As we approach the new year, it’s time to set some new year’s goals for not only ourselves but our upcoming marketing strategy as well. It is important to keep up with trends for the new year and to spend the marketing budget wisely, which will offer new ways to attract consumers. So let’s review what to expect for marketing trends in 2022.

Social Media Content 

Influencers are important to consider when allocating a percentage of your marketing budget this upcoming year to your marketing mix. Why? Because statistics show that in 2022, 61% of B2B  marketers plan to utilize influencer marketing. 57% of marketing professionals are already invested in influencer marketing, while 46% plan to increase their influencer marketing budget. It is considered to be one of the most successful approaches in driving ROI for B2C marketers.

From TikTok to Instagram reaching out to influencers who align with your company’s values is a great way to drive brand awareness and generate leads. Keep in mind when finding influencers and creators, large social media followings are not always as important as they would seem. Focusing on micro-influencers that have less of a following, but are able to connect with their followers in a more authentic and personal way can be just as effective, if not more.47% of the U.S between the age of 18-24 consumers are more likely to engage with a brand their favorite creator uses it. Showing everyday people using your product or promoting your service gives more of a personal referral as if it came from a friend or family member.

Video and Audio Content

With TikTok making a huge impact on social media we saw that video content was a huge success for marketing in 2021 and that will continue to grow in 2022. What is important is length. Short videos across your social media platforms have a big impact on ROI and consumer engagement.

It’s important to consider what platforms to use in 2022. 

• Instagram has been a leading platform for now and has introduced its Instagram Reels
• TikTok has seen a huge growth rate of users and can be valuable to marketers
• Snapchat has added its own channel of short videos 
• Pinterest has seen great success with its video ads. 

Focusing on these smaller networks can be more cost-effective and have greater success with consumer reach.

Another option to consider is incorporating social audio content. In 2021 we saw that Clubhouse gained popularity with its ability to let users host audio chat rooms and then Twitter hopped on the bandwagon and released their live audio option, Spaces, shortly after. Social audio can be utilized for hosting live streams of meetings/events, podcasts, and incorporating influencers to promote the brand. Although this marketing is fairly new it seems that it has the potential to be effective for marketing in the near future.

Inbound Marketing

 In 2022, 80% of marketers plan to keep their inbound marketing budget or increase it. It’s important to draw consumers to your brand with tailored content that comes across in a more engaging and relatable way. More brands are taking this into consideration and rather than continuing to use the funnel method we see more of a flywheel approach: “Attract, Engage, Delight”.

61% of marketers agree that improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a key priority for an inbound marketing strategy. SEO can be utilized in numerous ways. Not only do blogs increase ROI, but they also improve SEO for your website. Don’t know what to do with the older blogs? You can recycle older blogs and incorporate them into current discussions. Be sure to check for any broken links and replace dated statistics on the blogs. 

SEO can be done through video and image as well. Incorporating related videos and images on web pages can go hand-in-hand when creating blog posts to increase the likelihood of being recognized on google images. Marketers should also consider working on improving voice search SEO, as the new modern-day assistants such as Alexa or Google Play are common in households. Another useful trend we’ll see is moving towards “native ads,” on Instagram allowing you to tag your product and link to your site in a more subtle way. It can be useful to create content that doesn’t look like an ad, but rather an everyday post.

Social Responsibility

Lastly, as we’ve seen since 2020, consumers are holding brands more accountable for their actions and it’s important that brands express social responsibility. Consumers want to feel they can trust their favorite brands. It’s important to not only focus on promoting your product or service, but also acknowledge what is going on in the world. Creating content that is for a shared cause your company believes in will attract consumers with the same values. It can also show that you care for your employees as well as for your customers. Highlighting employees and customers’ appreciation is a great way to add authenticity to your brand.

These are just a few of the key highlights of what’s to come in 2022 and how to get ahead of developing your marketing strategy for the new year. At Tomo360 we provide each client with customized counsel on how to improve and leverage a marketing strategy. Contact us today for a consultation and make 2022 your best marketing year yet!