Digital marketing is constantly evolving. Some classics always work, and there are new trends that you should be aware of. To make the most of digital marketing for your business, you need to combine the best classic methods with the latest techniques. That way, you can stay ahead of the curve and reach more customers than ever before.
A Classic: The Updated Website
Your website is the primary marketing tool of your business, so it’s essential to keep it updated. While this remains a classic, you must also optimize your website for mobile devices. This is crucial because 83% of Americans browsed the internet on their mobile devices in 2021. Expect even more people to do so this year. If your website is not optimized for mobile, they will pass you by.
Other updates you must implement on your website in 2022 include using artificial intelligence (AI) in chatbots. Ensure that your web design team makes your chatbot’s interactions with visitors as humanlike as possible. Maximize the capabilities of AI to personalize each interaction based on the visitor’s previous online actions.
Provide a broader range of payment options on your website to ensure your customers have the best possible experience. With the proper updates, your website can attract and please customers more.
A Classic: Search Engine Optimization
You still need search engine optimization (SEO) services to rank your website high on searches and enable more potential customers to find you. This year, ensure that your SEO team optimizes your ranking for voice search. According to Oberlo, making voice queries on their mobile phone is now the preferred search method of 71 percent of consumers. Also, voice search is used by 40.2 percent of the population in the U.S.
Local search is another area you must rank in. According to BrightLocal’s 2022 Local Consumer Review Survey, 99 percent of consumers searched for local business information online in 2021. You must appear in local searches of consumers near you.
A Classic: Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is another classic in the digital marketing arsenal. This is the perfect pair for SEO because, while SEO builds your rank long-term, PPC gives you immediate results that you can easily measure.
This year, in addition to the classic Google search ads and display ads on relevant websites, ensure that your PPC service optimizes your ad spend on remarketing ads, social media ads, Google shopping ads, and in-stream ads in videos on Facebook and YouTube.
Remarketing ads target consumers who previously visited your website or social media accounts and showed interest in your product or service. Social media ads look like social media posts and can target specific demographics. Google shopping ads put your products in front of consumers who are shopping for similar items. In-stream ads appear within videos that your target consumers are most likely watching and liking.
The Latest: TikTok (Also, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts)
In addition to the classics, you must always be on-trend on the latest in digital marketing methods. TikTok is now the fastest-growing social media platform. DataReportal shows that from October 2021 to January 2022 alone, it gained 60 million new users. That’s 20 million unique users a month.
As of April 2022, Statista reports that the U.S. has the most TikTok users, at 136.42 million. If your brand isn’t on TikTok yet, that’s the number of people you’re not reaching.
You should know what you’re doing before diving into TikTok, though. It has its own post style using short high-impact videos that are highly engaging. Study the most popular posts and how you can merge the tone with your brand.
Instagram jumped on TikTok’s popularity by releasing Instagram Reels. YouTube did the same with its shorts. It’s worth checking out these two, since they have the same short video style as TikTok.
The Latest: Social Media In-Platform Shopping
Social media in-platform shopping will continue to grow this year. Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram all have “Buy” or “Shop Now” buttons on their posts and stories that link to product pages.
This is exceptionally convenient for users since they can purchase items without ever leaving the app. And it’s good news for you because you get additional sales outside your website.
The Latest: More Segmented Personalization
Digital marketing is all about personalization. This was done by collecting information such as gender, age, and location in the past. But now, there’s so much more data available that you can segment your target market even further.
This year, in addition to the usual segments, collect data on interests, online behavior, and even lifestyle choices. Use this information to create more targeted content and ads. For instance, even within the same age group of the same gender in the exact location, you can have different ads depending on their different tastes. That can lead to more sales conversions.
Make Your Digital Marketing Campaign More Effective This Year
The classics in digital marketing, like SEO and PPC for your website, are still going strong. But if you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to know about the latest trends.
This year, TikTok is slaying social media. Social media in-platform shopping is also on the rise so users can purchase items without ever leaving the app. Segmented personalization is another big trend that allows you to further refine your ads and messages. Using the classic and the new trends together, you can create a digital marketing campaign that’s more effective than ever before.
