5 Emerging Digital Marketing Strategies to Try in 2022

As leaders are just about to see the benefits of this year’s marketing decisions, they soon realize it’s time to start planning marketing strategies for 2022.

Thankfully, as the economic recovery gains momentum, hopefully, marketers will find themselves with a more padded budget to work with. But, what would be the best way to allocate this money?

With every industry reeling from navigating a year-long (and counting) global crisis, it’s essential to pay attention to what’s shifted in user behavior and media consumption. Eager for a less chaotic 2022, marketers are gearing up to try and execute these promising marketing strategies.

1. Use More Videos
   It feels like marketing tips list for the past decade have talked about video. Yet, some businesses and brands remain hesitant to incorporate video marketing into the mix. With the rise of TikTok and Instagram announcing it’s now a video platform, the rise of video is imminent.

   Over 85% of consumers would like to see more videos from brands, and at least 67% of brands are looking to increase their video spend in 2022.

   Beyond short videos for social media, some brands are tapping into the power of longer-form original content to help them build brand affinity. Investing money in live streaming or explainer videos can help brands build a loyal following and educate their audience about their brand, products, and services.

2. Invest in Creating a Strong Brand Image
   Branding has always been an important element of marketing and business in general. But, focusing on storytelling and building a solid brand image is what will keep consumers coming back. In 2022, creating a solid brand image requires a two-step or hybrid marketing approach.

   The first step is to use digital advertising to get your brand out there. It’s essential to note that digital advertising will become more expensive with time – that’s a given. Higher competition drives Google’s bidding wars into spirals that can often be too expensive for small brands. Still, this will always be worth the investment when done right, which is why working with a professional marketer is best.

   Next, you have to find ways to keep growing organically. Raising your brand awareness through organic content via videos, web content that provides value, weekly podcasts, newsletters, and other forms of organic contact will help. Set aside the right resources, time, and money to focus solely on organic traffic; this will boost brand awareness and support your overall marketing efforts.

3. Optimize for Voice Search
   Since 2019, the rise of voice technology has become a constant thought in every marketer’s mind. Voice search includes everything from voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and chatbots.

   Brands that focus on more consumer-friendly (less invasive) content will thrive in this space. Offering sharp, valuable content that responds to what consumers use voice search for will make them winners in this space.

   Optimizing for voice search means focusing your efforts on conversational keywords and creating persona-based content that will answer people’s questions. To make this happen, you need to find a team of marketers with SEO experience to help you optimize schema markups, keywords, and site organization.

4. Focus on Local SEO
   Geofencing isn’t a new concept, but it will take on new importance as consumers become more local-oriented. While online markets opened the doors to consumers during lockdowns, as restrictions start to fade, consumers want local solutions to meet their needs.

   With geofencing, brands can reach targeted messages through text, email, social media, or in-app notifications to consumers in localized “fenced” areas.

   In addition, local SEO can help boost geofencing efforts. Focusing time to optimize maps business listings, creating a Google My Business account, and creating content based on local events or stories are essential to optimize for local SEO. Asking for reviews from happy customers and optimizing for voice search for directions and operating hours will help you win the local SEO game.

   Don’t miss the opportunity to use – usually free – resources like Google My Business to boost your local SEO and provide value to your potential customers.

5. Don’t Neglect B2B Marketing
   Business-to-business content is often neglected as most businesses focus only on consumers. However, B2B marketing can be highly profitable for most companies. Primarily because B2B searches are based on intent.

   When a business offers educational content on specific solutions, brand trust is built, and someone is likely to be more interested in talking with a representative to learn more about your services.

   Incorporating educational blogs, white papers, quizzes, and long-form content that address a specific problem can help nurture leads and build audience trust. In fact, close to 68% of B2B marketers use content marketing to build trust.

As brands continue to fight for consumer attention in these still uncertain times, marketers will find themselves trying different strategies. By taking these marketing trends into account, you’ll be able to stay ahead of the curve and meet your goals.

Written by Eric Woodson.