The marketing world moves at the speed of light.

This year we saw how quickly the marketing industry evolves.

Companies quickly scrambled to pivot their marketing plans to include more digital marketing than ever to take advantage of the work-from-home movement. But as cities began to reopen and more people left home, this strategy backfired for many, who saw slumps in virtual engagement and online traffic and all-around digital fatigue.

If there was ever a case to run your marketing as a fully-integrated marketing engine that seamlessly integrates traditional and digital media, this year was it.

As you strategize for a successful 2022, what will be the key marketing trends? Here are the top six:

1. The Meteoric Rise of Influencer Marketing

Next year we’ll see Influencer marketing evolving from a trend to a core marketing tactic.

In a global survey of marketing professionals, 34% said influencer marketing was at the top of their list to invest budget on - above other trends like mobile web design and short-form video marketing.

Rather than focusing on adding another advertising media to your marketing plan, consider using influencers to produce inspiring video content for your brand – especially micro-influencers.

Micro-influencers are social media promoters with smaller followers (typically, thousands to a few hundred thousand followers). Although they have fewer followers than, for example, Kim Kardashian, their posts often pack more punch due to their higher level of engagement.

Also, because micro-influencers are still considered "everyday" people (unlike hard-to-reach celebrities), their audiences are more likely to trust their opinions and recommendations.

For example, Rosie, known as The Londoner, is a popular travel and lifestyle influencer with over 330k followers who interact and engage with her posts. The below image of a post on profile shows close to 36,000 likes and 11% engagement.

Remember to not just look at follower count but also clicks, subscribes, and purchases.

2. More Short-Form Video Content

According to Wyzowl 86% of businesses currently use video as a marketing tool. That’s a 43% jump in the last four years. And, in 2022, according to HubSpot, 89% of global marketers plan to continue investing in it or increase their investment.

In our experience video marketing still remains the fastest way to grow brand awareness, build relationship with new prospects and increase conversion rates. The current most common kinds of video marketing are explainer videos (73%), social media videos (67%), presentation videos (51%), sales videos (42%), and video ads (40%).

In 2022 consider using short-form video to inspire, educate or entertain an audience. And use long-form videos especially to promote products or services that need more time to explain. They make a great alternative to offering white papers.

3. More Experience-Based Pop-Up Marketing Campaigns

These ultra-creative campaigns enable a company’s audience to step into a unique physical space – or one created through a AR/VR platform. They’re one of my favorite "Extraordinary Experience" kinds of marketing that work triple duty for your business by expanding your brand, creating viral online content, and providing customers with an experience they'll never forget.

Here's a pre-pandemic example: M&M's Flavor Room pop-up.

The experience included orb-shaped "rooms," popped up in NYC and had fragrance, décor, and snack and drink lounges with M&M-themed cocktails. Obviously, this immersive experience was fun, effective, and highly shareable on social media. As you can guess it happened before COVID, and was a high-budget initiative.

The good news is that you can produce a branded AR/VR immersive experience for substantially less than a physically immersive experience, and as VR and AR platforms become more widespread, expect to see small and mid-size businesses alike jumping into this arena to promote their business and engage with new audiences, particularly for product launches.

4. More Audio and Podcasts

Next year the popularity of podcasts will continue their meteoric rise. In 2021, Spotify listeners spent 78% more time listening to podcasts than the year before

. In addition, older generations are indulging in audio, with a 57% increase in listeners ages 55-64 and a 53% increase for listeners older than 64.

While younger audiences also showed significant growth in uptake, with 18 to 24-year-olds listening to podcasts 27% more in 2021 than the previous year.

As podcast listening grows, ad dollars are following. IAB Pricewaterhouse Coopers estimated podcast ad spend was $800 million in 2020, and will more than double to $1.7 billion by 2024, an annual growth of nearly 20%.

54% of super listeners responded that hearing a podcast ad (compared to other places) makes them more likely to purchase a product, up 46% from last year. Super Listeners also pay more attention to a host reading an ad copy compared to any other ad type.

But podcasts aren't the only kind of audio that's in hot demand. In the summer of 2021, many companies were confused by Clubhouse -- an invitation-only audio chatroom app that quickly gained millions of users without publishing any visual content. Of course Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook scrambled to all start developing their own audio chatrooms that launched similar features.

How is your company planning to use audio next year to engage with your target audience? If you haven't used it as a marketing strategy to date, is it worth considering?

5. More Products and Services Going “Native”

In 2021, 24% of global marketers surveyed currently invest in native advertising. However, moving into 2022, 23% of those who haven't leveraged it plan to for the first time in 2022.

Why the growing interest in this strategy? Simply because it works. For three of our clients, it also brings the highest ROI of any marketing strategy.

What is Native Advertising?

When your brand pays to feature content on a third-party website, you’re investing in native advertising. Unlike traditional advertising designed to interrupt and stand out, native advertising is designed to blend in and promote your brand to a new audience who might otherwise never learn about you.

Because native ads don’t “feel” like traditional ads, consumers are more likely to consume them — in fact, consumers view native ads over 50% more than banner ads.

For example, Instagram routinely partners with brands for native advertising. By taking advantage of the Instagram Story or Shop features, companies can share posts that look similar to the average user’s followers posting style, while subtly advertising a product.

To incorporate native advertising in your marketing plan, pinpoint advertising media used by large numbers of your target market and relevant to your brand. Remember that native campaigns are "incognito," so no hard pitches or polished sales talk!

6. The Rise of CEO Personal Branding

As I've written about before, it used to be that a company's brand was all about the company and its impressive track record - how many years it has been in business, its legacy, its impeccable track record etc.

But as technology has grabbed ahold of, well everything, and consumers have demanded to know more about the personalities and decisions that drive a business, CEOs have had to step forward out of the shadows and become a brand in their own right.

We've seen this trend growing, especially in the last five years. Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffet have led the charge in this field, but now it's just as crucial for serial entrepreneurs and small business CEOs to embrace, alongside their corporate branding, to drive sales. I predict 2022 will see the CEO's personal brand rise like never before. Expect more CEOs to become authors, experts and influencers in their own right and a marketing force to be reckoned with.

In Conclusion

You’re up to speed … for now. And, as long as you're keeping a thumb on the pulse of marketing trends — and you have a solid Marketing Plan in place, 2022 could easily be the best year ever to grow your business.

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