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Top 15 Best Digital Marketing Trends In 2022

Best Digital marketing trends will be described in this article. Getting digital mileage used to be straightforward. Post adorable YouTube videos. The cost of advertising. Get online writers to write about you. Purchase a Facebook PPC. You instantly become well-known.

But since then, the game has altered. The platforms, technologies, consumer expectations, user behaviour, and company models have all changed, resulting in the current wave of digital marketing trends.

You may check out the most recent B2B digital marketing trends in this post. They will assist you in seeing clearly so that you may invest your money where it will yield the best results. The bottom line is that experience is in and simple exposure is out. We’ll also discuss the marketing software tools you’ll need to capitalise on these trends during this process. We’ll also try to determine how the COVID-19 outbreak has changed company choices for marketing strategies.

Unbelievably, 28% of US adults say they use the internet “nearly constantly” (Pew Research Center, 2019). This percentage only represents the 81% of Americans who use the internet daily. Nowadays, it is usually quite simple to get in touch with someone. There are intricacies, of course, like knowing what to say and how to say it at what time. These are the traditional forms of marketing communication, yes. It hasn’t really altered, at least not at the level of principles.

Users don’t all utilise the internet the same way, though. Marketers must compete for attention and favourable feelings across a wide range of devices, browsers, websites, and content. This is arguably more complex than marketing communications from that era, which were primarily focused on tri-media: print, TV, and radio.

Additionally, it is challenging to fight for attention when it seems that attention spans have decreased, or perhaps more accurately, when we have the intrinsic tendency to quickly switch from one stimulus to another (The Outline). It is claimed that this is an evolutionary advantage that enables us to focus on difficult tasks while maintaining some awareness of our surroundings. And the internet is by no means lacking in stimulus. What therefore do marketers today to address these?

Top 15 Best Digital Marketing Trends In 2022

Top 15 Best Digital Marketing Trends are explained here.

1. Rise of Virtual Events

Rise of Virtual Events

Live events were a significant way for marketers to connect with shoppers and find possible new clients before the pandemic. However, because of the pandemic, organisations and companies were forced to postpone and cancel live activities. Although the turnaround was forced, it is very likely that marketers will still play a crucial role in businesses’ marketing plans.

When the Covid-19 limits first went into effect, 49% of B2B marketers switched some of their in-person events over to virtual ones. While 16% were doubtful, 19% claimed to have replaced the majority of them. 16% of the respondents said they had no plans to replace the events (B2B Marketing Zone, 2020). In the latter case, it might have meant that the events were completely cancelled rather than moved online.

Additionally, 332 American firms were organising virtual events in March 2020 at the start of the shutdown. Prior to that, only 223 and 235 brands, respectively, held online meetings in January and February of 2020.

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, this has caused event professionals in the US to update their spending plans or revenue estimates. 43 percent of respondents have already reduced their numbers, while 48% have not yet changed their behaviour but intend to. Only 9% of people have no plans to change their present numbers (PCMA, 2020).

Additionally, when switching to virtual events, marketers in the UK and the US examined their demands. They determined that their events plan needed to be revised in order to maximise success and ensure that it complies with company objectives (58%). The activity is then completed by collaborating with other individuals or teams (47%). For their transition to live events, 43% of respondents claimed they needed to master new technology and abilities. Last but not least, 31% of respondents indicated that they must work with vendors other from their regular partners for their virtual events (eMarketer, 2020).

Of course, the change also necessitates that businesses and event planners alter how they handle these activities. 71% of event professionals in the US include a Q&A segment, chat, and other interactive aspects in their events. Sixty-nine percent of respondents stated they would employ a webinar format, while 62% would shorten programmes and another 62% would invite speakers to stream live (PCMA, 2020).

Although it is uncertain whether virtual events will continue to be popular after the pandemic, they have been the preferred choice for organisations thus far. After all, according to 48% of participants in a PCMA survey, travel reluctance will persist. While 25% identified other factors, 27% thought there would be a pent-up demand to satisfy.

2. The Shift to Omnichannel Marketing

Digital media is used differently by consumers. This is crystal clear. Some internet users search for articles relevant to their work and interests. Some people use gaming apps to kill time. These usages do, however, have some connections and overlaps. The majority still use social media. While plenty of people use search engines to look up news, movies, and items.

If you are adept at being visible on some channels, you will encounter internet users one way or another. They may be clients, potential clients, or fervent detractors (for the lack of a better term). Once you have, it’s time to thoroughly qualify these leads so you can determine which of them will actually end up becoming customers, brand evangelists, or simply stop disliking your company. This is how businesses often operate.

You will, however, miss a lot of information if you restrict your contacts with your clients to a single channel. You would be unaware of their activities on other networks. They might appreciate your customer service on Facebook, but they might have complained about how slow your person was to respond on Twitter a few hours previously. Additionally, even if you use other channels independently, you’ll lose the continuity of the information you already have. Therefore, experts advise switching to omnichannel marketing rather than single-channel or multi-channel marketing.

The ability to track all customer interactions across channels without losing context is the basis of omnichannel marketing. You have the chance to weave together all of the exchanges into a coherent narrative. Additionally, it aids clients in maintaining a solid sense of your brand identity throughout various digital media. You develop consistency so that people who see you perceive you to be consistent. Just make sure you assist them regularly and offer them something of worth.

Continuously monitoring all of your channels could seem time-consuming, but the best help desk software solutions available today can combine all of your channels’ activities onto a single dashboard so that it appears as though you are only in charge of one newsfeed.

Highlights of the Omnichannel Marketing Transition

  • With omnichannel marketing, you can stay in touch with your clients and never forget the context of your interactions. Customers favour engaging with brands that maintain their personality across all mediums.
  • Customer service is not the only application of the word omnichannel. It relates to making goods, services, and marketing materials accessible through all channels, including physical stores and events.
  • CRM platforms and help desk solutions are only two of the tools used by marketers to keep an eye on and communicate with customers across various digital channels.

3. Artificial Intelligence and Analytics

Artificial Intelligence and Analytics

The COVID-19 pandemic’s outbreak shocked corporations into realising that continuing with business as usual would not be sufficient to scale up to the complicated requirements of the sweeping global health hazard. In the middle of this, businesses have increasingly resorted to AI and analytics to flourish, survive, or cushion the financial damage.

Few individuals are conscious of the fact that people were formerly referred to as computers (Fact / Myth). Yes, there have been people in the past who have worked as computers. We are no longer pinning individuals to a desk to do math and analysis, thanks to advances in theory and technology. Now that we have artificial computers, we are content to outsource a lot of computation to them.

Since then, the tendency of outsourcing computation has only gotten stronger. There are too many applications and illustrations to list. However, it’s important to note for our purposes that AI and machine learning help search engines determine which online content is the most educational and beneficial for people. Additionally, marketers practise this.

A Blueshift survey claims that 28% of marketers are utilising AI for product suggestions and 26% are already using it to optimise their campaigns. To gather and analyse data and automate marketing-related tasks, marketers leverage AI and analytics. That does serve as a general summary. It is largely intended for broad use, though. AI can assist you with managing your marketing efforts, designing your marketing strategy, and automating digital marketing tasks.

It enables organisations to become more data-driven as opposed to being only guided by unreliable intuitions, wishful thinking, and gut instinct. It would be equivalent to sweeping a mountain of data under the rug if your company did not include this in some fashion in the near future. Both significant information and insights will be lost.

Of course, not all kinds of firms will prioritise adjusting to this trend. The best method of action is to keep an eye on pertinent artificial intelligence publications and news to determine how you might benefit from it in the coming months or years. Additionally, you need to be aware that some of your rivals may already be utilising AI technologies and analytics. You don’t want them to own more information and insights than you do.

Highlights in Artificial Intelligence and Analytics

  • Marketers are now utilising AI and analytics for digital marketing trends like content generation in addition to data analysis and trend detection. This digital marketing trend won’t be going away anytime soon or in the foreseeable future as data-driven insights become more and more important.
  • AI can assist with business process automation, especially marketing automation. Additionally, you may automate report generation, which is crucial for getting useful insights.
  • To boost efficiency and earnings, search engines and digital marketplaces like Amazon utilise AI and analytics to discover customer preferences. You may improve the design of your digital marketing plan by staying current on these trends.

4. Going Mobile and Progressive Web App (PWAs)

When laptops were first introduced, they were thought of as portable. Currently, they are viewed as being heavier and bulkier than their mobile counterparts. As a result, we frequently use our mobile devices to access the internet. They fit in your pockets and are lightweight. Search engines, particularly Google, have taken this into consideration. Google has also noted that we favour apps’ usability over some static or even dynamic webpages.

Nowadays, it’s all the rage to have usable mobile and app-like experiences to increase your brand’s visibility and engagement. In order to account for these, they changed the ranking algorithm. Therefore, if you don’t want to be overtaken by your rivals, you must adapt. Moving forward, you should keep both of these points in mind, especially given how crucial SEO is to the modern digital marketing toolkit.

Indexing for mobile first

On July 1, 2019, Google began indexing mobile-first new websites (Google Search Central). This implies that new websites will be rated first based on elements that improve the usability of their mobile websites. It makes sense that Google (and additional search engines) would wish to connect their users with relevant and useful content that is simple to obtain. As a result, when it comes to a crucial digital touchpoint—your website—you want to take this into account. If your website is not mobile-friendly, it intention not rank well.

Advancement Web Apps (PWAs)

These days, PWAs, or progressive web apps, are all the rage. PWAs are, to put it simply, browser-driven webpages that function like apps. Users can experience them as standalone applications, and occasionally they can be installed as well. There are real-world PWA instances. The list might include Twitter, Airbnb, Yummly, Facebook, Hulu, and Netflix. These PWAs are defined by three characteristics:

  • Reliable – loads quickly and doesn’t lag even under iffy network circumstances
  • Quick to react to user interactions and provide fluid animations
  • Engaging – feels natural and has an immersive experience on a device

You must also fulfil these three requirements.

  1. use HTTPS
  2. Include a Web App Manifest, second
  3. Employ a service agent

Additionally, when the requirements are satisfied, PWAs are seen as deserving of being on a user’s home screen. Users will be notified via a prompt that they can add your progressive website. As a result, when users launch their browsers, you will be one of the options they have. Nice, huh? If you agree, you should start learning more about how to use PWAs.

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and Going Mobile: Highlights

  • Since customers regularly visit search engines and websites using their phones, search engines are now giving preference to websites that are mobile-ready. If you don’t optimise for mobile, your SEO will suffer.
  • Consumers are more interested in websites that function like their preferred apps. They can become go-to sites because they offer a far better user experience. You may see an increase in direct traffic and dwell time if your website is a PWA.
  • Google has introduced mobile-first indexing for newer websites. In the near future, a larger deployment should be anticipated. So make sure you follow this trend.

5. Keeping up with voice search

In the foremost quarter of this year, the market for smart speakers reached 20.7 million devices worldwide (Canalys, 2019). About 51% of the world’s speaker market shipments were made to China. The US remained at an admirable 24%. We may anticipate that voice search usage will continue to increase in the future, according on this most current voice search data. Users are becoming acclimated to voice search assistants like Alexa, Cortana, and Siri as smart speaker devices fly off the shelves. Therefore, if you want to join in on the activity, you should be prepared for a potential rise in voice search in the near future.

Even while Google’s AI scored a very high 95% accuracy in recognition, some experts are not yet overly optimistic about voice search (Search Engine Journal, 2020). This is especially true when adoption presents significant difficulties.

Yes, people may occasionally use it, but it truly relies on whether or not they are your target market. If your material is geared for voice search, you’d probably do well if you’re a local business battling for attention to your brick-and-mortar locations. Furthermore, you would want to perform well in voice search results if you are addressing your SEO material in a way that aims to provide your clients with helpful information.

Organizations should generally bear this in mind as they move forward. There’s a chance that not all businesses are impacted by this trend. However, it is preferable to be knowledgeable about something than to be in the dark.

Following Voice Search’s Recent Highlights

  • The market for smart speakers is expanding, and there are prospects for digital marketing outside of the West. Future trends suggest that China and the rest of Asia will adopt more technologies. As a result, there are several potential for digital marketing efforts in these areas as well.
  • Customers frequently utilise voice search to find local businesses and services. In order to rank highly in local searches, businesses must optimise for voice search.
  • People continue to worry about voice search AI accuracy. When it comes to voice commerce, this is especially true. Thus, this can cause a slight slowdown in adoption. This doesn’t halt the general trend, though, as AIs will just become “smarter” with additional training.

6. Augmented user experience with Augmented reality

Users of augmented reality can add digital objects to real-world video recordings. This has numerous applications. Even better, you can incorporate it into your PWA or app to improve the user experience and content. Additionally, you can use it for amusing antics like the augmented reality experience from Treasury Wines Australia in Sydney’s World Square. Look at the video below. This is another digital marketing trends. Also check technological advances

The brand used technology in the film to create a creative user experience as well as to encourage conversation. Later, we shall explore more into this idea. However, one must make sure that these stunts and AR-focused apps are included in their omnichannel offers in order to attract views and interaction. Think about Pokemon Go for a moment. The game is more than just a lone programme on a computer. It is included into the entire thing.

It is one of many touchpoints that also includes a feature film, games, cartoon series, and retail. The game features a freemium business model with in-app purchases that promotes long-term involvement. As a result, the corporation released it with the intention of making money as well as serving as a promotional tool to introduce new audiences to the established brand.

To boost engagement and assist customers in moving toward their marketing funnel, businesses frequently use augmented reality (AR) into their marketing campaigns. However, putting it into practise effectively requires a tonne of imagination, expertise, and resources. However, as technology develops, new development kits are released. You should keep researching ways to include augmented reality in your omnichannel marketing strategy.

Highlights of augmented reality

  • You can utilise augmented reality to increase customer engagement in your omnichannel marketing strategy. Stunts that keep engagement high and encourage online brand discussion are beneficial.
  • Marketers take use of the highly immersive augmented reality gaming experience. These games act as promotional tools for the company. Additionally, other marketers use them as freemium-based platforms for revenue generation.

In order to engage your audience with your PWAs and digital content, you may also leverage augmented reality. There will probably be new developer kits available, and you might be able to create an augmented reality feature without having to have extensive technical knowledge.

7. Native Advertising: Don’t Intrude

It is not at all limited to believe and accept that people detest advertisements (Marketing Week, 2019). They can be time-wasting and intrusive. This is particularly true if the ones that show up have nothing to do with the foods they are preventing you from consuming. Additionally, it is even safe to assume that marketers occasionally do so. 47% of all internet users globally use ad blockers because we all despise them so much (Digital Information World, 2019).

This appears to be a significant issue for marketers, particularly for display advertising. There is a workaround, though. These adverts are probably something we all see on a daily basis. They’re referred to as “native advertisements.” This is another digital marketing trends.

Native advertisements basically appear and feel like they are a natural part of the content since they are seamlessly integrated into it. You can compare it to the way that product placement occurs in movies. Think about the expensive timepieces on James Bond’s wrists or the famous locations and settings from movies. They appear to be a part of the narrative and are only present to advance the plot. They appear to be only incidental. However, there had been a lot of preparation. Additionally, payments were probably made. Also check technology trends 

Although native advertising is not very new, businesses need to learn more about how to use it online. When done properly, this avoids the issue with ad blockers and is not overly invasive. It is something that will only serve to advance the plot while making a favourable impact on your target viewers. Your chances of winning increase if you include these in your omnichannel coverage.

Featured Native Advertising

  • Because many detest advertising, they employ adblockers to block them. Therefore, marketers have to use native advertising and incorporate marketing messages into the content naturally. This is a fantastic method that causes less user intrusions.
  • Early PR and product placements in motion pictures are where native advertising got its start. It’s nothing brand-new. It is, however, a digital manifestation of the same fundamental concept.
  • Strategies and approaches from this list, such as influencer marketing and podcast marketing, can be combined with native advertising.

8. B2B Digital Marketing:  Becoming More B2B

B2B Digital Marketing

distinctions exist between B2C and B2B digital marketing trends in 2019. However, both buyers and sellers have the same goal in mind. Additionally, many people today use the same platforms and transactional procedures. As a result, many preferences are transferable across B2C and B2B. In other words, both B2C and B2B consumers appear to value similar experiences.

Why? In other words, B2B purchasers turn into B2C buyers the moment they take off their suits. Typically, they were B2C customers long before they became B2B customers. Additionally, buying from B2C stores has generally always been simpler and faster than buying from B2B ones. Therefore, many people want B2C experiences to translate into B2B transactions. As it turns out, the SaaS sector is rife with this.

Customers typically receive free samples from merchants in the B2C market, particularly during in-person encounters at brick and mortar stores. By actually consuming a new product, we get to try it. Consider free return policies, cheese samples, and pasta sauce samples. Top companies in the SaaS sector now offer free trials and demos of their products so that we can push them out before buying the complete versions. Today’s B2B and B2C seams have been sealed in a number of instances, including this one.

What do consumers desire? Convenience

Additionally, B2B clients want transactions to be performed as conveniently as possible and desire immediate responses much like B2C customers. The time when you had to wait for your supply orders to be delivered to your door in order to know that they had been taken care of is long gone. You may view their exact location on your GPS map as well as where they are in the delivery process. The same applies to payments, where B2B customers practically demand that they be able to make earnings in whichever way is most fortunate for them at the time the purchase decision is being made. This is another digital marketing trends.

The same holds true for B2B clients that want to investigate your goods. They don’t really want to call a salesperson and have them spend an hour in their offices describing the good or service. Like you and I, these intelligent people are content to read online reviews of the goods. They want to see descriptions, advantages, testimonials, and videos. The only way to handle these is with digital marketing. This does not, however, imply that you fire your salesperson. According to our experts, the best course of action is to convert your top salesmen to digital. Once more, omnichannel is the operative word today. Also check  software development companies

Highlights of B2B Digital Marketing Trends

  • When business clients leave their offices, they become B2C clients as well. Like many others, they desire quick, convenient processing and interactions, which are typically offered by B2C businesses. Because of this, B2B companies should consider how to satisfy this preference in order to stand out from the competition.
  • Today, both company and non-business clients conduct online research before speaking with a salesperson to make a purchase. Consequently, an omnichannel marketing strategy is the best option.

A range of digital tools are used by B2B marketers to advertise and market their goods and services. These resources include blogs, email campaigns, in-person events, and ebook downloads.

Most widely used digital marketing applications

HubSpot Marketing, to start. Personalized marketing, social and mobile marketing, handling landing sites, and more are all features of advanced marketing tools. Read our HubSpot Marketing review to learn more about this potent app.

  1. Pardot. Salesforce’s B2B marketing automation & lead management solution gives your marketing initiatives intelligence. Review of Pardot demonstrates how.
  2. monday.com. This project management tool will improve all facets of your marketing campaigns with a thorough marketing use case customisation. Our review of Monday.com shows how.
  3. Market Innovation. A versatile, process-driven marketing solution with a CRM at its core. All of Marketing Creatio’s basic and sophisticated capabilities are covered in our evaluation.
  4. TUNE. If you want to create, manage, and expand partner networks and programmes, this software is for you. Read our TUNE review to find out how.

9. Create Experiences : Events and Promotions

We have already discussed PWAs, smartphones, and AR. All of these result in satisfied customers when done properly. However, there are other worlds than the digital one. In essence, it simply adds controlled stimuli and responses to the real environment in the hopes of having a good impact on it.

This is profit and competitive edge in the B2B context. This is the enhancement of the quality of life for the final consumers. What more suitable way to wrap this up than with actual experiences with the brand? This is as omnichannel as it gets, I suppose.

Consider the ice cream manufacturer Haagen-Dazs. Customers could play a game in-store that was set up to introduce them to the brand’s newest ice cream flavours while they were having fun. They were able to develop a comprehensive campaign to introduce the public to their new services because to their real-world experience. However, if you own a miniature to medium sized firm, you may design experiences and events that fit your needs and budget. Consider promotions, live events, sporting events, conferences, and the like. If you connect each of these with the appropriate digital channels, your lead generation will advance. This is another digital marketing trends.

These enable you to gather data from your target demographics at live events and afterwards include them in an online newsletter subscription. You can interact with them on social media by posting pictures of them from your events. Additionally, you may make promotions where people send you videos as part of a competition to win a gift. With this, you can get creative, but keep in mind to connect it to all of your channels. Make the brand experience and identity seamless. When done correctly, experiential marketing is profitable. Both B2B and B2C businesses can use this.

The Best Create Experiences

  • Astute marketers add live events and experiences to their digital marketing campaigns.
  • Live events and experiences raise awareness of the brand and increase engagement.
  • The cost of staging these activities and experiences is high. They also demand particular abilities. Therefore, if you want smoother event management, you might think about employing local professionals like ad agency or PR businesses.

10. More video content Marketing

According to internet traffic statistics, 82% of content will be video by 2022. Businesses have already spent a staggering $90 billion on video content in 2019. The pattern has been present for almost 15 years, and it shows no signs of abating. Why? This is due to the particular that we frequently don’t actually need to read a book or a lengthy article to comprehend what something is. Most of the time, we merely require a broad understanding. Videos are good at this (the well-made ones). They are more fascinating than reading words because they get right to the point, add graphics and audio to the story, and help you visualise the story.

The majority of people find it more simpler to watch a how-to video than to read a handbook when changing a tyre. In a similar vein, diagrams are logically simpler to comprehend than symbols and numbers. In contrast to words and symbols, audio-visual stimuli foster a sense of spatial and temporal comprehension of things that is more similar to our everyday experience of the real world. So utilise it when appropriate.

Videos can be utilized in a mixture of methods to increase visibility online, develop leads, assist clients, and uphold relationships. However, the following two trends will help you understand how to employ video. The omnichannel strategy and experience creation are essentially tied to this. Diverting your video audience to a location where they can engage with you more directly is one method to maintain it omnichannel. Calls to action (CTAs) are therefore an excellent idea.

Highlights of video content marketing

  • Videos will make up 82% of all internet content by 2022. Customers’ preference for short and consumable material is what has led to this trend.
  • You should use websites with video content, like YouTube, to boost customer engagement and build relationships. This can be used to develop leads and assist clients.
  • How-to videos, reviews, Q&As, and many other types of popular video material are available online. Just keep in mind to direct your clients toward platforms where you can convert them. Put CTAs on your video and video description at all times.

11. More Video content marketing Maketing

We’ve talked about how AR and experiences may spark conversation. Yes, this falls within the umbrella of user-generated material. However, user-generated material is not simply used for social media engagement and buzz. Other applications include building a knowledge database and soliciting feedback for your product development (and other business processes). This is another digital marketing trends.

We invite you to attempt to reproduce a piece of art using items (and people) from your house.

User-generated material isn’t actually entirely within the authority of businesses. However, it is a useful tool to assess your company’s standing among customers, how they use it, and the effectiveness of your marketing initiatives. There are, of course, more “conventional” uses as well, such soliciting user-submitted movies to raise engagement. But with these, you can accomplish much more. The following are some suggestions:

  • Forums for building a user and employee knowledge base for things like customer support, etc.
  • Upkeep of a blog and influencer link-building
  • Keeping an eye on feelings and maintaining connections
  • Setting up internet pages for recommendations and testimonials

The majority of user-generated content is free, which is fantastic (of course you spend manhours to engage with them). Additionally, its organic and genuine qualities are apparent. Positive comments can have a significant impact on purchasing decisions when using these for referrals and likes. It is therefore highly suggested that you use this right away. This is another digital marketing trends.

Additionally, keep in mind that user-generated content is present on several social media platforms. Therefore, using your user-generated material requires navigation, which social media monitoring software may assist with.

Highlights of User-Generated Content

  • Customers might find new uses for or issues with your goods and services. Therefore, it’s crucial to pay attention to your users across all digital media. By following user-generated material, marketers can find ideas quickly. When they act on these ideas and provide customers what they want, they will succeed more.
  • Compared to company-created material, user-generated content is perceived as being far more authentic. Therefore, be sure to highlight good ones on your touchpoints when you notice them, such as comments and recommendations. Just be sure to get approval first.

Using social media monitoring tools, you can trawl the web and ascertain customer sentiments.

12. podcasts Marketing

Podcasting has seen significant marketing success over the past few years. Users can watch them during downtimes or listen to them while driving because they are readily available content. According to recent podcast data, 70% of Americans are familiar with the term “podcasting” (Music Oomph, 2021). 51% of people have also listened to podcasts. A respectable 22% of people listen to podcasts on a weekly basis, while 6% identify as “avid podcast enthusiasts.” With 49% of podcast listening taking place at home, these listen-only or video-supplemented broadcasts are frequently watched there. Driving accounts for 22% of all podcast listening. Additionally, 11% of it is done at the office. Additionally, 63% of podcast listeners bought or looked into the goods and services they heard about (Top Podcast). This is another digital marketing trends.

The great thing about podcasting in terms of digital marketing is how well-targeted it is for desired audiences. Even better, listeners can do so at their own convenience. Additionally, podcasts typically have a community following and serve a very specific niche. Therefore, it’s a useful method for brands to connect with the correct customers at their preferred times. It may encourage participation and merely raise awareness of your brand. There are three main strategies for capitalising on this trend.

  1. Start a podcast of your own
  2. Appear as a guest on other well-known (or niche) podcasts.
  3. Advertise your goods on podcasts as sponsors or native advertising

Things to think about while marketing using podcasts

Not everyone is suited to serve as a brand’s spokesperson or face. Personality-based podcasts predominate among popular ones. Crime Junkie, The Joe Rogan Knowledge, Tigerbelly with comic Bobby Lee, and Neil Patel’s podcast Marketing School are a few examples of them. Because of the gravitas of the individuals, all of these are drawing attention. They are humorous, good communicators, have interesting guests, and help their respective areas. Starting something new and maintaining it take a lot of effort and time. Not everyone should do it. This is another digital marketing trends.

You can take into account the workarounds suggested in the preceding section if you don’t have the required time or abilities to develop your own.

A good speaker, influencer, or leader from your organisation might be a simple first option for guests on other people’s podcasts. You can reach your desired audiences in this way without having to make any direct podcasting investments. This should ideally be carried out on a frequent basis. Second, if your business sells simple goods that don’t really require much explanation, you may simply advertise your goods or sponsor the podcasts that your target customers are listening to.

This kind of effort can definitely engage more customers. It’s similar to radio but online and frequently includes video. Additionally, you ought to take advantage of the fact that social media users who listen to podcasts are 94% more active than the general public overall. Therefore, it is better to adopt this trend now than later. When it comes to podcast marketing, the future might already be here.

Marketing Highlights for Podcasts

  • Many Americans listen to podcasts virtually weekly, and they are well-known in this country. You can take benefit of this particular by advertising your goods and services there. You can go traditional by sponsoring specific segments or episodes, or you can employ native advertising, such as product placements.
  • Your business may launch a podcast of its own. In order to assert thought leadership in your niche, you can also do this with other non-competing brands. However, it is a significant investment, and you might need to bring on more personnel to meet demand.
  • Many people who listen to podcasts are ardent fans, and they are likely to post on social media about their favourite shows. As a result, this channel can aid in increasing your visibility on other digital platforms.

13. Influencer marketing

Since podcasts are essentially influencers, influencer marketing is essentially the same as podcast marketing. Not all influencers, though, are podcasts. For instance, marketers refer to micro-influencers as social media users with 1,000–1,000,000 followers or audience members. They are not your Kardashians or Beyonce, no. Similar to podcasts, many of these, however, have niche and devoted following.

In fact, compared to influencers with 100,000 followers, those with 1,000 followers produce 85% more engagement! Micro-influencers with small audiences may have more peers than fans, as reported by IMPACT. The interaction is therefore direct and intimate. This is where the action is for brands, especially given the figure that 84% of customers prefer peer referrals above advertising. You must get in touch with these influencers, provide them with fantastic user experiences, and encourage them to tell their intended audience about them! This is another digital marketing trends.

Once more, you should adopt an omnichannel strategy for everything from video content to in-person encounters. Here, creativity is essential, so be sure to embrace this fad right away. Actually, five years ago, everyone ought to have been using this.

Highlights of Influencer Marketing

  • Micro-influencers are individuals or organisations with 1,000 to 1,000,000 followers. Since many of their followers are their peers, their interaction and conversation are perceived as being more genuine. Obtaining your brand in front of people will probably help your brand’s reputation grow and can benefit your business’s bottom line.
  • Also, native advertising or supporting micro-influencers are cheaper than opting for huge ones. Thus, marketers need to find and interact with many high-value micro-influencers than launching campaigns with few macro-influencers.
  • Podcast personalities can also be micro-influencers.

14. Chatbots

Many are thrilled about the influx of chatbots in digital marketing. However, 38% of individuals are not eager to engage with chatbots in connection to customer support difficulties (GetVOIP, 2019). (GetVOIP, 2019). We all understand why. One, they are not very chatty yet. Two, we’d like to talk to real somebody. Three, they may be mistaken about certain things, worsening the challenges we have. Of course, these are sentiments. They may or may not represent reality. But, sentiments matter in the marketing world. This is another digital marketing trends.

Despite all of these, many companies utilise chatbots nowadays. Also, analysts think that waves of adoption will emerge in the following few years. Why? Chatbots answer most questions almost instantaneously. Thus, you can decrease wait times while you are using live agents. However, as said, they are not as “intelligent” as they should be or as we want them to be. But, this doesn’t stop corporations from using them especially those with international operations that don’t have domestic live agents available to answer during night time in their various regions. Thus, chatbots are a genuine choice for them.

Of course, AI is trainable & machine learning has gone a long way. Surely, we can anticipate better chatbots but there is also a reasonable solution if you want to utilise them now.

How would consumers feel if all customer service contacts were done by bots in the future?

Hybrid Chatbots

Hybrid chatbots are actually just humans & chatbots working together. Chatbots may recommend responses and actions although humans can override them in favour of superior ones or more personalised ones. What this does, is keep typing and response times short while not compromising personalisation and precision at the same time. Simple transactions like containing food may be taken care of by chatbots. However, complex situations usually relating customer and technical support may demand humans. Thus, if you think your organisation has to keep up with the chatbot trend, be sure to explore a mixed approach.

Chatbots Highlights

  • There is a considerable amount of the populace that is not comfortable dealing with chatbots. However, you may boost efficiency with the correct usage of chatbots. Thus, choosing a good chatbot software is crucial in this aspect.
  • Hybrid chatbots are one of the finest solutions for firms that want a mix between customization and efficiency.
  • AI chatbot technology will improve as they understand & are being created. Thus, do not count out needing to utilise pure chatbots in the future.

15. Mind your Local SEO

This bit focuses primarily on enterprises with brick-and mortar facilities like restaurants, malls, boutique shops, and the likes. If you are one of these or equivalent to these, it is time to make sure that you perform local SEO right in order to be visible to your target audiences. Of course, there is a mix of things to get this correct. Also, many of the highlighted trends, insights, and tips above might work very well. However, there are a few characteristics that drive local SEO a bit unusual. This is another digital marketing trends.

Firstly, there are precise criteria for how you can portray your business on Google by Google.

This is especially crucial as marketers recognised that the proximity of the searcher to the facility influences the local ranking factor deeply.

Secondly, there are some excellent practises such as putting your business into real local listings. For example, if you are a health-related firm, you can have your doctors listed on Zocdoc, Wellness.com, and Zocdoc to boost your rating (Cardinal Digital Marketing, 2020). (Cardinal Digital Marketing, 2020). Again, you hold your appellation, address and phone number (NAP) uniformity throughout or your channels and your listings. Also, you need enter your website URL. Call it NAP+W to make it easier to remember. Be careful you stay up with this ever-changing and very competitive part of digital marketing.

Mind your Local SEO Highlights

  • Optimize your local search to funnel customers into your brick-and-mortar establishments. It really doesn’t matter much if your content ranks internationally when your items and services are not visible in local searches.
  • One strategy to help your local search pick up is to conduct more online listings. Also, make sure to optimise for voice search if you have brick-and-mortar locations.
  • Also, make sure to have your business name, address, phone number, and website consistent throughout listings. Customers will find it simpler to contact you as a result.

Combining it all: How should digital marketing be approached in the coming years?

The format of your digital marketing strategy depends on the needs of your company. However, as with other businesses, you must in theory offer value to your target market. Don’t forget that ranking is not everything. The real objective here is to consistently profit from goods and services that are superior to those of your rivals. Therefore, the sole purpose of your digital marketing strategy is to drive people into your marketing funnel and, if at all possible, convert them into brand advocates.

The best approach is to combine all of the aforementioned methods. And you need to wrap everything up in an omnichannel strategy. To acquire an upper hand in a market and capture market share, you must employ a variety of tools. Obviously, you need to have a comprehensive marketing plan. You can get assistance from these free marketing strategy templates as you go.

We had said that we would talk about two more campaigns. These are from Old Spice and Volkswagen, as previously noted. Learn a little about how they utilised different mediums at the time. Perhaps you could design something similar for your own business.

Advice from Old Spice

Let’s begin with the Old Spice advertising campaign. This was a classic example of integrated marketing since it used social media and traditional media in concert to generate interest and participation. The marketers decided to launch their campaign on YouTube with a viral push before continuing it on TV. Through video content marketing, the organisation was able to snag 75% of all talks in the category (University of Waterloo). During its prime, they oversaw Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, if you viewed the aforementioned film or recall the campaign well, Old Spice inadvertently targeted women by beginning with “Hello, ladies.” Even though it was a little hazardous, it succeeded in reaching both sexes.

It is known that they uploaded more than 185 movies in only two days and carefully picked which videos to share on which social media platforms in order to steer and shape the discourse. With 105+ million YouTube views, 1.2 billion media impressions, a 300% rise in website traffic, and a 2700% increase in Twitter followers, they achieved fairly impressive results. They created a phenomenon that will live on in the annals of digital marketing because of their interactions with other influencers like Ellen Degeneres and other businesses like Taco Bell.

The lesson? Using an omnichannel strategy for your marketing initiatives pays off. Old Spice was innovative at the time (when it comes to digital marketing). They possessed the ideal concepts. They ran a really inventive and well-targeted campaign. But why isn’t the business booming right now? According to Gary Vaynerchuck of VaynerMedia, the wave died down because Old Spice stopped interacting with its fans. There is another lesson to be understood from this, if it is real, as it appears to be. It is to maintain a relentless omnichannel strategy. You have to continue. Always follow up on leads, and keep your targets, metrics, and information updated.

Understanding the Volkswagen Kombi

Volkswagen first produced Kombis in the 1950s. In the 1960s, it became a symbol. Sadly, it was on its last legs in 2013. The classic Volkswagen Kombi bus was scheduled to be phased out the following year. Why? It failed to meet the regulatory requirements for safety features like airbags. Brazil, the company’s final production market, was about to stop. It appeared to be the model’s demise. Isn’t that sad? The brilliant marketers that came up with this campaign had the brilliant idea to transform the laments into a celebration. There was a worldwide celebration.

At first glance, what Volkswagen did seemed a little counterintuitive. But it did work. It started asking for user-generated content and focused on delivering users video content about bidding farewell to their cars. Videos and narratives from fans poured in. Traffic and engagement increased naturally. Even a short video was made specifically to showcase user experiences with the legendary Kombi. The campaign period saw a 12% increase in Kombi sales. The Last Edition’s production was twice completely sold out.

The lesson? The business managed to turn what seemed to be a bad situation into a positive one. Despite saying farewell to a famous model, they managed to raise customer satisfaction with the entire brand lineup (not to mention the sales, which are pretty important). We can also firmly assert that content is king. The concept of an advertising message is still potent; it encourages consumers to associate a brand with wonderful personal experiences.

as you move on with your omnichannel marketing. Try to view things from diverse perspectives. Likewise, take into account what your clients think. If you have a lot of faith in your product, you can invite them to participate or even start a conversation.

An important note regarding the Volkswagen and Old Spice cases

Yes, these efforts were rather dated, and digital marketing has advanced since they first captured the world’s attention. The marketers in charge of these integrated marketing initiatives, however, had the right notion. They emphasised organic interactions and user-generated content. Personas were developed by the companies and are maintained across all media. You can use these lessons by utilising more cutting-edge digital marketing strategies.

A straightforward way to do this would be to plan an entertaining stunt or event. After that, you record this to produce user-generated content. It might be a competition with awards. Micro-influencers can help promote and participate in these activities. Likewise, use sponsorship or targeted podcast appearances. That may have been oversimplified, but you get the idea. Additionally, even if your company is a B2B one, you can always take identical actions.

Replicating or adapting what these organisations accomplished for your size of operations is challenging and intimidating. Furthermore, executing smooth, well-integrated campaigns across all media is challenging. This is why a lot of companies collaborate with digital marketing agencies, and SEO firms support their internal marketing team. When you don’t believe you have the knowledge and resources to manage these intricate initiatives, you should take this into account.

How can you stay current with the trends in digital marketing?

By reading this article, you are, at least, doing something right. And to simply answer the question, you simply need to take what you are already doing more seriously and consistently. That is to say, you should keep searching the web for helpful information from marketing experts and professionals who blog or participate in forums.

Additionally, remember to go through the books on Amazon and in your neighbourhood bookshops. Books can provide you with more extensive knowledge about digital marketing trends than videos and blog posts can. Don’t overlook podcasts either. There are several podcasts available with the primary focus being on digital marketing. One of them is Eric Sui and Neil Patel’s Marketing School. Marketers ought to tap into this gold mine.

Additionally, you can use marketplaces with user reviews to produce leads. When assessing user experience, these organic reviews are very reliable. As a result, you’ll have a better opportunity of learning about the mood or pulse of the market there. Additionally, you can highlight complimentary remarks about your company and use them as endorsements. You are able to stay current not only with what other marketers are doing, but also with user trends and their attitudes about your product and those of your rivals.

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