It’s October of 2021 which means that it’s not too soon to talk about digital marketing trends for businesses in 2022. That’s not a joke! Understanding what could help your business in the new year will give you the best chance to prepare. Obviously, events can take a hand, thus changing your plans (like, say, a global pandemic, as our digital marketing agency could tell you). But, being aware of what could be on the horizon can put you in the best position to succeed, in both 2022 as well as what’s left of 2021.

Integrating Virtual Events With Live Ones

Zoom and virtual events didn’t completely go away with the vaccine. As we theorized, these events made it possible for people to attend events, conferences, and more that they never would have been able to otherwise. That said, nothing is ever going to replace the live event, the in-person gathering. Those are always going to be important for practically every business. So, it may behoove your company to either have both live and virtual events or, alternatively, to integrate them. Having a live feed that people can tune in for an “in-person event” can be great for lectures, question and answer sessions, and so much more.

In-App Purchases: Ease at the Point of Buying

You see a product you like on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Interested in learning more, you then search for the product on a search engine. Finding what you like, you click on its site, and then buy it. That seems like a fast product. Now, it’s getting even faster. Many companies are making it so that you can buy their products through social platforms. So, instead of having to find a product’s website or through Amazon, you can instead just buy it through the app. This can make many, many more products an “impulse buy.” Social media is already important to your businesses’ growth, this can make it even more so.

Diversifying Platforms Properly

Every time we write an article about TikTok marketing and advertising here, we have to spend a bit of time explaining how folks of all ages are on TikTok. It isn’t just teenagers. As TikTok becomes more and more popular, there are more and more folks from all age demographics that use the app. Soon, we won’t have to say that. TikTok (as well as many other platforms) will be understood as places that folks from all walks of life like to go. If it’s been a while since you checked out exactly where your audience is congregating, the end of the year here is a fine time to start. It’s very tempting to think: “OK, we want to reach out to as many people as possible. So, we’re going to be on as many platforms as possible.” That’s great, if you have the resources, if you have the time, and if you’re able to optimally take advantage of each. (What works on TikTok isn’t the same, always, as what will work on Twitter, for example.) You never want to miss an opportunity, nor do you want to stretch yourself too thin. Focus on putting your time and energy on the platforms where more of your customers are, then branch out.

Everyone’s Talking About Chatbots

Chatbots are becoming more and more popular for businesses. They help everybody. Chatbots free up time for you and your employees. They also can provide instant answers to your customers’ (or prospective customers’) questions. If you don’t have chatbots enabled, then 2022 very well could be the time that you want to do that. Now, chatbots aren’t a be-all-end-all solution. You do want to have a proper ratio of automatic as well as live responses. But, only having live response isn’t as efficient as chatbots can be. Additionally, once you’ve had chatbots enabled for a while, you can go in and check the chatbots’ data. This can tell you what folks are asking about your company, what they want to know. You can use this data to improve your chatbot’s responses, of course. But, you can also use it to improve your content, as well. Answering the most asked questions in your blogs, social media, videos, podcasts, and more can be a real boon.

Speaking of Talking – the Rise of Voice Search

Some studies have shown that as many as half of all searches in the past year were done by voice. That number has only risen in the last few years, so it stands to reason that it will continue growing. For many folks, voice search is simpler. Instead of having to type something out, all they have to do is press a button and say it. That can make it easier to search while also engaging in another activity, in the middle of a conversation, and so forth. To take full advantage of this, you may want to recalibrate some of your SEO. Keywords that people say out loud can be different than the ones they would take. People are more conversational in speech than they are in prose. So, a person who might type “personal injury attorney near me” might say out loud: “who’s a personal injury attorney in my area?” “Car accident lawyer Glendale” could turn into “car accident lawyers in or around Glendale,” something like that. Those are just a few examples.

SEO Services from a Digital Marketing Agency in 2021, 2022, and Beyond

From October 1st, those are some of the trends that look like they may be popular in 2022. Things can change quickly. But, keeping abreast of those can put you in a good place. That said, no matter what happens in 2022 or the rest of 2021, bolstering your SEO is always a good idea. We can help with that. Our digital marketing agency offers professional SEO services that can help your company to get ahead and stay there, come what may. For a free consultation, call (888) 477-9540.   About the author: Website Depot Inc, is a full-service digital marketing agency. Website Depot was founded and incorporated in May 2012 in the state of California, with a primary office in Van Nuys. After fast and rapid growth, we have settled in Silver Lake, Los Angeles and later on Expended into Atwater Village, Los Angels, next to Glendale.