Twelve Digital Marketing Trends for 2022 and How to Use Them

Digital marketing is constantly changing and evolving, but 2022 is likely to bring some significant changes. Businesses and brands must not only plan for, but also be ready to capitalize on, the future of digital marketing. Here are the top 12 digital marketing trends to look out for in 2022, as well as how you can capitalize on them.

1. Meta is everywhere

Facebook has officially renamed itself Meta. While naming the parent company is logical (remember when Google became Alphabet? ), the choice is what is important. Facebook is placing a large bet on the Metaverse, a term for virtual and augmented reality experiences. This is a significant wager on the web's future.

TIP: Marketers should start looking for business opportunities in these areas.

2. Influencers are becoming increasingly popular (even for B2B)

Influencer marketing is expected to reach $13.8 billion by 2021 and to continue growing. Because the influencer is endorsing the product, influencer campaigns inherently provide context and relevance. B2B brands are also continuing to embrace influencers—Adobe, SAP, GE, and PWC have all tapped into this trend.

TIP: Marketers should look for opportunities to collaborate with industry influencers.

3. Advertising is challenged by privacy

Modern digital ads rely heavily on data to optimize themselves automatically. New privacy regulations, such as the iOS update and the impending cookie removal, have reduced the amount of data used in artificial intelligence.

TIP: Marketers should be proactive in assessing the impact this will have on their advertising.

4. Marketers get more strategic

Marketers must become more strategic as automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning take away much of the grunt work of digital marketing. Digital marketing options are expanding all the time.

TIP: Marketers must think strategically in order to focus on what truly drives their company's growth.

5. LinkedIn is growing, growing, growing

LinkedIn is still a rising star in the digital world. Each quarter, they see significant increases in monthly active users and platform engagement. They are also constantly introducing new features that improve the performance of businesses and pages.

TIP: Marketers should invest heavily in LinkedIn.

6. SEO has become less of a game and more of an integrated process

One of the oldest and most valuable forms of digital marketing is search engine optimization. As search algorithms become smarter and more contextual, marketers must focus less on SEO "hacks" and more on providing an exceptional and meaningful experience to their users.

TIP: Marketers should prioritize an excellent user experience over SEO.

7. The new social currency is experience

Businesses continue to compete for word-of-mouth and social attention. As the advertising landscape becomes more crowded, earned media and word-of-mouth become more important.

TIP: To earn social media word-of-mouth, marketers should focus on creating experiences at every stage of their interactions with customers.

8. Digital jobs are on the rise

According to LinkedIn, digital skills are the most in-demand. However, there is a significant skill gap between the number of businesses looking for digital skills and the skills available in the market.

TIP: Marketers should upskill in order to remain relevant, and leaders should have digital upskill plans in place for their organizations.

9. Facebook (Meta) is not going anywhere

There have been numerous reports of people leaving Facebook, but the truth is that Facebook is not going away. Facebook now has nearly 3 billion users, and the number is growing every month.

TIP: Marketers should expect Facebook to maintain its dominance.

10. Websites are developing faster

The majority of website traffic is mobile. However, most websites still do not provide fully mobile-optimized experiences. As Google introduces Core Web Vitals site design, speed will become increasingly important.

TIP: Marketers should ensure that their websites are optimized.

11. Everything is based on algorithms

Every aspect of digital marketing is becoming algorithm-driven, including social media newsfeeds, display ads, social ads, search engine optimization, and even email. All of the algorithms optimize for the same thing: user experience.

TIP: In order to remain relevant, marketers should provide the user experience that customers desire, or their content will be less visible.

12. Less is more

Because of the proliferation of digital marketing options, many businesses are spread too thin across too many channels. Smart businesses concentrate their efforts on dominating a single channel.

TIP: Marketers should narrow their focus and strive to do fewer things better.

13. BONUS: The foundations are still the most important

It is all too easy to become distracted by flashy new digital objects. Marketers are always looking for new trends and ways to be on the cutting edge of new technologies and platforms. Nonetheless, the majority of business growth is still driven by the foundational tools of digital marketing. Don't forget to pay attention to your foundation. Often, optimizing your core digital execution yields a higher return on investment than experimenting (and becoming distracted) with every new tool.

SOURCE: FORBES