The advancement of technology brings us a variety of new ideas and trends in the digital marketing world every year.
What will this landscape look like as we get into 2022? Will we see an influx of artificial intelligence systems that make some other processes obsolete? Will methods that we’ve leaned on for many years continue to thrive? Let’s take a look at some of the expected trends in the digital world. You should consider employing some of them for your company if you aren’t already doing so.
More Dynamic Email Connections Are Needed
You could still send out a standard email that goes to everyone on your contact list and end up in the spam folder of nearly all of those who receive your message. Another option is to create emails that employ more personalization, automation and protect the privacy of the recipients. Email marketing has been and will continue to be one of the most important facets of your online marketing strategies, but you might need to look at how you send emails and create a more dynamic approach. This will help you stand out and ensure your emails make it to the inbox instead of the spam folder.
Make Your Content More Interactive
The more you can show a potential customer, the more effective your digital marketing can be. This means creating content that’s interactive, giving your audience the feeling they are participating with you during a tour or offering them a way to understand how to calculate payments or costs when working with your company. Use 360-degree virtual reality videos, 3D images, augmented reality programs, and polls that give shoppers the feeling they are part of the solution. Interactive content helps people make better decisions with more information than they would have from typical advertising methods.
Better Search Results Though Search Intent
It’s not enough for a search engine to simply return results based on pages that have the keywords that a user is searching for. In the current market, the intent of the search is part of the mix. Google tries to understand the meaning of the search queries but having content that relates closer to the search can make a huge difference in the results received by users. Some searches are easy for the search engines to decipher, while others are more general in nature, which causes search results difficulties.
Privacy Features Will Continue to Evolve
More people than ever before are working to protect their online privacy, and more hackers than ever are getting in where we don’t want them to be. If you want your digital marketing to resonate with your audience, you have to make them feel secure when they visit your site or click on the links in your ads. Security and privacy matter to everyone and this is going to continue to be an area where you see better processes that you need to use in your marketing to give your audience the protection they deserve.
Hybrid Events Are More Popular
In the same vein as what you see on some of the commercials for new phone plans, new and existing customer relationships need to be fostered and cultivated to ensure your audience can grow and feel appreciated. More of the online events that are being hosted are hybrid events, with both groups being invited to give everyone the same opportunity to benefit from the event. With this new approach, you won’t alienate your current audience in favor of new relationships, which will help your business grow with a loyal following that you are also being loyal to.
Loyalty Programs Will Transition to Membership Programs
Most loyalty programs were free and not often managed well by customers who participated in them. These programs will go away and be replaced by membership programs that need to be paid for. You will want to offer some of these new programs through your digital marketing efforts and allow customers that are willing to pay for membership to enjoy the benefits that membership brings. People crave belonging to a community, and you’re going to create that community within your audience through these new membership programs.
Word of Mouth Continues to Grow
The natural movement of word-of-mouth marketing went from neighbors talking about programs to each other to the social media world that has erupted. Word of mouth marketing is the invisible force that makes many industries work, and it continues to be a huge factor. When your friends, relatives, neighbors, or coworkers recommend products and services, you’re more likely to take advantage of them or at least look into them. Social media isn’t the only way that word-of-mouth marketing is accomplished. This process is also completed through user-generated content that discusses brands and products. You want to be on the right side of word-of-mouth marketing.
Improve Your Conversations With Your Customers
One of the latest developments in the world of digital marketing is called conversation marketing. This is accomplished through personalized email exchanges, chatbots that have an in-depth list of answers, virtual sales associates, personalized media including videos, and additional messaging apps that can be used. The more personal and direct you can be with the customers that you work with, the more engaging the experience will be, allowing your customers to enjoy the personal attention they deserve. This might be the one item that helps your customers decide to work with your company.
Create Content that is Shoppable
If your social media content is not shoppable, you’re missing out. It’s important to create content that has links that can be used by your viewers to buy the products you’re selling right from your social posts. You want to tell the story of your products and your company, but once that story is in place, ensure your shoppers can take action right from the post that you show them. This is called creating shoppable content, and it has become one of the most important online marketing tools that many companies have turned to for success.
