Youโre planning out how to run your small business in 2022, and that has to include your 2022 marketing efforts. With marketing in general (and digital marketing in particular) evolving daily, itโs naive to assume that what worked in 2021 can just carry over into this new year. So what changes should you expect to see in the small business marketing world in 2022, and how can you integrate them into how your business is being run? Here are 5 trends for marketing your small business going into 2022.
1. Expect to work harder for your customer data
Plenty of ink was spilled over the changes to iOS in 2021, as Appleโs mobile operating system went all-in on consumer privacy by forcing users to opt-in to any app tracking their data. With consumer data being the cornerstone of modern digital marketing, many business operators and marketing experts claimed the sky would fall and that all their hard work would be for nothing. As is always the case, weโve seen that life went onโthe marketing world is compensating and adapting and making it work.
In 2022, another new big tech data privacy measure is looming and causing business operators to tear their hair out in stress all over againโGoogleโs announcement that its Chrome browser would stop tracking 3rd-party cookies, which many businesses utilize to help micro-target with digital advertisements. While Google has delayed this change until 2023, businesses that rely on targeted advertisements should still be conscious of the way the winds are blowingโconsumer privacy remains a hot-button issue, and businesses should expect more restrictions and prepare to find creative ways to find and reach their audiences.
2. Email marketing will help you reach your audience
Fashion isnโt the only trend that comes and goes in cyclesโsome unexpected marketing tools are poised to make a comeback in 2022, including the old stalwart of email marketing. With business operators becoming increasingly aware of how little ownership they truly have over their audiences, and how social media algorithms are ultimately in control of who they reach, many are turning back to old tools that give them fuller access to their customers and audiences.ย
Smart marketers have never abandoned email marketing completely, understanding the huge power in being able to send personalized messages to customers who have given explicit invitations to their inboxes. Going into 2022, dust off that old virtual Rolodex, clean up and organize your contact list, and prepare for a new era of email marketingโone full of creative strategies, automated workflows, and potential sales.
3. SEO will be more holistic than ever before
This may not be a new trend, but itโs one thatโs expected to continue unabated: as Google and other search engines get more intelligent and better at understanding their usersโ behaviors, SEO is becoming less and less about brute force and knowing the โSEO tricks.โย
Thereโs absolutely still value in getting the basics of SEO rightโitโs unlikely weโll lose the importance of keywords, proper tagging, site speed optimization, and other standby SEO tools, and you should still dedicate time and effort into making sure theyโre spot-on. But search engines are all about presenting their users with results that are useful and usable, and your site will increasingly be judged on how well your site content answers search usersโ queries and how well your site performs so they can access those answers. So in 2022, designing a beautiful, functional, and informative site will be far more beneficial for SEO than finding that โ1 secret trick to appearing at the top of the Google rankings.โ
4. Facebook isnโt about to die, but keep an eye on new platforms
It seems as though every tech journalistโs favorite pastime is pontificating on which social media platforms are โdyingโ and which ones are about to take off. Any smart business owner should be paying attention to which platforms are on the rise and how they can take advantage of them; LinkedIn and Tiktok, in particular,ย are expected to be the go-to platforms for their respective audiences in the coming year, and youโll want to make sure you know how to use them effectively.ย
However, when youโre talking about the oppositeโwhich platforms are about to dieโtake any โchicken littleโ claims with a grain of salt. Facebook is always the favorite punching bag, but this is often just because theyโre the biggest name in the gameโthe social media giant still has over 3 billion users globally, and their recent corporate rebranding to Meta signals the companyโs continued confidence in the longevity of their various social and tech platforms. The rules of playing and advertising on Facebook may change, but donโt expect the elephant in the room to disappear anytime soon!
5. Continue to expect the unexpected
Above all, smart owners and managers should know that 2022 is likely to follow the last few years in being nothing if not unpredictable. Businesses canโand shouldโall do their best to plan for the future and anticipate trends in marketing, but the best skill you can have is adaptability and the ability to roll with the changes (big and small) in this coming year, whatever they may be.
If you need some assistance in planning ahead and managing the expected and unexpected marketing trends in 2022, Skol Marketingโs team is here to help. For one-on-one guidance or to discuss how we can help your company make the most of its marketing this new year, please donโt hesitate to contact the local marketing experts at Skol Marketing.
