The pandemic hit the world, and with it came changes to how the internet works. Now more than ever, consumers are consuming digital information. Therefore, no matter your field or industry, it is crucial that you understand how digital trends are coming along, and that digital marketing will become more critical for the success of businesses. In this article, we will help you understand some of the top digital marketing trends and how they will affect consumer habits in the future.
Latest Digital Marketing Trends
Below we will explain some of the top marketing strategies and trends this year!
Influencer and Micro-influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing involves partnering with an influencer to pass your brand message to an audience. The reason influencers are quickly gaining traction and becoming a common digital marketing trend is that there is a lot of noise on social media. Therefore, getting an influencer who is trusted and connects with a particular audience may work positively for your business.
Influencer marketing is probably the biggest trend in online marketing today because influencers are usually masters of their field. They know and understand the subject matter and understand the topics they are talking about. Furthermore, they have an interested and engaged audience already, and their audience is influenced by the information they provide about different topics.
If you are a marketer and you interact with influencers and other thought-leaders in your field, you get to expand brand awareness and even get more fans from your marketing.
In 2022, influencer marketing is set to grow into a more commonplace marketing tactic. Currently, according to Hubspot, up to 57% of marketers who use this digital marketing strategy believe it is effective, and up to 46% of them want to increase their investments in 2022. Therefore, it means that influencer marketing is one example of a marketing trend that is generating a sufficient return on investment.
Even more intriguing is the concept of micro-influencers.
Despite having a small following, micro-influencers can also have a positive impact on brands because they are trustworthy. What they may lack in numbers they make up for strong media engagement.
As we move further into 2022, micro-influencers are helping brands connect more with audiences, boosting brand awareness and converting leads into customers. However, you should be careful when engaging with an influencer or even a micro-influencer. Apart from looking up the number of followers on their pages, you should also take note of the engagement rates as this is where their true influence lies. Furthermore, because these influencers will be strongly linked to your brand, you need to carefully choose people who will lift your brand and not expose you to unnecessary controversy.
Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and the Metaverse
Social media took the world by storm, but now it is time for the new kids on the block to enter the scene. The metaverse augmented reality and virtual reality are here to take over. Augmented reality consists of visual technologies that combine the digital world and the real world while virtual reality involves the use of optical technologies and the digital world that someone can immerse themselves in and enjoy.
While these technologies have been around for years, people have recently become more interested in and embraced these technologies even more. Now, AR, VR, and the metaverse are platforms through which people are connecting and maintaining social ties.
While many businesses are still stuck in the world of Instagram or LinkedIn and other social media marketing options, it may be time for you to start thinking of ways to expand your strategy so you can use some of these advanced tools. As of now, most successful businesses have already embraced the use of virtual reality and up to two-thirds of consumers would like to use augmented reality as part of their shopping experience.
For instance, some companies now have a virtual try-on feature that allows their clients to have an idea of how clothes or makeup would fit them before they make a purchase.
Further, visual search is also quickly coming up and will continue to grow shortly. Some of the outstanding visual search innovations include the Google lens that allows the user to take a picture of an object and can find similar projects online for purchase. For instance, if a consumer needs a flower vase that they like or need at a particular office and they do not know the maker or supplier, they can simply take a photo of the object and find that item or similar ones for sale online. However, this type of search is best for items like clothing, home décor, and footwear. Additionally, voice search is taking center stage because speaking is much faster than typing.
Such features are useful for consumers because they enhance user experience and are convenient. You can implement algorithms that start with online image searches and generate results that are the same product or upsell or recommend other similar or complementary products to the user.
As a marketer, you need to realize that it is especially the millennials and Gen X that are embracing this technology. Given that they are gaining buying power, this is a trend you do not want to ignore.
Content Marketing
While many other trends may come and go, some building blocks of the internet and search engines such as content remain. Therefore, even as the year progresses, you can expect that content will still reign supreme.
The reason content can never go out of style is that…
