One of the aspects of Technology is how dynamic it is. Technology shifts constantly. Without adapting to the ever changing Digital space, we are at the risk of being declared obsolete. Small business have marketing strategies that work for them currently.
Looking at the whole business space, small and large businesses combined, individuals and organizations all together, what is the shift in Digital Marketing trends? Which direction is it turning to. Here are some Digital Marketing Trends you cannot ignore in 2022.
A.I and Automation
Artificial Intelligence is when computers are able to reason and function almost like human beings. It is a trend that we cannot ignore in Digital Trends. Ever searched something on the internet and then you begin to receive ads pointing to what you searched for? Well this is what A.I Marketing involves.
A.I analyzes the customer behaviors, their search patterns, their activity on social media platforms, which brands are they following, liking and searching for. These Analytics are then used to determine the sort of advertising that should be pushed to a potential customer, what could actually work for them and what could make them buy easily.
Yes, computers and A.I are that powerful.
Chat-bots
Chat-bots are programs that simulates human conversations. The beauty of chat-bots is that they are available 24/7, constantly available. They make for great support, are reliable and some can also accept voice input instead of text only.
The pop-up that comes up in a text form asking you how it may help, that is a chat-bot. Chat-bots are becoming popular in the Marketing space because they are available 24 hours a day. They are much more reliable and the chances of errors are usually very minimal.
Chat-bots give customer support and have become almost a part of the customer experience.
Augmented Reality
According to Wikipedia, Augmented Reality (AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where objects residing in the real-world are enhanced by computers. This then creates a real-time interaction and accurate 2D and 3D models of how the reality would look like.
In the Digital Marketing space, AR is being integrated as part of purchases. Especially for online purchases where you only see the goods virtually. For example with Glasses, AR has been enhanced in such a way that when purchasing glasses online, you can put the glasses (spectacles) on your face virtually and have a 3D presentation of how you would look in them before buying them.
AR is building the User experience and enhancing the fact that consumers do not need to go to physical stores to make preferred or right choices.
IKEA also has an app that allows you to take a picture of your room and space and then include the furniture or item that you would like to buy then you can see and project how it will fit in your space and if at all it is a good choice.
Such trends give more power to the customer and increase their ability to actually purchase items without doubts.
Video Marketing
Video marketing is creating video content to interact with your audience and put your brand out there. It is a Digital Marketing trend you cannot ignore. Videos are Engaging and Entertaining. They are able to package a brand properly and present it in an appealing way to the customers.
Videos are used to tell stories, stories about the brand. Videos improve the relationships between Customers and Brands. They communicate the reliability of brands. Why choose to tell a story? Stories and powerful especially in the context of videos, they have a longer- lasting impact on the audience.
For videos, there are Tik-Tok videos that you can harness, there is Instagram Reels, YouTube videos and even besides social media platforms you can create a video that is interactive to simply communicate effectively on what your brand is all about.
Niche Marketing
Niche Marketing is marketing that is directed towards a specific target group. It is marketing meant for specific unique groups. Instead of marketing for a wide range of population, you narrow it down to a target population.
For example selling dresses specifically for plus-size women. Plus-size women become your target population. Then you tailor your Marketing to be around them. You do an analytics on their behaviors, what interests them, on what social media platforms they are on, what are their demographics.
Niche Marketing is specific and has a higher chance to translate into actual sales.
Marketing Automation
Marketing Automation is simply automating marketing work. It is meant mostly for organizations that deal with marketing to a big population.
Instead of manually doing the repetitive tasks of email marketing and social media posting, you use marketing software to do this. Examples of Marketing Software that is popular include HubSpot, SalesForce, Marketo, Omnisend among many others.
Before choosing to do Marketing Automation, it is important to do research and make decisions based on facts because Marketing automation does involve costs.