Let’s take a look at the top 10 digital marketing trends that will be driving the marketing industry in 2022.
- Growth in Mobile Devices
- Rise in Chatbots
- Video Becomes Way Bigger
- Consumers Expect Personalization
- Voice Search Becomes Ubiquitous
- Augment Reality Experiences Increase in Popularity
- Gamification Grows by Leaps and Bounds
- Crypto Currencies Revolutionize Marketing Channels
- Brand Clarity is Paramount
- Connected Homes Become Commonplace#h-10-connected-homes-become-commonplace
1 – Growth in Mobile Devices
As tablets and smartphones replace traditional desktop devices, digital marketers will need to shift their focus from desktops to mobile.
For example, in 2011, traffic from smartphones represented only 19% of internet usage. That number had grown to 37% by 2017, this shows the trajectory of growth in mobile devices.
Shoppers are also increasingly using their mobile devices when making a purchase. In 2016, 56% of online shoppers completed at least one transaction via a smartphone—that’s up 8% from 2015!
Digital marketers will need to be prepared for an increasingly mobile-first audience and adapt their strategies accordingly.
2 – Rise in Chatbots
Users will rely on chatbots more in their daily lives, creating a large demand for developers who can create them.
Chatbots are taking digital marketing by storm, but in order to get one of your own you’ll need a developer with experience writing them. In fact, research from Gartner predicts that by 2020 over 85% of customer interactions will be managed without a human agent—you could lose business if you don’t have one!
And as users spend more time interacting with bots, businesses looking to cut costs and boost customer service will leverage automated conversations to get tasks done quickly. This trend has huge potential and is one that every business owner should invest time into researching.
The use of artificial intelligence (such as how this article was created) shows the power that chat bots have to drive conversational marketing. Use chatbots, AI, and push notifications to make your marketing more direct to your costumers.
3 – Video Becomes Way Bigger
Every year, marketers produce hundreds of millions of online videos—and by 2022, that number will reach more than a billion.
Video is both engaging and shareable with the ability to reach your audience in ways that words on a page just can’t. If your business has a product or service that’s hard to explain or shows off your personality, video content can help you be more relatable and have a memorable impact on potential customers.
With video-sharing sites like YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and Instagram becoming bigger parts of our lives every day (or perhaps every minute), it makes sense that marketers would use these platforms to get their messages out there.
The next level of video marketing is live video or “going live” which lets you talk directly to your audience in real time.
4 – Consumers Expect Personalization
Because digital consumers can easily ignore or block advertising, they expect more personalization in return. From dynamic ads to tailored deals, it’s time to ramp up personalization efforts across all digital channels.
Luckily, with 3rd party cookies going away and tech becoming more personalized, this is easier than ever. With third-party cookies going away later this year and AdBlock becoming more commonplace among internet users, you need to focus on personalizing your offerings across all digital channels from social media platforms to email campaigns.
Personalization doesn’t have to be complicated either – start by collecting data about user behaviors through analytics and optimize from there.
5 – Voice Search Becomes Ubiquitous
Voice search is becoming more and more prevalent. According to a March 2018 report from BI Intelligence, 51% of US consumers now own a smart speaker, compared with 33% in 2018 and 9% in 2016.
Voice search will one day become part of every day life as people interact with their smart devices and connected homes more and more. This is good news if you operate a business that depends on high-quality content, as it means people will be able to easily find information about your product or service—no matter where they are or what they want to know.
In fact, according to Forbes , 73% of consumers do a voice search at least once per month and 24% say that using voice assistants is either very important or somewhat important when deciding which brand to buy from.
6 – Augmented Reality Experiences Increase in Popularity
Augmented reality (AR) is expected to be a major topic of discussion in digital marketing for many years.
This exciting technology blends together virtual and real-world experiences. We expect to see a rise of AR in marketing that is designed to drive consumers directly to sales.
In fact, Facebook just launched its own platform where users can create their own AR experiences. The next few years will likely see an increase in advanced AR experiences across all industries.
As with any new technology, marketers need to be extra careful when crafting messages that tie into these kinds of products.
Still, they are being adopted quickly and it will only continue to grow from here on out!
7 – Gamification Grows by Leaps and Bounds
Every successful business owner knows that motivation is one of their most valuable assets. People want to know that their hard work is going to be rewarded in some way, which is why gamification – using video games’ mechanics, elements and design principles to increase user engagement in non-game contexts – has become a popular tool for encouraging specific actions among users.
More than 60% of global executives say they currently use gamification as part of their marketing strategy. As technology advances, expect to see more businesses adopt these systems and applications as a matter of course.
For example, you might start seeing ride-sharing apps give more points or rewards when you complete certain activities like taking rides during peak hours or setting your pickup location near a gas station.
8 – Crypto Currencies Revolutionize Marketing Channels
The massive rise in Bitcoin’s value in 2017 has raised awareness of cryptocurrencies to a whole new level. While there are some downfalls to using these digital coins as a currency, you can use it to your advantage. For example, rather than paying thousands of dollars on AdWords, why not pay $5 in Bitcoins? The trend is likely here to stay and will eventually be worth many times more than today.
9 – Brand Clarity is Paramount
How do you stand out in a world where everyone is trying to find a competitive edge? For companies, becoming an industry leader in their field has never been more important. It is imperative to have a clear and consistent brand message and tones that resonate through your marketing collateral.
Brand clarity allows companies to attract investors and keep consumers coming back again and again. Brand clarity also impacts startups directly since it determines how recognizable their services or products are.
New startups need to get their brand across to customers to succeed in today’s highly competitive digital world.
When deciding on your brand strategy, it’s important to choose one that is clear, attractive, memorable, and one that sets you apart from your competitors.
10 – Connected Homes Become Commonplace
Although the term smart home is used to describe the connected homes of today, a more accurate description is probably connected homes.
The reason is that while most of us have a general idea of what constitutes a smart home (heating and cooling controlled remotely, lights and appliances that can be turned on or off with your phone), marketing executives don’t really know what’s in store for our connected homes five years from now.
This fact alone should inspire marketers to develop new products and services that adapt to the rise of connected homes as they continue to evolve. One thing that does seem clear, however, is the direction technology will take over the next five years: Connected homes are about to get much smarter.
