So which of the last year’s trends look likely to continue and which are likely to change and where should brands be investing their marketing budget in 2022?
Here are 7 ways to advertise your business in 2022 and beyond.
1. Content marketing
Content marketing may not strictly qualify as paid advertising, but to achieve successful organic website traffic requires a significant investment of time and effort. Google has made it clear that high-quality content is the most guaranteed way to rank your website in search. So content marketing will continue to be key to increasing online visibility. This is a long term investment in your brand image and reputation.
Your focus should be on providing users with valuable, informative content that is likely to respond to their queries. This positions you as a trustworthy source and brings traffic to your site. Once you have users on your site, you have their attention and can begin converting visitors into customers.
2. Pay Per Click
The return on Google’s Pay Per Click adverts is an average of £2 for each £1 spent, making it a popular and effective advertising avenue. One of the attractions of Pay Per Click is that businesses only pay each time a customer clicks on the ad. In other words, the more successful your add, the more you pay for it. This protects you from making a great loss. However, with the popularity of Google Ads, prices can get high in particularly competitive markets.
Google may seem to offer users unbiased search results, but with 85% of its revenue coming from Google Ads, Google is well invested in promoting its paying customers.
There are various reasons for bidding on search terms. You may target niche terms with high conversion rate that translates into a great ROI. Or you may prefer broad search terms that are less likely to convert but increase your publicity.
Bidding on your own brand name is an important step not only to catch any high converting customers searching directly for your brand name, but also to protect it from competitors looking to steal these customers.
3. Social Media Ads
Social media continues to grow at speed, and this looks set to continue through 2022. In fact, at $177bn , social media ad spending is touted to overtake television - the former advertising leader - in 2022.
Like Google, social platforms are now heavily reliant on their paid advertising and provide a varied and valuable opportunity for brands. From dating aps to LinkedIn to TikTok, the range of available audiences is vast and the platform you choose will depend on your budget, as well as your target audience, since prices range considerably.
Even if the majority of users skip past ads, the prevalence of social media use offers a vast audience base and a high volume of impressions.
4. Influencer marketing
The influencer marketing industry grew by 42% in 2021, and is projected to hit $15 billion
by the end of 2022. So what direction is influence marketing moving in?
TikTok’s audience has skyrocketed since 2020, and consequently there is strong movement towards the use of short video by influencers, in contrast to the longer form videos typical of Youtubers. A survey by SocialPubli reported that 88% of marketers find TikTok influencer marketing effective.
Instagram should not be overlooked either when it comes to Influencer marketing. The platform has developed to better facilitate influencer marketing, including now allowing smaller influencers to direct followers to brand websites straight from their stories.
5. Video content
Video is not a medium you can ignore when moving into 2022. Cisco predicts that more than 82% of global online traffic will be driven by video content in 2022, 15 times that of 2017. As technology continues to develop to support video across websites and apps without compromising on loading speed, video will soon become the primary way to connect with consumers.
Thanks to their attention grabbing and immersive potential, videos are known to be high converting. Step2, for example, reportedly increased their conversion rate by 174% through their introduction of video. For product sales, video offers customers a more immersive interaction with the product, something which they are increasingly expecting before committing to a purchase.
6. Webinars and in-person events
Webinars are another video type that has become a regular way for businesses to market themselves online. As the pandemic continues, both in-person and online events, as well as a hybrid of the two, have all become the norm, each offering their own advantages. Whilst online events are cheaper and have the potential to reach a wider audience, in-person events illicit a greater commitment from your attendees and build relationships as well as educating your customers.
Whichever format your event takes, using training and teaching opportunities to establish your business as a thought-leader in your industry will build greater trust in your brand, as well as establishing and maintaining longer term customer relationships.
7. Radio and television ads
Amid the rapid expansion of digital advertising, and the many opportunities therein, it’s easy to overlook the traditional favourites of advertising. And yet radio and television advertising will still continue to grow in 2022, albeit not as rapidly as other sectors. Known for their effectiveness, television ads in particular can be expensive, putting off many marketers. Targeting certain demographics can be effective through television or radio, and choosing local channels gives you a more location specific impact.
Choosing your advertising channels for 2022
The advertising channels you choose to invest in will depend on your sector and your target audience. Whichever approach you use, the most important factor is the return on investment (ROI) that it offers. There is little value in following the latest advertising trend if you get a poor return on your investment.
Carefully measuring ROI will ensure that your money is wisely spent and that you see the greatest impact. Be sure to prioritise an effective way to track your ROI through data and analytics platforms, so you have visibility over your advertising strategy through 2022 and beyond.