As a result of the pandemic’s lingering effects, business was anything but usual in 2021, and it likely won’t be in 2022, either. And with an ever-evolving digital landscape, marketing is at the cusp of a major transformation. Here are 5 trends we predict will be leading it.

1. Artificial intelligence tools will explode.

Since the launch of “Siri,” one of the first forms of artificial intelligence (AI), the technology has been evolving and transforming into one of the most valuable assets that a company can employ today. Currently, AI contributes to many marketing tasks, such as analyzing data and predicting trends to save both time and money. As the role of AI-supporting marketing continues to evolve, there will likely be a tool developed for many best-practice marketing practices, such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, email marketing, robotic process automation, content planning and more.

2. Entertainment will be a priority.

Short form video and snackable content has been surging since the Tik Tok boom and will become even more critical in 2022. With the human attention span dropping to just 8 seconds, prioritizing easy-to-digest content over static images and lengthy text will benefit brands in the new year.

3. Good will be extra good.

When a company takes an approach to environmental, social, and governance- (ESG) related topics, they are profiting while also doing good. A report from Mckinsey found that about 40% of surveyed consumers said that environmental responsibility or sustainability was important to them. In addition, about 60% of Gen Z is prepared to spend more on brands that tackle sustainability. Moving into 2022, it will be a valuable form of digital content to raise awareness on what your brand is doing to do good.

4. Older strategies will become new again.

After Google pushed back their plan to rule out third-party cookies until 2023, many marketers and advertisers breathed a small sigh of relief, but they’re still likely sweating their strategy for 12 months from now. 2022 will be the year of creativity as organizations will need to augment their data collection policies. It is likely that some companies will revert back to old strategies that were used pre-cookie, and default back to tactics such as contextual advertising.

5. Creators will multiply.

A recent study found that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising. Often, influencers come off as human, transparent and relatable. These characteristics are at times the opposite of advertisements, which is why companies will be utilizing influencers over traditional forms of advertising. Moving forward, 2022 will see a surge of investment into business tools for creators to amplify their voices even further.

Moving Forward

Monitoring this evolution will be critical entering into the new year. And, after considering and implementing new strategies surrounding these trends, your organization may grow faster and prosper more than ever before.

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