It’s safe to say that 2020 was highly unexpected and, as 2021 comes to a close, the same could be said about this year as well. Over the last two years, our world has drastically shifted, and as a result, change is to be expected.
Although we can’t anticipate what 2022 might hold, there are certain aspects that we can predict – namely: marketing trends.
“Outside the Box” Event Planning
Although a lot of events held in 2021 were in-person, and many are expected to be in 2022, not everyone is ready to jump feet first into gathering together – so businesses will have to continue to adjust.
Event planners faced an unthinkable task in 2020 as they changed every component of in-person events to virtual events with very little warning. However, what was once a challenge is now an expectation. Many people aren’t comfortable attending in-person events and if you’re relying on those events for fundraising purposes, you will have to offer an alternative in 2022.
The Wall Street Journal states that, “Three-quarters of global executives surveyed say they will invest more in creating hybrid experiences over the next 12 months.” In fact, many professionals think that a hybrid option will be a requirement for event planning for decades to come.
If you’re optimistically planning in-person events for 2022, you’ll need to make sure you are offering a hybrid option with the technology to suffice.
Prioritizing Video and Visual Content
If you’ve spent thirty minutes scrolling through TikTok and then look up to realize it’s actually been three hours, you’re not alone. TikTok took the world by storm and has continued to gain brand interest.
Video marketing is a must for 2022 and in some cases, the shorter the video, the better. Platforms such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram “Reels” feature are selling products in a matter of minutes. In the new year, consumers will continue to buy products through social media more often – it eliminates the need to navigate a website. It is no surprise that social media has taken the lead in marketing investments for businesses, as stated by HubSpot.
If you don’t have the capacity to produce video content frequently, consider producing audio content when you can. Podcasts have grown increasingly popular – they are easier to create and require less technology, which means they can be produced faster. They’ve also gained a lot of interest in the last several years which has not wavered.
However, video will remain the top marketing content form and it’s worth seeing how your business can benefit from that.
According to our Social Media and Digital Strategist, Sarah Scott, artificial intelligence will also take a front row seat in 2022 marketing trends. Companies in industries such as retail, banking, and healthcare are already starting to use artificial intelligence in their marketing efforts – it might be time to consider how you can do so.
Customers are also moving away from picking up the phone and towards engaging with your brand digitally, even if they have an issue that requires customer service. According to Gartner, more than 60% of all customer service engagements will be delivered via digital and web self-serve channels by 2023.
Content Continues to Dominate SEO
In 2022, many SEO tactics will remain the same – however, it’ll be important to focus on improving upon some tried and true practices. We talked with our digital content specialist, Mitch Woite, on what types of changes he anticipates.
Content has always been important and continues to be – along with having a website that is both fresh and fast. Mobile responsiveness and optimization is vital – you must make it easy to navigate your website on all forms of technology.
Voice search is also expected to gain traction, whether that be through a mobile device or an in-house smart-speaker. Voice search technology continues to improve, and writing content based around how people talk (such as asking questions) is helpful in getting results. JFG currently does this through blogging services for many of our clients.
Google is Getting Smarter
Google is another year older and another year wiser – specifically in reference to keywords. Google continues to improve their recognition that words such as ‘attorney’ and ‘lawyer’ are the same, meaning businesses do not have to attempt to spam every variation of the word in content.
Google’s algorithm is also being fine-tuned to recognize relevant and useful content. The content on a website is pretty much the single most important factor. With the billions of web pages out there, weak content will struggle to compete.
Local SEO continues to be incredibly important and optimizing Google My Business profiles will help with that. This means that getting Google Reviews is highly important.
Stay Ahead of the Trends – Contact JFG Today!
If you’re looking to ramp up your marketing tactics in the new year and stay current on emerging trends in 2022, J. Fitzgerald Group is here to help. Contact us today.
