Top 5 Marketing Trends in 2022

The marketing world is constantly changing. For a marketer who wants to succeed, you must keep up with these changes and stay ahead of them. To help marketers build competitive and cutting-edge marketing strategies, we have compiled a list of top marketing trends in 2022.

1. Make your brand more relatable

Pandemic-weary customers are now more interested in brands that relate to them than those with catchy taglines. Worldwide, consumers have gone through two years of perpetual uncertainty.

Brands that can empathize successfully with this reality are more likely to gain consumers’ trust. Therefore, you must focus on crafting inclusive, distinctive, and inspiring experiences to remind customers of the world before the pandemic.

However, addressing only pandemic realities is not likely to work in 2022 and beyond. Last year, it was a good strategy, but now it is more important than ever to build a brand message around pragmatic solutions. Your message will likely resonate well with consumers if you can do that. Experts believe that brands that center their message around the tangible value that their product or service offers are likely to win versus brands that cannot emphasize this fact or establish a genuine, practical connection with their consumers.

2. Invest in creative campaigns that convey your brand’s actual value

Many marketing gurus believe it may be a great idea to focus more on your brand’s actual value than glamorous fluff post-pandemic. Brands that deploy creative and fresh campaigns that convey simple concepts such as joy and community may win out in 2022 and beyond versus those that focus only on grabbing consumers’ attention. With the marketing landscape being noisier than ever, it is necessary to drop overpromising from your advertisements and other marketing messages. Instead, it’s time brands invest some time to do soul-searching to ensure their marketing message clearly and fully communicates their brand’s intrinsic and core value.

3. Engaging nonprofits should be a part of your marketing plans

In recent years, a new trend has emerged, and today, in the pandemic-hit world, it is more relevant than ever before. We refer to consumers supporting communities that give something back to society or have a social mission. This trend, marketing experts worldwide believe, is likely to get even stronger in 2022 and beyond. For this reason, brands should make this a part of their marketing strategy by entering into partnerships with nonprofits and NGOs. With these partnerships, you can potentially grow your business and contribute to philanthropic missions relevant or essential to your industry.

Increasing your reach and expanding your brand while advocating for a charitable organization is a win-win. But keep in mind that your marketing plan should go beyond simply declaring support for a nonprofit. Your marketing strategy must include practical goals like affiliate marketing, product placement, corporate sponsorship, and percentage of sales donations. Forging such a partnership can help you broaden your audience group and reach out to new customers worldwide.

4. Leverage influencer marketing

An increasing number of marketing professionals around the globe are investing in influencer marketing. In a survey involving marketing professionals of different countries, roughly 34% of participants said that they would invest more in influencer marketing than any other digital marketing strategy in 2022.

If so many marketing professionals are betting high on influencer marketing, surely it must be worth the cost. So, if you have been slow in leveraging this strategy, it’s time you jump on the bandwagon with all gusto.

Still wondering why? Here are some more stats that showcase how influencer marketing pays off both short and long-term.

• Nearly 6 out of 10 marketers who currently spend on influencer marketing state it’s effective
• 46% of marketers leveraging influencer marketing plan to invest more in it in 2022
• 11% of marketers state that influencer marketing has generated more return-on-investment (ROI) for them than any other digital channel they have tested so far

To cut a long story short, if you are not leveraging influencer marketing yet, you are missing out on something essential and potentially staying behind your competitors who are most likely investing in this trend. Of course, you wouldn’t want that now, would you? So, start experimenting with working with influencers. Most marketers work with micro-influencers rather than big celebrities or mega-influencers. Don’t be too concerned if you can’t afford celebrities, because, in reality, very few can.

Micro-influencers focus on a specific area or niche and have 10,000 to 50,000 followers. They are usually regarded as a topic specialist or industry expert. While they have fewer followers than celebrity influencers, their messages pack a more potent punch. That’s because they have a far higher engagement level with their followers than celebrities.

Because they are widely regarded as topic specialists or industry experts, they can play a crucial role in ensuring you can convert leads into customers. With the help of micro-influencers, you can boost brand awareness and connect better with your audiences. And the best part? Since these micro-influencers are “everyday” people, their followers are far more likely to listen and trust their recommendations and opinions actively.

Influencer marketing has evolved from an interesting trend to a widely used and highly effective marketing tactic. That’s because influencers are usually masters of social platforms on which they have a presence and are referenced in the topic or field they talk about. Influencers already boast a sizeable audience interested in their opinions and recommendations. By collaborating with social media influencers, marketers can significantly enhance their brand awareness and digital engagement.

5. Invest in short-form video content

Short-form video content is another marketing strategy that marketers are presently leveraging. Estimates suggest that three in ten global marketers use short-form video content to improve brand awareness and engagement. And what’s more, in 2022, almost 90% of marketers around the globe plan to either increase or continue their investment in this tactic.

Even though long-form video content can help you share more information about your service, product, or brand, both B2B and B2C marketers find that when it comes to efficacy, it’s the short-form videos that pack a more powerful punch.

Short-form videos are easier to create and require less bandwidth, but they align with today’s short attention spans of audiences, regardless of their demographics. For this reason, the last few years have seen an exponential increase in the popularity of platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram Reels, and others.

Finally, to conclude our article, have a look at these valuable tips to help you come up with engaging concepts for short videos you can publish online:

• Brand challenges are a great way to win traffic, engage the audience, and establish a community-like feeling. Try to develop a brand challenge relevant to your company or business.
• Including product teasers in your short-form video content can help you pique your consumers’ interests and build anticipation around your yet-to-be-launched product or service
• It’s no secret that consumers love user-generated content. So, focus your energies on publishing crowdsourced content that evokes strong emotions
• Since consumers like transparency and authenticity, publishing behind-the-scenes videos about your business can help you strengthen your brand image and make your followers feel exclusive.