Recently, we looked back at some of the best campaigns of the year, but the marketing industry is ever-changing, so what will 2022 have in store? Over the next year, the industry will continue to evolve, and many new marketing trends will come into focus.
If you want to get ahead of the curve, it’s time to start planning how you’ll incorporate what’s to come to ensure maximum impact.
To help you start prepping, we’ve gathered five of the top trends to consider for your marketing strategies in 2022 and beyond.
Podcasts
In 2021, we saw social media platform, Clubhouse, gain a lot of traction. However, Clubhouse does things a little differently, in that it only presents content in audio form — no visuals whatsoever. As something you can engage with almost anywhere, audio content and podcasts have seen a dramatic increase in popularity throughout the year. It’s easy to listen to a podcast while walking or washing up, but the same can’t be said for videos.
Predictions also suggest that podcast listeners will continue to rise over the years, going from 82 million in 2021 (in the US), to 100 million in 2024. In order to keep up with consumer habits during 2022, marketing efforts will need to put more focus on podcasts. This could be as simple as placing advertisements within podcasts, or by creating your own branded audio content.
AR and VR
It doesn’t feel that long ago that augmented and virtual reality seemed like a thing of the distant future. However, it’s seen dramatic advances recently, and it’s certainly something to latch onto early.
Statistics from Statista show that in 2021, the market size for AR is at 30.7 billion US dollars worldwide, and this figure is expected to be 296.9 billion USD by 2024 — that’s an increase of over 800% in just 3 years.
There are many ways to incorporate VR and AR into your marketing strategy. It could be in a similar vein to IKEA’s Place app, which lets users test out how furniture would look in their own home, or something as simple as a 360 degrees video, giving consumers a much more immersive experience.
Influencer Marketing
What initially started out as a small trend has now developed into a worldwide marketing phenomenon. Infact, statistics show that the influencer market will over double in size from 2021 to 2027, reaching 373.5 billion USD.
Having a social media influencer endorse a product gives it much more credibility and can greatly improve lead generation. These can be influencers with large or small followings. Infact, micro influencers can be better for engagement, having a small but loyal community.
Unlike traditional celebrity-endorsed advertisements, influencer marketing gives the impression that the influencer has a more genuine and vested interest in the product. This is due to them often promoting it unscripted and in the comfort of their own home. This makes it a lot more relatable to the consumer and easier to digest.
Utilising both micro and macro influencers, particularly in a specific or niche field relevant to your industry, will become even more of a viable marketing tool in 2022. And we will see many more businesses reaping the benefits.
Take a look at some of the press and influencer work Digital Glue has achieved here.
Social Commerce
Due to the pandemic, consumer shopping habits saw a massive shift in direction throughout 2020 and 2021. On average, consumers who made purchases via social media increased by 68% globally during the pandemic.
It’s no surprise then that social commerce is next on the list of marketing trends to watch in 2022. In fact, global revenue from social commerce is predicted to increase by 605 billion USD by 2027.
With platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok developing their own built-in marketplace, social commerce will become an increasingly easy tool to utilise.
With consumers spending more and more time on social media, taking advantage of social commerce allows a brand to organically, or algorithmically, appear in a feed and prompt a purchase. Not to mention, it can be used in conjunction with other marketing efforts, such as influencer marketing or short-video content. That’s certainly one useful trifecta.
Social commerce proves that if you really want consumers to buy from you, make the journey as simple as possible.
Email Marketing
Email marketing isn’t a new technique by any means, but why mess with a method that works? Even statistics show that revenue from email marketing will increase worldwide from 8.49 billion USD in 2021, to 17.9 billion USD in 2027.
But what does the future of email marketing look like? Throughout 2022 and beyond, we will see this tried-and-tested method becoming more immersive, further enveloping the consumer. Because, while email marketing has its advantages, your customer base may get bored if they don’t have something they can engage with.
Expect to see more integrated videos, carousel images and interactive games or elements. Automated, personalized emails will also become even more prevalent. Ever filled up your cart on an online shop and abandoned it? This is a perfect time for companies to send you a little nudge — especially if it’s personally addressed to you.
Has something caught your eye? Get in touch with Digital Glue to see how we can incorporate some of 2022’s top marketing trends into your business.
