In the marketing industry, planning is key. It’s never too early to start looking forward to the next year, and the exciting campaigns and new ventures that will come with it. In this blog, our Marketing Executive, Zoe, highlights her marketing predictions for 2022, to help you stay on top of the trends.
The Rise of Hands-Free
From next-day-delivery on online shopping, to paying with your phone, convenience is a consumer demand that isn’t going away in a hurry. When it comes to marketing, it’s more important than ever to give people the information they need with a click of a button – OR a voice command. In 2022, the latter could be even more of a reality.
The coming year could see businesses optimise their websites for voice searches, with their site appearing following voice commands to Siri, Alexa or Cortana. According to previous data, 52% of voice-activated speaker owners would like to receive information about deals, promotions and sales. Imagine the possibilities when your website can be found (literally) by word of mouth!
Staying Straight-Forward
As the world becomes more and more convenient, customer’s attention spans are decreasing. The average attention span is estimated to be eight-seconds, but 94% of pre-roll ads on YouTube are skipped after around five-seconds. From graphics to content, in 2022 marketers must be creative with ideas that demand to be noticed.
If you waffle on and don’t get to the point quick enough on a website, you can also be penalised by search engines, tanking your site relevancy score over time. Always be direct and have a clear call to action – what do you need your audience to know, and what do you want them to do? Plus, on social media, attention can be grabbed with techniques such as using in-text emojis, and putting Instagram graphics in a 4:5 ratio that fills up the phone screen.
Keeping it Personal
Trust is a crucial factor that must be built on, in order to form a relationship with your customers. According to a recent study, 71% of consumers say they would be willing to spend more money to support products and services from a brand they trust. They want to see a personality behind the brand, so that they can connect with it on a personal level and therefore have a better experience. In 2022, brands that master their tone of voice will stand out from the crowd and reap the successes.
Another way to build trust with your audience is user generated content, which we will see more of next year. Consumers are on average 2.4 times more likely to choose a product based on user-generated content than brand-created content. This acts like a recommendation from an independent person, which is incredibly powerful marketing. User generated content can be implemented through client or customer testimonials on your website or by resharing tagged images on Instagram.
The Competition Will Be On
In a study by the Content Marketing Institute, 66% of marketers surveyed expected increases in their 2022 budget, and one in five say the increase will be greater than 9%. With the industry growing in strength and popularity, it is set to become incredibly competitive. To help combat this, competitors must be closely monitored and intense strategies must be put in place.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a great way to fight against competitors, as, with a full understanding, it can make your website rank much higher than others. In 2021, 69% of content marketers invested in SEO, using it for strategic keywords (70%), localization (50%), and mobile optimization (48%). SEO is an amazing way to guide users straight to your website, offering the information and product that they need.
Video is Key
Another 2022 marketing trend prediction is that digital videos will become an integral part of all strategies. In a 2021 study, 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, and 93% of marketers who use video say that it’s an essential part of their marketing strategy. Marketers that don’t use videos will fall behind the rest next year, as it becomes a staple offering.
On Instagram, video reels have become increasingly popular, with the platform’s algorithm favouring them over other content. Video content also works well on other social media channels, with users taking time-out to view a whole manner of content. Videos can also be a great way to immediately catch the attention of users that visit your website.
To find out how our Leeds marketing agency can help your business to stay on top of trends, take a look at our services.