When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2019, the world has shifted to optimize digital marketing or making use of technology to cater to customers and clients. From there, we see rapid development as more and more people spend a lot of time using the Internet to do work, purchase, communicate with others, and the likes. With this, you see marketing trends in previous years continuously refined and innovated to push for better customer service.
User-Friendliness and Convenience Should Take Center Stage
Google continuously works to help users find content or items they are looking for. The users are always prioritized when it comes to updating their search engine algorithm. Thus, businesses and marketers themselves should always keep up and constantly enhance their website or social media page to accommodate the target market’s needs.
So, What Are the Digital Marketing Trends for 2022?
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Local SEO will become more prevalent
Maximizing local SEO is crucial for any business, especially local businesses. Searches with local intent continue to increase with 4 in 5 consumers using search engines to find local information. With Google, businesses must now create a Google My Business listing, optimize their listing through keywords and images, and gain as many reviews as they can to improve their visibility.
It also helps to verify your business’s listing, so Google sees your business as trustworthy and reputable compared to your unverified competitors. You can verify your listing by keeping your business information up-to-date.
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Digital marketing will be AI-driven
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has now become more prominent in businesses across all sectors, including digital marketing.With the continuous innovation of AI, businesses can now improve their marketing strategies through valuable customer insights. AI can collect data, analyze it, and learn from it, making it an ideal tool to develop effective approaches to marketing.
Other than studying your target market, AI has been used to automate simple marketing tasks, like posting content at a set schedule and communicating with customers. If you don’t incorporate AI into your digital marketing strategy, you will only widen the gap between you and your competitors.
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People will turn to voice search and visual search
Nowadays, Google has updated its search engine algorithm to allow users to conveniently find what they are searching for through voice search and visual search. Therefore, businesses are now challenged to optimize their content to be voice search and visual-search ready.
So, how does your website become voice-search ready?
- Make sure your content is dialogue-friendly. Since it’s a voice search, you need to create content with words that your target market uses in conversations or words they may likely use when searching for your specific product or service.
- Take advantage of local SEO. 50% of users who use voice search find businesses within their area and visit them within that day.
- Your website must be mobile-friendly. Of course, this is already a given since Google’s search engine algorithm places more importance on responsive websites.
How about a visual search? How can you optimize your images, so your content can be found through search engines?
- To optimize your business’s site for visual search, make sure to provide numerous images of your product. Don’t just settle for one image. Having multiple images guarantees that leads can find your products regardless of the angle they shot.
- Your product images must be in high resolution, so Google can process your photo and match it with the person’s query.
- You should optimize your image titles and descriptions based on keyword research.
- Optimize your image size and file types, so it does not affect the website’s page speed.
Take the next step in optimizing your business’s online content by making its voice search and visual-search ready.
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Businesses must maximize online reviews
Online reviews have now become a factor in your customer’s purchasing decisions. According to a study conducted by BrightLocal last year, 87% of users read online reviews for local businesses in 2020.
Whether it be on review platforms, like Yelp or Trustpilot, or from search engines or social media platforms themselves, like Google My Business listings or Facebook reviews, your online reviews make or break your business online.
Find ways you can have your customers post reviews on your social media pages or listings. At the same time, when bad reviews come to light, make sure to reply promptly and respectfully because target consumers want to see how you respond to negative criticism when mistakes are made. They want to know if you’re willing to improve and take criticism gracefully.
As much as possible, put an effort into getting more online reviews and responding to customer reviews as it is part of your customer service strategy.
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Events will be hybrid
Due to the coronavirus pandemic closing down venues, businesses have opted to hold online events through digital platforms. With the increased time on social media and other digital platforms, many online events have become successful and are considered an ideal option for businesses.
With the rise of online events and the discovery of their convenience, you might have audiences who would prefer to stay indoors to witness events. At the same time, you may have audiences who would prefer to gather at a venue than sit all day at home to witness it. Therefore, you need to carry out a hybrid event to cater to both.
You can get an amazing venue for those who like to gather, and of course, ensure the appropriate protocols are being followed. Then, use the latest technologies to make your event more dynamic to audiences staying at home. Technologies, like AR and VR, can create an immersive experience for your stay-at-home audience.
In Conclusion
You can see that digital marketing trends in 2022
have taken a major step forward due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many technologies have been enhanced to boost user experience, ensuring users get what they want with just a simple Google search. These technologies are accessible now more than ever, expanding your target market’s options when it comes to a specific product or service.
With this, your business needs to keep up with the latest digital marketing trends, so they, too, can compete or stay ahead of the game.
How Proweaver Can Help You
Our team at Proweaver has extensive knowledge in digital marketing, keeping up-to-date on the new additions to search engine algorithms and incorporating emerging strategies that help improve our clients’ online visibility and increase conversions.
If you’re looking for a digital marketing expert that can guarantee results, work with our team today. Contact us at +1 (877) 300-6564.