Top Digital Marketing Trends for 2022

There are a lot of moving pieces in digital marketing, including many new and exciting opportunities that are changing the way brands connect with customers. To help navigate these changes in the year ahead, check out our digital team’s latest take on the emerging digital trends of 2022.

The customer’s journey with your company begins the moment they first connect with you. In today’s ever-evolving digital world, customers expect a customized, seamless experience. Each touchpoint across channels should be considered a part of that customer's journey with you and your brand, creating what’s often called an omnichannel customer journey. Touchpoints or key interactions across the journey can vary by channel, from a social post and a follow-up email to a website visit or a phone call. Each of those touchpoints should help drive your customer through the purchase lifecycle in a consistent, though not always linear, experience. The importance of an integrated journey will only continue to grow as people become more and more likely to choose brands based on experience rather than traditional factors, like price.

Eleven Madison Park, a world-class restaurant, researches each of its guests before they arrive. They want to be aware of any celebrations, preferences, and shared interests with the wait staff, with whom they’ll pair a table accordingly. The McKinsey Group reports that this tailored personalization is what B2B digital marketers need to create winning customer outreach experiences. Intuitive user experiences, easy transitions across channels, speed, transparency, and expertise are all part of personalization and should span your customer’s entire journey.

In the awareness phase, consider personalizing people's experiences based on which pages of your website they visited. Those in the consideration phase will need guidance through their decision-making with relevant content like case studies and testimonials. Finally, customers in the purchase and post-purchase phases are the most receptive and engaged, so incentivize them to buy what you know they want, then nurture them with loyalty programs post-purchase to keep them in the loop. They'll remember it when it's time for their next purchase!

Customers no longer hope to connect with your brand online, they expect it. That’s why it’s important to create digitally connected experiences for your customers in ways that are more direct, human, and relatable.

On social media, using tools like chatbots, direct messaging communications, livestreaming, Facebook Premieres, and Instagram question stickers is one way to connect directly with your customers. Through chatbots or direct messaging communications, customers are able to get quick answers to questions that they may have about your business or service. Chatbots incorporate automated responses to answer frequently asked questions, such as business hours. Most social media platforms have direct messaging as an option for customers who may want to speak directly with a human or who have a more complex question that can’t be answered easily by a chatbot, like a specific product or service question.

Through livestreaming platforms like Facebook Live, Instagram Live, YouTube Live, and Facebook Premieres, you’re able to connect with your audience in ways that were not possible 10 years ago. Use these tactics to give them a new product preview, a behind-the-scenes look at a trade show, or real-time answers to their questions.

Want direct insight into what your customers are thinking or questions they have? Use Instagram’s question sticker to ask your audience what they are looking for. There is a wide array of ways to connect directly with your customers, giving them a more personalized look at your brand. Making that deeper connection with your customers is sure to place you ahead of the competition.

Content marketing matters, but a 2,000-word article may not always be the best way to give your customers the information they need. Content experiences continue to emerge as a way for customers to digest the content they need to move along the purchase funnel. While content marketing focuses on producing content in various forms, creating content experiences means hyper-focusing on curating a collection of branded content on a specific topic or subject — and delivering an immersive experience to bring it to life. Examples range from highly technical, “all-in” interactive experiences (like Pioneer’s Corn Revolution) with layers of media-rich information aimed at inspiring and informing to content hubs (like HP’s The Garage) that feature deep dives into branded content that shows off a brand’s expertise.

A content experience isn’t simply another site or landing page where relevant articles or images are housed. It can be its own platform that provides an immersive brand experience centered on content — a “show, don’t tell” platform. Content hubs are not a means to sell your products or services, though there is value in focusing on content experience in B2B due to its ability to nurture and keep customers engaged. The customer journey in B2B is long and full of exploration and questions; customers are tired of sifting through walls of text to find the information they need. Content experiences help your customers enjoy the journey and, ultimately, find your product offering.

The digital trends for 2022 all point to the same truth: customers are demanding a more engaging experience. Now is the time to take a closer look at your digital strategy. Is your brand experience optimized for key touchpoints in the customer journey? Do you have outlets to connect with your audience in an authentic way? Are you embracing media-rich content marketing? Connect with us and give your customers the digital experience they deserve.