7 Topmost Marketing Trends for 2022 [+ How to Use Them]

From metaverses and communities to mixed reality and chatbots, the latest marketing trends seem to change the game’s rules this year.

Marketing trends are an evergreen topic for specialists working on effective brand promotion strategies. No matter how many articles we read on the subject, we want to ensure we haven’t missed anything to help our brands grow.

And while experts have already explained and recommended more specific guides on content marketing trends, social media, and SEO, it would be helpful to understand a broader picture of what happens in the marketing world today.

In this post, you’ll find the top seven marketing trends of 2022. It stands to reason that you can’t jump on every trend and apply it to your marketing strategy; so, the article will also provide practical tips on how to use these trends so you can decide which of them make sense to try for your goals.

Here they go!

Table of content

• 1. Metaverse
• 2. Mixed Reality
• 3. Micro-content
• 4. UGC (User-Generated Content)
• 5. Online Communities
• 6. Sustainability and Social Responsibility
• 7. Chatbots and Messengers
• Takeaways

1. Metaverse

Metaverses are giant cyberspaces where people can build virtual environments, assets, and experiences, i.e., work, play, buy, walk, etc. All this becomes possible thanks to the VR and AR technologies intersection.

In October 2021, when Facebook announced their rebranding to Meta, “metaverse” has turned into a buzzword:

Giants like Apple, Disney, and Nike have already invested billions into this technology. Microsoft and Epic Games also announced their intention to build their metaverses. Bloomberg analysts predicted the growth of this trend to $800 billion by 2024.

And while the concept of metaverses isn’t new, its recent growth hints at the change in approach to social media development.

Thus, Mark Zuckerberg believes that the difference between a metaverse and a social media platform is that people don’t consume content but become its center there. For instance, they don’t just watch a broadcast but participate in it, getting into the same virtual space as the broadcaster.

Given the world has shifted to digital more than ever during the pandemic, it’s no wonder that metaverses attract millions of users worldwide: They promise everything a person needs for safe socialization.

How to use this marketing trend:

While a metaverse still looks like an MVP that needs another 5-10 years to develop, brands might want to integrate its perks into communication with the audience: AR, AR, cryptocurrency, and collaborations would come into play.

2. Mixed Reality

VR and AR technologies have been in marketing trends for a few years already, but the virtual world has never influenced reality as much as it does now, and the growth of this technology has never been so rapid before.

Thus, McKinsey reported that “we had vaulted five years forward in consumer and business digital adoption in a matter of around eight weeks” when the COVID-19 crisis started.

But the growth has not slowed down since then: We’ve been growing by leaps and bounds for two years.

Mixed reality (MR) is about bringing real-world and digital elements together: With cameras, sensors, and AI-enhanced techs, it creates digitally-enhanced experiences for people to interact with virtual environments using their own hands.

MR combines the aspects of VR, AR, and IoT, blending the real and virtual worlds.

In plain English, you have one hand (or foot) in the real world and another one — in a virtual space, therefore breaking the borders between real and imaginary and changing the ways you can work or play. It’s when physical and digital objects coexist and interact with each other.

Keith Hunn, CEO of the Austin Bryant Consulting SEO company, predicts that “further growth of this trend will be established through different marketing fields: content creation by AI, personalization, VR/AR for product visualization, e-commerce, and others.”

How to use this marketing trend:

• The current marketing landscape requires innovation and testing. Look for out-of-the-box tools to engage with your audience, from a retail store with digital innovations to issue-related masks on Instagram.

• The immersive experience is not just about engagement. AR, NFTs, deepfake — mixing virtual and real provides many creative opportunities for development. It’s essential to evaluate all the tools available to your business beforehand and choose only those that will benefit your customers and align with your brand identity.

3. Micro-content

You remember the thesis about a short attention span making people able to focus on something for no more than 8 seconds, don’t you?

It’s the reason many experts predicted about 82% of all consumer Internet traffic would be video by 2022. Video marketing is on the rise because users choose micro-content, fast to consume in the short run:

We saw the rise of TikTok short clips in 2020; Instagram Reels called the shots in 2021, and it seems that YouTube Shorts are ready to take the lead in 2022. It’s not a call for creating nothing but 9:16-format videos but the sign of a continued trend toward bright, dynamic, comprehensive video content.

Helga Zabalkanska, CMO at Newoldstamp, predicts that short (no longer than one minute) videos and live streams will be the most convertible content format in 2022. “Integrating creative video ads into email signature marketing, newsletters, and other sales channels, you can boost engagement and conversion rates.”

But micro-content is not about videos only.

It’s just what it sounds like: short snippets of content that don’t require further context but provide standalone information taking less than 30 seconds to consume. It includes but isn’t limited to brief previews on social media; visual content like images, tables, infographics; titles and email subject lines; theories and hypotheses; abstracts from research or white papers, etc.

How to use this marketing trend:

• Consider content repurposing: Take your already posted long-form content assets and reformat them into slides, visuals, audio, and other shorter pieces to engage a broader audience.

• Create informative yet concise content; make every word count for a longer dwell time but a shorter bounce rate.

4. UGC (User-Generated Content)

The survey by Stackla reveals that only 19% of consumers trust content from brands. It means that influencer- and average user recommendations are more effective than well-developed brand accounts on Instagram.

It’s not only about collaborating with famous bloggers and publishing user-generated content.

Experts suggest that the strategic role of user-generated content in marketing will change significantly in 2022. Those able to gain and strengthen customer trust will win.

Content on social media will become even more natural and native. Non-perfect videos without scripts and post-production gain more likes and views: Users want to see authenticity and understand that influencers are as human as we are.

One of the most striking examples is a commercial with Eva Longoria for L’Oréal. The actress shot a video on her smartphone showing how she covered her greys in a bathroom. The video became so popular that it appeared on TV many times.

But even if your brand doesn’t have any famous advocates yet, you can generate close-to-native content users will love: post videos without post-production, share thoughts and feedback from your employees, show your products in casual surroundings, and so on.

How to use this marketing trend:

• It’s critical to research the audience who already tells about your brand. Understanding this segment can inform your strategy of working with UGC.
• If you’re a newbie at the market and have no loyal audience yet, try to catch their interest with interactive content like contests or TikTok challenges.
• Show your products in a real-life environment: take pictures on the streets or in clients’ hands, not in studios; show emotions your brand evokes.

5. Online Communities

A report from Facebook and NYU’s The Governance Lab on the impact of online communities reveals that, for 77% of surveyed people, “the most important group they are part of now operates online.” First and foremost, it relates to social media, of course:

Thus, the BookTok community in TikTok has got more than 24 billion views and even driven bookstore sales. Twitter has also launched a Communities feature inviting users to create groups based on their interests.

But even with these two aside, there are more than a billion thematic communities on social networks where people find friends and share experiences. Their audience is often not as big as, say, humor channels’, but they all are engaged and open to conversation.

Plus, there is less competition for their attention.

How to use this marketing trend:

• Find online communities related to your niche. Join them and generate content and ads there, or choose your brand ambassadors among the community members.
• Support content creators in your niche, those helping communities thrive. It’s not just about giving them gifts for activity but also about recruiting them for partnerships. Once they see you take their interests seriously, their loyalty will grow.
• If there’s no thematic community in your niche, why not create one? Apart from social networks we all know, feel free to use alternative platforms like Slack or Discord.

6. Sustainability and Social Responsibility

According to the data from Ernst and Young, 69% of consumers believe brands must positively change the world, and 81% are ready to support socially responsible brands.

And here go a few more numbers from Nielsen’s Global Responsibility Report:

• 83% of consumers will choose a brand based on their values.
• 86% of consumers believe that business integrity is more important than ever.
• 73% are ready to pay more for products that guarantee complete transparency and sustainability.
• An overwhelming majority of consumers of all ages believe companies must launch programs for improving the environment.

Experts suggest that more companies will be tapping into sustainability in 2022, influencing the social life, highlighting environmental issues and solutions through advertising, and thus connecting with their audiences.

How to use this marketing trend:

• If promoting a broad range of products or services, ensure your tone of voice appeals to all audience segments, regardless of age, race, gender, or religion.
• Don’t just talk about your progressive goals and social responsibility. The audience isn’t stupid: Show, don’t tell.

7. Chatbots and Messengers

WSJ reports that consumers have become more… capricious lately. They put on a dog more often when it comes to eating, flying, and buying: Now, people aren’t afraid of talking about things they don’t like, and they do that mainly on social media.

It won’t be enough for a brand to send a customer support letter with apologies to minimize the reputational damage from a single message. A fast and personalized response is what matters.

Forrester predicted that digital customer service interactions would increase by 40% in 2022. Others suggest that 63% of consumers expect customer service via social media, not phone calls or emails.

All this pushes brands to shift from aggressive sales to eco-friendly and attentive communication:

Templates and scripted responses frustrate users. Everyone expects an individual approach, and customization becomes a must for online communications. Users want attention and personal touch from the brand.

With that in mind, businesses need to change their approach to customer communication, including the work with chatbots or AI to respond quickly to common requests.

Omnichannel SaaS platforms are in demand, too: Not only do they help brands send a message to clients, but they also allow gathering feedback, sharing documents and media files, sending invoices and recommendations, etc.

How to use this marketing trend:

• Update your customer support scripted replies and templates: Make them personalized and able to solve a customer’s problem rather than saying something like, “Thank you, we’ve heard you; please wait for our operator to help you.”
• Organize customer service on social media: It’s critical to respond to all the comments, mentions, and direct messages.
• Consider AI-powered chatbots: Besides canned responses, they will analyze a customer message and generate the most relevant response for those willing to get an answer right here and now.

Takeaways

Long story short, these are marketing trends that will prevail in 2022 and beyond. Some aren’t new but growing, others just start their way, but all are critical for understanding what’s happening in the industry.

Don’t hurry up to jump on all seven and apply it to your brand strategy! Do your best to lean into those making the most sense for your niche and marketing goals.

Author bio: With 7+ years in marketing, Lesley specializes in sales copywriting and storytelling. Currently associated with Bid 4 Papers content, she’s also a regular contributor to many publications on business, digital marketing, and self-growth.