2022 Marketing Trends and Best Practices
The new year is almost here! That means it’s time to look ahead to identify any trends or best practices for marketing in 2022. A lot has changed over the last couple years, especially with the global pandemic touching almost every aspect of the customer experience. Looking ahead to 2022, we can anticipate that some of the best practices from 2020 and 2021 will remain, but also that some new trends will emerge. Here’s a breakdown of what we foresee for the marketing scene in the new year.
Short-form video – With the overwhelming adoption of TikTok and Instagram looking to compete with Reels, short-form video has taken center stage on the social media landscape. It’s estimated that 82 percent of online content will be video in 2022. Marketers should consider this when planning content strategy for the new year and embrace this trend.
AI in marketing – Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come leaps and bounds over the last few years. It’s being integrated into marketing for the purposes of not only automating simple tasks, but helping with predictive analytics to maximize campaign performance. Not only that, but AI can help with SEO strategy as well as provide a first level customer connection tool through capabilities such as chat bots.
CSR – Especially after these last couple years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is going to be even more important to consumers. It’s already considered a best practice to have a CSR program, and is continuing to trend upward with 77 percent of consumers more likely to purchase from companies that give back to the community and align with their values. Brands that haven’t thought of some type of CSR initiative need to get on it for the new year.
Hybrid events – In-person events are coming back slowly but surely. However, whether it for convenience or safety reasons, some consumers prefer virtual events and have gotten used to the ability of attending from home. Marketers will need to make sure to accommodate both options in 2022, so hybrid events will be a popular structure in the new year.
Polished thought leadership – It’s still vital to have a thought leadership presence, but with many jumping on the bandwagon as a best practice, it’s not enough to just simply produce thought leadership pieces. Your leaders need to produce content that captures the attention of your audience and says something innovative. In a LinkedIn survey, 71 percent of decision-makers said that less than half of the thought leadership pieces they read gave valuable insights. To stand out this year, thought leadership will need to bridge the gap of content for content’s sake, and be on the cutting edge of the brand’s space.
Prepping for 2022
Marketing in the new year will be a combination of continuing best practices and incorporating trends. Staying on top of both will position your brand in the best possible way. For some, this may mean finally including best practices that emerged in 2020 and 2021, such as video, CSR and insightful thought leadership, in addition to jumping on new trends to stay ahead of the curve like hybrid events and leveraging AI.
Connect with one of our marketing experts at Beyond Fifteen for help ensuring that your 2022 marketing strategy embraces both best practices and upcoming trends.