Staying Ahead of The Game in 2022: 9 Digital Marketing Trends

January 28th, 2022 | Updated on May 23rd, 2022

Digital marketing is an essential part of succeeding in 2022, with most businesses prioritising online marketing.

Despite digital marketing being critical, the market is forever changing and making way for new trends. This means that you can’t complete a quick course and be evergreen with your skills.

User experience and demands are in constant flux, SEO demands different criteria with each passing month, and social pressures and priorities are constantly changing.

The key to successful digital marketing is staying ahead of the game and understanding new and upcoming trends. With this in mind, we will guide you through current trends, continuing trends, and trends to give a try.

Time-Sensitive Trends to Try

Accessibility

Accessibility is beginning to be pushed by large brands and is expected to continue through 2022. The move towards inclusion is a no-brainer for large brands.

There are an estimated two billion disabled people globally whose needs must be met. If businesses aren’t making accommodations for adaptive clothing, they will lose out on this market.

Not only will the disabled market boycott the brand and shop elsewhere, but their families and loved ones will also shun the brand. This means that businesses ignoring accessibility may lose out on a potential 3.5 billion customers worldwide.

To see the results, hire talent to dissect the information and present it in an understandable format. Look for individuals with an MSc in Digital Marketing Analytics from Aston University.

Students will have leading professionals teaching them analytics in practice, software analytics, international marketing management, and digital marketing.

Gender Neutrality

Gender neutrality is a relatively new trend that people are buying into heavily. The boundaries between traditional genders are breaking down, with more people identifying alternatively than ever before.

Tapping into this trend when designing clothing lines is the perfect way to increase profits and avoid alienating customers.

When clothes are modelled online, both female and male models are used to demonstrate the versatility of clothing. Gender neutrality is only the tip of the iceberg; brands need to be catering to all backgrounds in their advertising and products.

DEI and Sustainability

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are becoming a priority for many consumers, which means that businesses need to be taking this into consideration when writing up their plans.

The core values of companies need to reflect sustainability and DEI across all levels. To tick all the boxes, teaming up with a non-profit organisation will show people that you care. Through the team upwards, your brand reach will be extended, and your efforts to humanitarian causes will get new customers on your side.

When it comes to sustainability, brands need to demonstrate how they are taking steps to combat climate change. In the Google Year in Search report for 2021, searches for terms including “sustainability” and “climate change” reached new heights.

Continuing Trends

Simple Content

Digital content is a key player in online marketing, and 2022 will be no different. However, the internet is overflowing with content, and consumer choice is vast.

People want to search for questions and get the answers straight away. Businesses need to continue taking this into account by creating simple content. There is no need for extravagant prose and complex ideas. In 2022, simple is better.

Social Commerce

2021 was a fantastic year for social media, with marketing through TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook truly coming into its own. This social commerce trend is only expected to see continued growth through 2022.

The great part about social commerce is that you don’t need to be a large brand to stand to gain. Even small businesses can make the most out of algorithms and engagement on the likes of Instagram.

Rather than investing heavily in paid ads, a simple Instagram shop can help brands increase their profit margins.

First and Zero-Party Data

By the end of 2022, Google will have updated its cookie policy and eliminated the use of third-party cookies.

This means that businesses are on a tight fuse to shift their privacy and data handling policies; data collection methods must place a customer’s choice at its heart. Using business analytics, digital marketers can work out the most effective methods to utilise zero and first-party data.

Stock Buffering

Demand is high thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic’s push towards shopping online. Unfortunately, the high demand in 2021 and the lack of space at shipping depots meant that supply bottlenecks occurred.

In some cases, businesses were left without essential products for a month. In 2022, businesses are urged to continue holding a 30-day stock buffer to account for any potential supply chain delays.

Upcoming Trends

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency popularity is continuing to rise and be accepted in the mainstream. In 2021, retailers began accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payments.

Payment processing firms, including PayPal, MasterCard, and Visa, are all shifting towards the support of cryptocurrency. With these changes taking place, businesses should keep an eye out on the markets and be ready to adapt to tap into more customers.

NFTs

As well as cryptocurrency, NFTs are entering the scene and creating serious revenue. Web 3.0 is on the way, and it will be led by blockchain technology. Getting on board now is a great way to ensure you stay futureproof.

The artist Avenged Sevenfold created a “Deathbat Club”, which is entered through the purchase of unique NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.

Each NFT holds different benefits for fans to enjoy. Although this is a ground-breaking step forward in the music industry, any brand can adopt the notion and create an NFT-based loyalty program. Return of investment would be huge for the cost of simple images and blockchain hosting space.

Digital marketing is forever changing, and businesses rely on following trends and deep business analysis to remain ahead of the game.

Some of the trends in this list are unavoidable: you need a stock buffer, and you must revise your data collection policies. The rest of these trends should be trialled and written into plans going forward.