The only thing that is permanent in this world is change. No matter how contradictory that sounds, it still rings true even in the context of digital marketing as many new business models, innovations, and technological applications are ready to take over the 2022 digital marketing landscape. Out with the old and in with the new, they say. The coming year brings not just a glimmer of hope but also a truckload of challenges that can only be overcome with the right strategy and timing. Step forward with these emerging trends in digital marketing:

It will rain video content.

The emergence of videos on Instagram and TikTok took the internet by storm. If your brand still does incorporate video content in your marketing strategies, you might be one step behind. Video content allows for a concise message and entices the audience’s interest in as short as a few seconds. Although this will test your ability as a marketer to condense information into digestible pieces, it can be profit-boosting for your brand when effective. The ultimate trick is to produce comprehensive content that is long enough to encapsulate your message but short enough to leave the audience wanting more.

COVID-19 introduced hybrid events.

Because of the disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone turned into virtual events and even if the business scene is slowly getting back on track, events-on-screen will be sure to continue in 2022. Although this time, it will be part of what is called a hybrid approach. According to Glue Up (2021), virtual events record a higher attendance rate compared to physical in-person events. This makes it a still-reliable marketing strategy even after the outbreak ceases. More attendees are saying “yes” to participate since the convenience it brings is just incomparable. However, the hybrid approach is seen with promising potential. It can target both attendees who might be anxious to go out but do not want to miss such. In other words, hybrid events can give attendees the option to attend either physically or virtually. Planning events for 2022, therefore, will require marketers to provide a safe and controlled environment particularly for those attending in person and utilize augmented and virtual realities so that virtual attendees can enjoy no less than the ones attending personally.

Voice search will go big.

The importance of optimizing voice search will be highlighted in 2022. According to Deep Crawl (2020), searchers are always hungry for fast answers and such technology can cater to that need if its efficiency and effectiveness will be improved. As a marketer, you must be able to provide the answers in the promptest way possible. This should be done to increase traffic to your website. The popularity of voice assistance like Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and others has risen. Thus, the ball is on the court of marketers to improve the roster of conversational keywords so that oral communication complexities will not be a hindrance. Marketers then will have to tap SEO experts that could help optimize their game plan for such.

Local SEO is not an underdog.

It is, indeed, a strategy that can help your business be more locally visible in the search results on Google, and a business that has a physical office or location, or serves a geographic area, can nonetheless benefit from local SEO. Perhaps you were thinking that because of the limited availability of services and goods that transpired because of the pandemic, businesses will try to make a wider reach to increase sales potential. However, do not neglect consumers within your local area. Their mindset still prioritizes you and people are naturally considering those businesses within their vicinity especially when long-distance shipping entails a hefty cost. With these in mind, Geofencing must be part of your strategy. Optimizing your presence on maps business listings, creating content based on local events, and establishing a Google My Business account can be your foundation steps. Moreover, encouraging people to provide your business with positive reviews, enlisting your operating hours, and ensuring the correct location pins to your physical hub can all lead to a payoff in your local SEO efforts.

The room for AI in your business is getting more and more spacious.

From using AI to answer research questions to marketing, small and big businesses are already using artificial intelligence in almost every aspect of their business. Aside from automating tasks like website traffic reports, keyword recommendations, and customer support efforts, AI will also be used in influencer marketing. The influencer market is estimated to reach $15 billion in the year 2022. This is a big leap from its comparative data of $9.7 billion in 2020. Overwhelmingly, this new form of influencer marketing will involve the widespread use of AI in everything from influencer identification to their performance. This only means that AI can watch and assess millions of influencer videos in bulk and at a shorter time as well as surprisingly reveal how many conversions each influencer has made — this will be the baseline for their pay. Certainly, this is good news for companies investing in influencer marketing but it will be a game-changer for the influencers who have had their glory before this company-favorable breakthrough.

Written By: Bash Sarmiento. Author | Bash Sarmiento Writing