The new year brings with it a slew of fresh opportunities for marketers, enriched no less by the hottest Digital Marketing Trends. With the pandemic serving as a catalyst for big, necessary shifts in the field, you can expect the most pertinent trends in 2022 to be driven largely by innovation meant to overcome its challenges. Of course, that’s not the most  important factor. 

Below, we’ve highlighted the trends that are nothing short of fundamental and vital for any marketer considering the present landscape. In addition, we’ve hilighted how  2022 is shaping up to be according to analysts. 

1. More personalization

Since we’re talking about must-implement trends here, it’s only right that personalization takes the top spot. We’re talking about in-depth personalization of content guided by in-depth analysis of your target demographics. You want content that not only engages them but appeals to their preferences, too. 

Be more mindful of your messaging. People have grown tired of sales-y content that only marginally touches on what they need or doesn’t empathize with their problems. Crafting one that does will immediately make it stand out.

2. AI-driven marketing is a huge difference-maker

The focus on personalization fits  well with the rising trend of AI and  automation in the industry. AI is innately inclined toward personalization, after all. This is  evidenced by its ability, for example, to predict customer behavior based on the plethora of user data it can gather and analyze  in record time.

AI-driven apps are already being developed and used by marketers to bring about these perks. More importantly of all, at least as of this writing, are the AI- and machine learning-based chatbots that can help marketers in their customer support efforts. They can even help to boost conversions, too, as they learn more about the clients they converse with. 

3. Social commerce jives with the ever-important need to optimize user convenience

If you aren’t already aware of shoppable posts, then it’s high time you start looking into them. It’s an Instagram feature that lets users buy a product directly from any post. In most cases, the user will be taken to the main website where they can buy the actual product.

Still, that completely eliminates a number of extra steps that will have eaten through the user’s time (and patience). As you can see, social commerce not only provides you with another source of traffic but better tools for conversion, too. This same trend is apparent on  Facebook, which is why there’s no better time than now to level up your marketing game on these platforms. 

4. Marketers need to speed up their sites more

We all know by now that a website’s loading speed is an effective  SEO metric. However, you can’t really settle for being stagnant when it comes to this factor. Inevitably, Google will keep on launching SEO updates that will put it at  the forefront.

For one, Google launched as recently as Q1 in 2020 the Core Web Vitals update that focuses on site design. It emphasized the importance of having your sites optimised for mobile. In the end, mobile-friendly and speed almost always go together when it comes to website designs. 

It’s safe to say that you should perform an upgrade on your site , within the next year. This is because  you don’t want to lose that pivotal advantage to your competitors. They’ll more than likely be aiming for the fastest speed possible , after all. 

5. The continued rise of marketing automation

Automation has been a byword of productivity in digital marketing in recent years. Its importance only continues to grow. In fact, it will be a real surprise if your standard Digital Marketing Service doesn’t have it in its arsenal.

There’s nothing that can compare to the efficiency that automation brings. You get to save plenty of time and effort not only when posting content on your social media accounts but when responding via email or text as well. 

More sophisticated automation solutions are being developed, even as we write. Some may directly help in conversions by being able to send them based on the most ideal times, certain user behaviors, or actions (e.g. the user automatically receives a follow-up email instantly or the following day if they abandon their cart). 

6. Genuine stories guided by customer feedback

In order to really stand out from the crowd of competitors, you need to present your audience with something that will resonate with them. Nowadays, people no longer take advantage of a service or purchase a product just because you list down its advantages. 

There’s no better time than now to highlight your reviews through engaging storytelling. People will always be attracted to stories, all the more so if they’re related by someone who actually lived  through the experience. 

What’s equally fantastic about this approach is that stories, more often than not, aren’t sales-y. People will never tire of reading or hearing them. More importantly, no two stories are ever the same and will therefore never be tedious. 

7. A shift in focus to one channel instead of numerous ones

Are you the type of marketer who wants to branch out to multiple channels with the intent of catering to more audiences and ensuring more growth? Well, that proves to be less-than-optimal, especially if we’re trying to assess the average ROI of this kind of approach. 

This trend, in a way, mimics the shift in SEO  from global to local. In the end, the more narrowed down and focused you are on a particular marketing channel, the more you become  an  expert in it. Thus, you have greater chances of dominating with its help, while keeping your expenses low. 

Conclusion

Even as trends continue to shift in importance every year, one thing will always be important: how well you know your target audience. Whether you’re into digital marketing in general or something specific like Senior Living Marketing, a deep knowledge of your audience will always take you a long way. In fact, it’s what ties all of these trends together. 

This knowledge of your audience will, more or less, dictate how you implement these trends in your campaigns. Always consider that the next time you decide to follow a trend.