Last year may not have been the best for getting together with friends or checking out a concert you’ve always wanted to attend, but it has been a fantastic year for digital marketing. The advantage of having everyone indoors for a while was a new testing playground for marketers to perfect many of the techniques and tools that can grow your business.
What does this mean for you? All of these tools have been ironed out and are ready to explode in 2022. Everything from microlearning while you work on your customer relations to integrating simple data analytics that offers unique insights into your brand’s direction is widely available online and most for free or at low prices. Walker Media presents a few of the marketing trends that will help your business the most in 2022.
1 – Asynchronous Learning Continue to Grow
Holy crap has this gotten so much better! I’m sorry to be coarse, but it has never been easier to learn everything you need to start, operate, and succeed with a business. The number of free resources on YouTube and learn-at-your-own-pace courses from major universities like Harvard and Stanford are astounding.
Google practically anything you want to learn about. Within seconds, you’ll find an asynchronous course or video series that will teach you the foundations. Most of these are free or at extremely low prices compared to the value you are getting.
The best part? You can learn in your own time. That is what asynchronous means. You can be prepping your kiddo’s lunch for the week while watching videos on starting up your print-on-demand business or changing your car’s oil while listening to a podcast on growing your digital products Etsy shop.
2 – Dynamic Media & Content
Everyone is saying video content will be the new marketing trend, but let’s go a step further. Offering a highly engaging video is great, but one that is integrated with interactive pieces is better. Think about those ads you see that seem almost too targeted. Say you are a 40-year-old father of two with an ad targeting your low energy levels or need to hire a nanny and then video content that backs those ads up with engaging convincing numbers and emotions. Wouldn’t that pique your interest?
Dynamic media is frequently updated with new information and has interactive elements like quizzes you can take. Some YouTubers offer different versions of the same content with specialized codes at the ends of their videos to get a discount on their business after you have gone through the ads they require you to watch. This is only going to get more engaging and targeted as 2022 progresses.
3 – Data-Driven Decisions Making
Data analytics is the new king, not content. Understanding precisely what your customers want and how to deliver it to them the way they like it makes or breaks a business. Having the ability to conduct social media analysis or visitation tracking fuels your decision-making.
This is a great way to avoid the “shiny object” distraction that many brands suffer from. Instead of focusing on those new high-priced tools or fabulous tactics you think will grow your brand, you can use objective, evidence-backed strategies to organically grow. This can be anything from knowing what time of day your online shoppers like to visit your site the most and then showing them more promotions at that time or even changing your product line more towards the most popular items on your storefront. Data is going to drive sales in 2022.
4 – Everyone is Using Microlearning
We’ve thrown out the long-form media to draw in customers and are now embracing the microlearning tactics of TikTok. Even YouTube offers “YouTube Shorts,” where creators build content around quick learning strategies. Think of all the videos, games, and interactive content you’ve experienced just in the past month that focuses more on the need-to-know items than general ideas.
When you have this fantastic thing called the internet full of information that is overwhelming to search through, offering a clear and concise video or piece of content that delivers exactly the information people want improves your brand credibility. Learning how to lasso this niche need will help expand your brand awareness and increase sales in the long run.
Where to Get Started
There are a ton more marketing trends to follow, but you don’t have the time for all of that searching – you’re running a business! That is where my team at Walker Media can help. We stay up to date on the latest marketing trends and ideas, so you don’t have to. We work with digital and physical brands to increase traffic and grow their customer engagement from micro-learning content to social media analysis.
Want to leverage any of these unique trends for your own business? Let’s start a conversation on Instagram ! I cannot wait to introduce your brand to the many tools and capabilities 2022 has to offer.
