The online-marketing landscape is always in a state of flux. And with new social platforms being regularly introduced, privacy rules gradually becoming more stringent and search-engine algorithms constantly evolving — just to name a few of the seemingly constant developments in the space — it can be hard to predict just where things are headed.
But here at The Brandon Agency, we’ve never been daunted by a challenge … and when it comes to the marketing world, we’re always willing to break out our crystal ball. On that note, we’ve consulted with our in-house experts to identify the top digital-marketing trends that your business should be on the lookout for this year — and if you jump on these powerful advertising trends quickly enough, you may even be able to get ahead of the curve to gain a competitive advantage.
Without further ado, here are the six top trends we see shaping the online-marketing landscape:
1. Short-form video marketing continues to reel in consumers’ attention
Highly effective at catching — and keeping — the eye of viewers, short-form video is expanding beyond TikTok. (Side note: See our thoughts here on why your brand should be on TikTok now.) With Instagram and Facebook already jumping on the trend with Reels, and Pinterest and LinkedIn also making investments aimed at enhancing and amplifying their short-form-video features. The trend offers an increasingly attractive opportunity for brands to increase top-of-mind awareness among current customers and gain exposure among new audiences.
Further, this trend offers a couple big added bonuses for businesses that leverage it:
- In addition to grabbing attention, short-form video also excels at spurring user engagement, delivering higher-than-average likes and shares than other types of posts.
- Because storytelling rather than production quality is at the heart of the trend, brands don’t have to make big investments in expensive high-end production services to get on board — compelling videos shot with a smartphone will do the trick (and actually even be a more natural fit in the space).
2. Influencers become even more influential
Influencer marketing was expected to hit a market size of nearly $14 billion in 2021, a figure that represents more than double the $6.5 billion figure reported just two years earlier in 2019. And the main reason for the growth: Influencer marketing is effective, producing tangible results for the brands that leverage it. In fact, according to statistics, nearly half of consumers value the advice of influencers, and in 2018, the ROI on influencer marketing campaigns was a striking $6.50 for every dollar spent.
Here at The Brandon Agency, we don’t see the power of influencers waning anytime soon — rather, we believe that the trend will continue to gain even more steam moving forward. And for brands looking to reach new audiences and grow their market share, we highly recommend leveraging influencer marketing to build and strengthen relationships with target consumers.
3. Mobile marketing is on the move
According to Google statistics, over 60% of online purchases were made using mobile devices in 2019 — representing a year-over-year surge of more than 27%. And let’s face it: With the seeming ubiquity of mobile devices among today’s consumers, the power of mobile marketing won’t be declining anytime soon.
In 2022, brands that harness the many powerful benefits of mobile marketing by using proven-effective strategies such as location-based marketing, proximity marketing in-app marketing, SMS marketing and social media marketing can gain significant advantages over any competition that fails to leverage them.
Considering stepping up your mobile marketing efforts? Take a deeper dive into the topic by reading our blog article on the Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Marketing.
4. LinkedIn delivers an even more alluring link to success
Designed specifically for professionals, LinkedIn has been gaining momentum in the form of added active users and increased engagements one quarter after another in recent years. And to boost the performance of business’s and other users’ pages and outreach campaigns, the leading social network is also constantly adding powerful new features lately. Especially for B2B brands, we suspect that the marketing effectiveness of LinkedIn will only to continue to grow, both as a way to reach new customers and to keep existing ones coming back. Is your brand looking to up the effectiveness of its LinkedIn efforts? Try these six tips for better leveraging the social network.
5. Marketing automation accelerates
Recent years have seen the growth of a range of automated tools that can make digital marketing both easier and more effective for brands. They typically accomplish this by nurturing prospects and turning them into qualified leads, often via sending the right messaging at the right time as consumers enter specific parts of the marketing funnel.
By tapping into these — with just a few powerful examples including CRM software, marketing automation software, email marketing software, social media marketing software and marketing analytics software — brands can optimize the timing and effectiveness of their marketing efforts, all while cutting the amount of time and effort employees must devote to accomplishing these tasks. And in 2022, we envision more businesses leveraging these tools to boost their marketing efforts.
6. Privacy challenges require strategic thinking
Apple’s 2021 introduction of new privacy features with its iOS 14 rollout had a huge impact on marketers, as it created major limitations on their ability to track consumers’ purchase preferences and shopping behavior. And even with Google’s announcement that its much-anticipated (and widely dreaded) phaseout of third-party cookies will be delayed until late 2023, it seems clear that more privacy challenges are coming for marketers in 2022 and beyond.
In the near future, it will become important for marketers to find new ways to target prospective buyers and personalize their brand experiences. With that in mind, it’s critical for brands to start prioritizing the collection of first-party data NOW by using tactics like surveys, email marketing opt-ins, CRM tools, and contests and giveaways to grow their consumer databases, then start putting that valuable data to use to power personalized and segmented online marketing campaigns.
Could your brand use the help of a team of seasoned marketing professionals to maximize the effectiveness of its digital marketing efforts this year? To get started with help ranging from a simple website analysis to a comprehensive strategy tailored to boost the performance of all of your marketing campaigns, contact us today.
Scott Brandon
Chief Executive Officer
Scott has led the growth of Brandon into a Southeastern powerhouse with over 120 employees in four offices across the U.S. As a highly sought-after strategist and business-minded visionary, he has helped develop and grow brands such as YETI Coolers, Southern Tide, CresCom Bank, Williams Knife Co. and Fish Hippie. Always on the forefront of technology, Scott’s focus is on data-driven marketing and developing growth minded strategies and tactics. Although he has an endless passion for marketing, Scott is happiest when he is outdoors hunting and fishing with his family.