9 Digital Marketing Predictions For 2022
Predicting digital marketing trends can be challenging because the industry has been going through a change every day. With evolving technologies, AI, machine learning and several innovations underway, it has become a dynamic medium that throws up a new surprise frequently. The pandemic has given its progression a phenomenal push as most of marketers are now using the digital medium to connect with their audience. Naturally, SEO in Gold Coast is becoming a highly sought-after service among businesses that wish to gain traction.
With the ever-changing digital scenario, it is hard to predict upcoming developments. However, marketers are spending more than ever on digital marketing to improve their reach and acquire a broader customer base. Thus, it is necessary to understand the plausible trends for 2022 to stay updated and a step ahead of your competitors.
1. Content Continues to Be the King
The core updates introduced by Google in 2021 have been influential in improving the visibility of businesses online. These updates are implemented to ensure that the search results become more refined and offer the best possible output to users. All the recent updates have been emphasising on the fact that marketers need to create relevant and high-quality content that complies with Google’s Expertise, Authority and Trust (EAT) guidelines.
Thus, if the customers are looking for informative and insightful content and you are providing them with average content, you will not be getting the desired search results and web traffic. The solution is to make unique, engaging, and immersive content that includes audio, video, text, and graphics. Customisation is another way to make it more involving for the users.
2. Customer Intent Should Be Priority
Marketing is directed towards customers, so its focus should be on the needs and desires of the target audience. Instead of targeting mass markets, businesses should prioritise customer intent as it will help in diverting traffic to the website. If the viewers are not interested, they will not convert. Thus, you need to determine what they need and how you can fulfil this need.
Use the insights offered by Analytics and reports from social media platforms to identify the likes and dislikes of your target market. Find out changes in their buying behaviour post the pandemic and ways of providing them with a world-class customer experience. Find out the keywords that are related to the search intent of your customers and use them in the content to make contact.
3. Improving Trustworthiness and Transparency
With most transactions taking place online and a lot of sensitive information being stored on the cloud, consumers need to be sure that their personal data is safe. Data thefts and breaches have become common in the current digital landscape, and it has become the responsibility of marketers to ensure consumers that their privacy will not be violated.
Thus, businesses need to build strategies that protect the privacy of their customers. Although they need data to understand their audience and their buying behaviour, they must put strict measures in place to avoid breaches. Google has also announced that it will restrict third-party cookies by 2023. So, marketers need to be transparent about the use of customer data and protect it efficiently.
4. The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for a while, it will become more pronounced in 2022. The reason behind this is that the pandemic has increased the emphasis on automation and machine learning. Thus, businesses will be implementing AI in their digital marketing strategies to understand the market and competitors in a better light. They will be able to predict demand and use AI-enabled tools to engage the audience.
Facebook has already introduced Metaverse that will be offering virtual and augmented reality related experiences to customers. Another example is Smart campaigns by Google Ads, which uses machine learning to maximise ROI on paid ads.
5. Going Hyperlocal
Hyperlocal is the term that is becoming popular among marketers because of the growing interest in buying locally among consumers. Due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, buyers have become more open to buying products from their local stores. It is also being viewed as a way of helping small businesses that are struggling due to the lockdowns. The “near me” searches have been increasing and this has made businesses focus on customers present in their territory rather than selling to mass markets.
Hyperlocal marketing helps in getting more foot traffic to the physical stores by showing presence in local search results. Google My Business Page is one of the best tools to leverage local marketing and help people looking for your products reach you.
6. Selling Online
Besides driving foot traffic to your stores, businesses need to sell online using e-commerce as it has been burgeoning since 2020. The humungous sales received through the digital medium have been astounding as the confidence of buyers in online shopping has improved. The advantage of shopping from the convenience of home and contactless deliveries has made it the preferred way of buying. In Australia, 9.2 million households were shopping online in 2021, and the number is expected to rise further in 2022.
Thus, marketers need to create shoppable content that influences buyers to make purchases. Storytelling is a compelling form of attraction that helps in creating a connection with the audience, and it should conclude with a call to action.
7. Use Short-Form Videos
TikTok got 1 billion users faster than Facebook, which proves the popularity of short-form videos. YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are following suit and leveraging the rising use of this format among users. Thus, short-form videos are going to be a big part of digital marketing in 2022. With the attention span of buyers reducing, it has become imperative to grab their attention within 3 seconds.
One of the best examples of short-form videos is using brand challenges that ask users to upload videos on a specific theme. Product demonstrations by influencers and customer testimonials are yet another form of video marketing. Educational brand videos and behind the scenes videos are also highly popular.
8. Mobile Marketing
With consumers spending most of their time on their smartphones, it has become highly significant for marketers to pay attention to mobile marketing. If your business has its own app, it needs to be optimised for the App Store and localised to get customers in your geographic region. Use mobile advertising to promote e-commerce through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Optimise your website for mobile users and use podcasts to reach your target audience.
With a lot of people using their mobile phones to stream movies and TV shows on OTT platforms, it is wiser to advertise on these platforms. Voice search is yet another tool that can be utilised by marketers to leverage growing voice shopping.
9. Hybrid Marketing
Since digital is becoming a prominent player in the commercial arena, traditional marketing must work hand in hand with it. Hybrid marketing combines traditional and digital marketing strategies so that communication takes place consistently and cohesively.
The omnichannel approach allows reaching the customers through various touchpoints with the same message. It helps in increasing reach and effective communication through multiple platforms.
Wrapping Up
Digital marketing is developing at a fast pace, and technological advancements are paving the way for a multitude of innovations. While SEO in Gold Coast will remain a necessity for businesses to become visible online, they will also have to keep the latest trends in mind to outshine competitors.
