See what marketing trends can help your business flourish in 2022
“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” Thomas Jefferson
A new year brings with it new opportunities and a fresh perspective on the possibilities that lie ahead. The uncertainty fueled by the pandemic continues to influence the way we do business and has significantly impacted our daily lives. Business as usual has been anything but, as we learn to embrace constant change and overcome unforeseen obstacles.
We learned a lot in 2021—both positive and negative—and chose to move forward by capitalizing on the positives. Before COVID struck I thought the only way to build a sales team was through face-to-face contact. The stay-at-home mandate forced the issue of working remotely. Not long thereafter I had an ‘Aha!’ moment—I could hire sales representatives across the country and close virtually. Furthermore, I realized clients didn’t have to have us on-site, meaning we could now provide services anywhere in the U.S. I don’t think we would have made that discovery had we all not been forced to stay home.
Another positive outcome is the influx of innovation that has arisen from the challenges we have faced. New ways of conducting business continue to emerge while some developments have permanently evolved to reflect new market behavior. Rest assured your Marketing Direction team maintains a pulse on this year’s marketing trends so that you can continue to adjust and adapt to the needs of your clientele.
Content Still Reigns Supreme
Heading into 2022 it will become increasingly difficult to break through the clutter and noise which is why quality content is especially critical. Content is king with the right combination of a feature/benefit-driven hard selling tactic and a softer more humanistic approach.
“You need a lot of content that offers a mix of information about the industry in which you work and the ecosystem around that industry plus promotional messaging about your specific product or service,” explains Roy Strunin, Lead Marketer, Marketing Direction. “The right content will help position you as the expert and enable you to become a trusted resource.”
Much emphasis should be placed on the content your organization presents as it can have a lasting impact on your business, both positively and negatively. “Effective storytelling can help build a company into something that consumers want to engage with on every level, which is why content marketing will still be incredibly important throughout 2022,” says David Culliman with Entrepreneur Magazine.
According to a recent report, B2B buyers increasingly look to a business’s original content when making purchasing decisions. As a result, content has become a significant trust marker that buyers turn to for knowledge and experience. “Because content has become a trust marker, simply writing posts to generate traffic and leads will no longer be enough,” states Dylan Berger, GlobalTrade Magazine. “Information needs to be top-quality to encourage buyers to investigate the brand further or get in touch with the business’s sales team.”
Online Presence is a Must
Mobile and digital advertising will remain key factors in any marketing strategy. Surprisingly, 23 percent of small businesses still do not have a website. So much focus has been placed on internet business since the pandemic that it’s more important than ever for every business to have an online presence.
Working remotely has become the new normal and as such, around 70 percent of B2B buyers prefer remote or digital interactions with vendors. The resulting effect will be to shift to a digital-first marketing approach that prioritizes mobile advertising and content over offline and more traditional strategies.
“For businesses that do have a website, ensuring that it delivers an excellent user experience and is optimized for mobile will be key,” says Mark Holland, Lead Marketer, Marketing Direction. “The next most important element before driving traffic to the site will be to ensure it’s easy for visitors to engage through live chat, web forms and email.”
Businesses that have these elements in place should then focus on driving organic traffic to the site and engaging them with high-quality, relevant and trustworthy content. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will be increasingly dependent on high-quality content that is delivered in a variety of formats, i.e., blog posts, case studies, white papers, infographics and video most especially.
Local SEO and online reviews will also be key. The optimization and effective leverage of Google Business Profile (previously known as Google My Business) will become even more important for small businesses that focus on local clientele. Google Business Profile is the application that drives placement on Google Maps with the top three normally being delivered near the top of organic Google search results.
Social Media Pulls Ahead
Social media is the number one marketing channel according to a report compiled by Hubspot in 2021. In fact, social media has become so widely used that it is evolving into a major lead-generation channel, especially since the pandemic dramatically affected the scheduling of in-person events.
“Social media is the new word-of-mouth in our increasingly socially distant reality,” says Holland. “Selecting the top two or three platforms that are most relevant to target audiences will play an important role in the effectiveness of social initiatives as they all have their own nuances and becoming an expert at a few is much more important than being a novice at many.” Holland suggests that B2B organizations focus most of their time and effort on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn allows you to target potential buyers that are specific to your service industry. Users engage with the platform to learn more about trends in the field that are relevant to them. Content posted should provide information and be more educational rather than a sales pitch. This will further position you as a trusted resource. You may also want to consider sharing case studies as they highlight both your company and the business with which you partnered.
Emerge Stronger in 2022
The only constant in the world of marketing is that things are always changing. At Marketing Direction, we keep a constant eye on emerging trends so that we can better assist our clients. Our goal is to make sure you don’t just get through this crisis but emerge on the other side of it poised for growth. Together, it’s going to be a great year!
