5 Marketing Trends To Look Out For In 2022

Dec 9, 2021 1:17:41 PM

If 2021 has taught us anything, it’s how quickly the marketing world can evolve and successfully adapt. With businesses becoming virtual overnight, and working from home becoming the new norm, marketers needed to think of new, innovative ways to market. Fast.

It's no secret that the industry is constantly changing - and fast. To be successful in this business, it’s important to stay ahead of the game and seamlessly evolve with the changes. So, let’s take a look at how the marketing industry will continue to evolve this coming year.

Influencer marketing will evolve into a marketing tactic

What is an influencer? What is influencer marketing? And how is it going to transition into a marketing tactic?

Let’s break it down: an influencer is an individual who has a dedicated social following, navigates through their chosen platform(s) with expertise and is an absolute master within their niche market. Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that uses these individuals to endorse products.

Often, when we think about influencer marketing, we think about celebrities. But celebrity influencers can be quite costly. So, what do you do if you don’t have the budget for a celebrity influencer? You look at micro-influencers.

Micro-influencers are sometimes overlooked because their social following isn’t as notable as that of a celebrity. However, that could also be beneficial. By having a smaller follower count, it increases the level of personability which creates that level of trust every brand craves. And because micro-influencers are typically seen more as “real people” than celebrities are, there’s a higher level of engagement, too. It’s important to look past the number of followers and focus on the level of engagement – that’s the sweet spot.

Influencer marketing is an authentic way of showcasing a brand’s product or service in action. Incorporating individuals who are great at what they do, have already built a level of trust with their followers - and can therefore influence their decision making - and who already have your audience's attention means that selecting this type of strategy can be highly valuable for brands.

The Predominance of Short Videos

Lengthy, information-filled videos will now be a thing of the past for platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Marketers are finding a lot more success when using short, to-the-point videos. Especially with the attention span of today’s mobile-first society and the demand for instantaneous results. Simply put, people just want to receive the message quickly and easily.
According to Cisco, “by 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic”. Plus, “viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in the text”, according to Insivia.
Still not convinced? Check out the millions of engaged users on TikTok and Instagram Reels, daily.

The Continued Importance of Mobile Optimization

When something suddenly sparks an interest – a brand, a product, an ad – and you want to research it right away, what are you most likely going to reach for? Your laptop? Or your mobile device? With 56% of global internet traffic being mobile ( and growing) this one seems like a no-brainer.

Mobile optimization refers to the usability of a website and its ability to perform on multiple devices successfully. Design, responsiveness, and functionality are all elements to consider for mobile optimization. Customer satisfaction is simply one advantage to using a mobile-first approach. By successfully optimizing mobile processes, marketers easily gain credibility, increase their reputation and their SEO ranking.

The Introduction And Rise Of Meta

Previously known as Facebook, Meta is the evolution in social connection. The commitment, innovation, and technology of the Metaverse will create a whole new immersive experience. Using virtual reality and augmented reality, Meta will help people connect like nothing that’s ever been experienced.

And with many companies opting to be permanently remote, creating that sense of instant connection (like that of an office setting) is not a bad idea.

Increase in Audio Chat Rooms

Simply put, an audio chat room is like having someone’s Twitter feed broadcasted to you live in an ongoing podcast. Individuals can listen to others’ conversations – with permission, of course – and gain insights on specific topics, or just chat.

Apps like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces have users select different topics they’re interested in from the get-go and then use this information to suggest chat rooms that may spark an interest.

Chat rooms allow many participants at one time, and there’s no video aspect, only audio. The conversations are completely raw – which could be beneficial for marketers who are looking for the honest opinions of consumers.

Audio chat room apps are still in the early stages of development. But it’s something to keep in mind.

As we wrap up 2021, you should be thinking about how to implement some of these strategies in the new year. At Narcity Media, we are continuously evolving and adapting to new trends. We are always finding new ways to create fun and engaging content for our consumers – this past year especially. Our collaboration with influencers, plus our introduction to Tik Tok and Instagram Reels have proven to be very successful so far. We have lots of exciting things coming in 2022 and we can’t wait for you to see what’s in store.

Have a question? Reach out to us!