The digital marketing landscape does not stay still for long. It changes how brands connect to customers, sell to them, and encourage their loyalty.

That is why experienced marketers are constantly scanning for new industry trends, technologies, and tools. When looking in the right place and asking the right questions, they maintain a competitive edge.

In this article, we cover the top three marketing trends to follow in 2022.

Voice Search Continues to Transform User Experiences

Speaking comes more naturally than typing. Precisely because of that, voice technologies have already won users’ hearts. Users can now talk to search engines to find the right content and purchase products. 

Since the outbreak of Coronavirus, voice assistants have gained prominence. According to PwC, 52% of consumers aged 18 to 34 claim they now use voice technologies more than before.

Voice search changes the approach to SEO on multiple levels. For starters, perform a voice search, and you will notice that you do not receive several links that match your keyword. Instead, Google chooses the most relevant answer and displays it.

To put your content in front of the right customers, you need to know the following:

The Importance of Local SEO

According to BrightLocal, searchers use voice assistants to get relevant local results. Namely, 58% of them use voice search to find local businesses.

That opens the door for great opportunities for small and local businesses. To harness the full potential of this technology, you need to optimize your website content strategically. According to Sydney SEO professionals, 26.4% of SMB websites cannot be found in Google searches.

Therefore, if you have no experience optimizing your website for local searches and voice queries, consider hiring professionals to help you.

The goal is to familiarize yourself with how users communicate with voice searches. Say you are a bike shop owner from Sydney. When using a traditional search, your customers google something like “bike shop Sydney.” However, when conducting a voice search, their queries are more natural. They usually ask search engines to find the shop near them or that is open right now.

Conversational Queries Replace Exact-Match Keywords

It is also crucial to understand that voice search queries are more natural and conversational in tone. They also tend to be longer than traditional textual searches. 

To optimize your content for voice, use direct, conversational queries and long-tail keywords. Apart from traditional keyword research tools, you can also use platforms like “Answer the Public” to find conversational variations of your keywords.

Next, optimize your website content for questions and provide accurate answers to them. For example, you can record your frequently asked questions and use them in your content. You can also create an F&Q page, where you can group your questions on a single page.

By optimizing your website for customers’ questions and directly responding to them, you can appear in voice searches more frequently.

Prepare for the Death of Browser Cookies

Browser cookie technologies are about to die in 2022. Google Chrome, which controls two-thirds of the global browser market, will phase out third-party cookie tracking in 2022.

The goal of the digital advertising industry is to move towards zero-party data. That means advertisers will use only the information users agree to provide. For searchers, that means greater data privacy. But, what does that mean for digital marketers?

The death of browser cookies is no reason to panic. 

First, Google is not banning all browser cookies. They will block the third-party cookies on its browsers. However, first-party cookies are still a thing. According to Google, first-party relationships remain vital for advertisers. So, any first-party data you gain directly from your website visitors is safe.

With a first-party cookie, you can still know what visitors did when they landed on your website. That is why you need to keep your CRM system is in tip-top shape. 

In-feed Shopping Is Gaining Momentum

The approach to online retail has drastically changed over the past few years. Ecommerce is not limited to retail websites anymore. Social networks play a fundamental role in online sales. Besides them for content promotion, you can also leverage their advanced shopping capabilities. 

One such example is in-feed shopping that has already gained momentum. Simply put, a customer watches a video and sees a piece of clothing they like. Instead of hitting a link and visiting a website to find the desired item, they click on the product while watching the video and buy it.

For brands, that is the opportunity to eliminate the gap between online shopping and influencer marketing. In-feed shopping makes the entire process faster, natural, and more convenient for users. 

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TikTok is a perfect example of in-feed shopping. In 2020, the company announced its partnership with Shopify. The goal is to help brands increase their monetize their social presence and provide frictionless shopping experiences. TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social networks. It is highly engaging and visual, which makes it perfect for in-feed shopping.

Merchants can connect their TikTok for business accounts with Shopify. That allows them to sell products on TikTok via in-feed shoppable video ads. The best thing about this feature is that everything is managed directly via the Shopify dashboard.

So, what does this mean for TikTok merchants? For starters, you will need to adapt your content to the aesthetic of the TikTok platform. You will need to shift to a dynamic and storytelling style that grabs users’ attention and keeps them engaged. Get comfortable with short video forms that resonate with TikTok users. The goal is to create ads that resemble the native TikTok content.

Over to You

Sure, that is not a comprehensive list of digital marketing trends. However, it can undoubtedly serve as your solid starting point in planning your marketing strategy and budget in 2022.

I hope these insights help!