Digital Marketing in 2022: Stay the course or change direction?

Much like the open sea, the digital marketing industry is dynamic and never at rest.

That’s why it’s so critical to keep up with the latest marketing trends. The last thing you want to do is lag and watch competitors take the lead simply because they’ve been paying closer attention to the ripples in the water.

What is one of the best ways to prepare for recent changes in digital marketing? The easiest way to guarantee that your business stays relevant is to keep abreast of key marketing statistics.

And you’re in luck. We’re here to help you not get lost at sea with your digital marketing strategy. Revpanda has compiled a list of crucial digital marketing statistics gleaned from top resources, including Hootsuite’s Digital 2022 Global Overview Report, to help you make better decisions.

To borrow a line from Leonardo da Vinci, “He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.”

93% of all online interactions start with a search

This statistic shows how critical it is to invest in a proper SEO strategy. A well-designed SEO plan can move your company to the top of the SERPs (search engine results pages) and increase your Google ranking (and, as a result, your brand’s visibility). Having your company website rank high on search engines can be one of the best forms of digital advertising for your product or service. A report recently published by the Search Engine Journal found that more than 25% of internet users click the first Google search result with the CTR (click-thru rate) falling sharply after that, with the tenth website listed on the first page of search results registering a paltry 2.5% CTR.

As stated in the 2022 Hootsuite Digital Global Overview Report, the primary reasons why people aged 16-64 use the internet is for finding information (61%), staying in touch with friends and family (55.2%), keeping up-to-date with current news and events (53.1%), and watching videos, TV shows, and movies (51.5%).

For example, someone might be researching how to restore their 1966 Ford Mustang or looking for a place that sells parts for vintage Mustangs. Maybe they are just looking to kill time watching vintage cars race on YouTube. If you own a store that sells classic Ford Mustang parts, for example, don’t you want to get your business in front of this potential customer? The right SEO practices can make that happen. Pro tip: when creating an SEO strategy, ensure that the SEO keywords appeal to both users and search engines.

Speaking of Google, it remains king—64.06% of total web pages were served to Chrome last year.

The growing force of marketplaces

Forgive the pun, but the force remains strong with digital marketplaces. Nowhere else has such extraordinary and unexpected growth occurred as in the digital and e-commerce sectors, which have exploded amid the COVID-19 crisis. The change has been remarkable—April and May 2020 saw a decade of growth in eight weeks. More than 15 million British shoppers are Amazon Prime members, and as of 2019, there were 281,257 Amazon marketplace sellers in the United Kingdom alone. 

The expanding force of marketplaces has diversified sales and increased online visibility, making them one of the best digital channels for brands. The more someone sees a particular brand or product, the “stickier” (more recognisable) it becomes, and it is more likely they will purchase the product or share product information with family and friends.

Video is the preferred medium of marketers

With everyone online most of the time because of the COVID-19 pandemic, video has become an even more vital part of any digital marketing plan–74% of marketers responded in a recent survey that video performs better in terms of return on investment than photos or static imagery. The increasing number of moving ads, video channels and live-streamed events generate phenomenal engagement across markets.

The best way to ignite the customer journey is with a story. With the likes of Facebook video e-commerce and the Instagram direct checkout button, the consumer-led journey has never been easier. As enticing as this sounds, remember that it’s essential to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each video platform and build strategies that are best suited to both your brand and medium of choice.

Enter TikTok stage left

Launched in 2016, TikTok is the world’s leading destination for short-form mobile videos and is more than just a place to watch cute animals or participate in any number of dance challenges that might result in a torn hamstring. By the end of 2021, TikTok surpassed Google as the most popular domain. In an August 2020 New York Times op-ed piece, tech reporter Shira Ovide reflected, “TikTok might be rewiring entertainment, giving the next generation of activists new ways to tell stories and challenging the global internet order.”

In the wake of TikTok’s meteoric rise in popularity (over 1 billion users), short videos are the way to go in 2022 because they allow marketers to post short, compelling messages and for brands to create engaging content that incites participation such as surveys, polls, and, yes, dance challenges. According to Yahoo Finance, one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd in 2022 is to make content on TikTok, then post to your LinkedIn page to attract attention.

Speaking of TikTok, brand mascots have been popping up left and right on the platform as of late. Companies seem to be finding out that characters resonate with users more than other types of content. No one has yet pinned down the exact reasons why mascots perform exceptionally well on the platform, some experts believe these oftentimes furry friends provide an accessible vehicle for hopping on TikTok’s rapidly changing trends. But, seriously, who doesn’t like mascots?

Focus on Information-Rich Content

According to Yahoo Finance, digital ad spending is expected to increase by at least $80 billion in 2022 as businesses continue to engage their audiences online. Not only is it important to stay on top of the latest social media trends, but companies should also focus on creating information-rich content to perform better on Google. 

Google rich snippets are enhanced search results that generate more details about a website than your average link. These “rich” media results include images, ratings, price ranges, authors, dates, and locations, helping to increase your website’s SEO and generate more site traffic from SERPs. 

Long-form content provides more opportunities for backlinks keyword variations and keeps web users on your page longer–which means longer user sessions that could lead to a purchase. Write multiple pages for a broad keyword portfolio. The more content you write, the better the answers you have for any questions from potential customers.

Best of luck with your digital marketing strategy in 2022. And remember, we can’t change the direction of the marketing winds, but we can adjust the sails to reach our sales destination.

Revpanda is an award-winning international digital marketing agency with an in-depth understanding of the local and global markets. Our team of industry-experienced multilingual content writers create crisp content with staying power, while the Panda brand of SEO spikes conversion rates, prompts more sales, and steers your online strategy in the right direction. We offer language consultancy services and international translation in more than 70 languages to perfectly localise your content and target the right audience. Drop a note [email protected] to learn how we can help foolproof your digital marketing strategy for 2022 and beyond.