The consumer and business landscape is constantly evolving. Changes in technology, social values, and the economy all dictate whether a marketing strategy will be effective. To stay competitive, businesses need to stay up to date with evolutions across the board and innovate new marketing techniques that effectively engage with their target audience. In this article, we discuss how the marketing landscape is changing and offer some marketing and sales tips you should try in 2022.
What’s Changing in Modern Marketing?
One of the obvious changes we’ve seen in marketing is in the online landscape. Over the pandemic, e-commerce businesses had to get smart about marketing. This resulted in campaigns that were relevant, engaging, and interactive. More than the digital equivalent of posters, online marketing campaigns are working with the interactive component of online platforms. Polls, challenges, surveys and more are future digital marketing trends, and will make an appearance in the future of B2B sales as well. We’ve put together five future trends in advertising that you should try out this year.
Top 5 Marketing Strategies for 2022
1. Lean into UDC and UGC
According to Forbes magazine, businesses are expected to utilise User Directed Content (UDC) and User Generated Content (UGC) over the next 12 months. This is attributed to customers eager to become more engaged with their favourite businesses after 18 months of isolation and disconnection. Having customers eager to generate content for your business provides access to endless marketing materials created by your consumers, for your consumers. Consider gathering UDC and UGC data for your creative marketing campaigns this year.
2. Market in the Metaverse
AI and augmented reality programmes are growing in popularity. This unique, immersive online world offers many opportunities for marketing. There are an array of strategies you can use to advertise your business in the metaverse, and with the number of metaverse users gradually increasing, this looks like a worthwhile venture for any business. A quintessential development in future social media marketing trends, make sure your business gets into the metaverse early to remain competitive and innovative.
3. Leverage Social Media Video Formats
An internet marketing trend to expect in the future, social media is key to innovative campaigns. The impact of social media on marketing strategies has been dramatic, and as these platforms continue to evolve, so do marketing strategies. Recently, short form video content has provided businesses with a snappy way to advertise their services. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Reels are the main players here, but smaller platforms are adapting to this trend too. Get on board to remain relevant in the 2022 marketing scene.
4. Integrate Shoppable Links
Shoppable links have been popping up across social media as an effective method used by e-commerce businesses to increase sales and exposure. A shoppable link is essentially a tag that a creator adds to a content piece (like an Instagram post) that customers can click on to purchase that item. The link takes the customer to a page where they can see price and further details about the piece, and even purchase it, all without having left the original site. Popular with fashion brands, shoppable links are emerging in B2B visual marketing and are being seen across metaverse level marketing.
5. Use Value-Driven Content
We’ve already discussed how users are becoming more engaged, and this extends to making value driven purchases. To account for the increased demand for ethical solutions at all levels of business, lead your next sales campaign with value driven content. This could emphasise any charitable donations, how you source your products, your business ethos, green logistical solutions and more. The future of sales marketing is clearly value driven, but be weary, the Gillette advertising campaign demonstrated that customers want strong values and authenticity to go hand in hand.
DHL Express Green Logistics: For When Values Matter
We’ve seen that customers are increasingly concerned with making purchases that align with their values. When it comes to ecologically-centred purchases, labels like ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘carbon offsetting’ can signal to customers that you are making concrete efforts towards a more sustainable future. With DHL Express’ Green Logistics initiative, you can confidently assert that your logistics solutions prioritise sustainable shipping solutions. Read more about our green logistics options, or sign up for an account to get started on your green logistics journey.
