent 
• Operating system 
• Remarketing list
• Interface language 

With Smart bidding, marketers have enough time to concentrate on strategy, analytics, and copywriting.

7- Customer segmentation 

Another trend that’s becoming more prevalent is customer segmentation. This concept involves having a large number of small marketing programs that are designed to target specific audiences.

Segmenting customers is a strategy that enables a company to identify and segment its customers according to their needs and wants. By grouping your audience by certain characteristics, such as age, gender, and shopping habits, you can more accurately target them and send them targeted content that fits their interests.

This strategy works best for increasing customer engagement and keeping track of their exact needs. It sends the content that’s hand-picked for them.

8- UGC 

People tend to participate in activities related to their favorite products or services. With the help of user-generated content, these moments can be shared with the world.

UGC or User-Generated Content campaigns are run on creative submission by the customers of a product/service. This strategy is very effective and can increase 4 times higher the click-through rather than normal promotional campaigns.

Another great thing about UGC is that it saves the organization a lot of time and resources. It collects promotional materials from the customer at no cost. It also receives higher engagement rates due to the trust factor that’s higher than a normal post.

Despite the various advantages of this new marketing trend, only 16% of brands have a proper UGC strategy in place. 

9- Influencer marketing 

This marketing technique involves enlisting the help of influencers or celebrities to spread the word about a brand or industry. These individuals could be famous or popular influencers on social media platforms.

Below are highlighted on Influencer marketing by HubSpot:

• The Influencer Marketing Industry has the potential to grow over 13.8 Billion in 2021.
• Most companies have a budget for content marketing, but 75% of them plan on increasing it to influencer marketing in 2022.
• Influencer marketing is regarded as an effective form of marketing by 90% of those 

Adidas is one of the most notable examples of influencer marketing. It got in contact with influencers to promote its products. They wanted to reach out to the younger demographic of Instagram users, and this campaign worked for them. Through their campaign, which was supported by celebrities such as Selena Gomez, they were able to gain over 12,000 entries. Their social media followers also increased by 41,000.

10- Hyper-local SEO

Hyperlocal SEO is a great trend for start-ups and small businesses. It allows them to easily implement digital marketing and get started with local search marketing.

Hyperlocal SEO is Google’s new algorithmic push that focuses on the user’s current NAP (name, address, and phone number) to give personalized results to the daily queries. 

With a hyperlocal focus, a business can create a strong local market in their area. Through voice search, people can easily find a way to get in touch with them.

The new algorithm update is very easy to implement and use. Even people with limited expertise can still benefit from it. To start, just register for a Google My Business account.

This process is very simple and will help your business get ranked quickly once it provides details such as your address, opening hours, and more.

Burger King’s “Whopper Detour” campaign is one of the classic examples of Hyperlocal SEO. It involved allowing users to buy a Whopper for just a penny.

This campaign became one of the most notable examples of geological marketing when it came to driving app downloads and impressions. It achieved a total of 3.3 billion impressions and over 500,000 Whoppers retrieved.

Wrapping Up 

Everyone in digital marketing knows that continuous change is required in order to compete in the fast-changing world of digital marketing. The world of digital marketing is constantly changing as new trends emerge and change how we communicate with our customers.

By keeping up with the latest trends in digital marketing, digital marketers can stay relevant in the marketplace and deliver the best possible value to their clients.