1. Influencer marketing will evolve from trend to a common marketing tactic.

When we asked global marketing professionals which trends they planned to invest in for 2022, 34% said influencer marketing, putting it at the top of the list -- above other trends like mobile web design and short-form video marketing. While 57% of marketing professionals that currently leverage influencer marketing say it's effective, 46% of them plan to increase their investments in 2022. Additionally,11% say it's the top ROI-generating trend they've tested.

When marketers collaborate with influencers and industry thought leaders in their industry, they can expand brand awareness and gain fans from the influencer's own audience. Micro-influencers are social media promoters with a smaller following (typically, thousands to tens of thousands of followers). Although they have fewer followers, their posts often pack more punch due to their higher level of engagement. 

These influencers have found a niche in their industry, too — which is why they've started to play a bigger role in converting leads, connecting with audiences, and boosting brand awareness.

2. Video marketers will keep content short.

More than 31% of global marketers currently invest in short-form video content, 46% of them consider the strategy effective when it comes to performance and engagement.  While long-form videos can offer depth and large amounts of information about a product, brand, or services to audiences, both B2C and B2B marketers have learned that getting to the point with short-form videos can actually be much more effective.

 Not only does it take less bandwidth to create a short-form video, but this type of format aligns well with the fast-paced attention spans of online audiences in a variety of demographics. Still not convinced that short-form videos can be effective in your marketing strategy? Check out this great example of a TikTok video from Canva that informs viewers of just how easy it is to make professional-looking graphics with the website. 

3. Mobile optimization will be even more important.

It's no surprise that consumers are spending more and more time on mobile devices. In fact, more than half of annual online website traffic comes from mobile devices, including tablets. And, as millennials and Gen Z audiences continue to grow buying power, mobile-optimized digital experiences will be even more vital to consider as a business owner who markets to these fast-paced, highly connected generations.  

And, mobile experiences aren't just important on brand websites, they're also important in other key marketing strategies. For example, 56% of marketers who work with email are focused on delivering mobile email experiences to subscribers. 

4. Permanent social media posts could overtake ephemeral content. 

While ephemeral content -- which often stays published for 24-hours before disappearing (unless it's saved or archived) -- isn't going away any time soon, brands have seen that permanent social media content -- such as standard posts, videos, and live events that show up on a platform's feed and can be viewed again days later -- might be more effective within their marketing campaigns. 

Our survey results show that 44% of global marketers plan to increase their investment in permanent social media content, while 8% say it generates the most ROI compared to other marketing strategies they leverage. Meanwhile, 25% of respondents called ephemeral content the "least effective" trend they invested in.

5. Companies will prioritize social responsibility.

Although 31% of marketers say social responsibility is ineffective when it comes to campaign engagement or performance, 45% still plan to invest in it throughout the next year. The interest in buying products from socially responsible brands really took during the many global events of 2020 and 2021.

As the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the world, it highlighted the pains employees had to endure in the workplace and in politics. Employees became more vocal about their frustrations, inequality, and workplace treatment. Additionally, early research from organizations like McKinsey predicted that customers would more heavily support brands that demonstrated their care for all customers, employees, and shared causes. 

6. Experiential marketing could make a comeback.

 Experiential marketing campaigns enable audiences to step into an immersive experience that is often in a physical place or via an AR/VR platform. The experience included orb-shaped "rooms," which were each complete with decor and fragrances unique to a certain candy flavor. Although immersive experiences like these were fun, effective, and highly shareable on social media, they ran into barriers in 2020 and 2021 as businesses, public venues, and entire countries were forced to shut down public operations in the global pandemic.

And, because producing a branded AR/VR experience is a high-budget bet that can also rely on audiences to have tools like AR/VR headsets or the latest smartphone technology to access the content -- fewer small brands have invested in digital experiential marketing.

That's why it's not shocking that only 29% of those we polled were investing in experiential marketing in 2021, while just only 14% invested in AR/VR. 

7. More businesses will use SEO to concur search traffic.

As marketers, we must ensure that our websites and content are as discoverable as possible -- especially on Google -- which can provide both long-term and short-term traffic returns. And, while SEO is not new, it's strategies are becoming even more ingrained within modern day marketing strategies. While SEO was the sixth marketing trend those surveyed were leveraging, with 28% of marketers saying they currently used it.

As the interest and need for SEO strategies grow, so do all search optimization opportunities. As Google algorithms have evolved, SEO has become about much more than churning out basic posts that answer simple search queries. Now, brands are investing in SEO experts who can help them with everything from search insights reports, to multimedia optimization. 

8. Virtual events will continue, but some brands will invest less.

In 2022, we expect to see more hybrid marketing strategies that still allow audiences to embrace virtual events and conferences, as well as physical opportunities. When polling global marketing professionals, the data we received lined up with this prediction.  

In 2021, 51% of marketers were investing in virtual events. However, 17% of these marketers plan to decrease their investments in 2022. Despite losing some shrinking virtual event budgets, marketers won't be leaving the virtual event space any time soon. In fact, a whopping 80% of marketers plan to invest the same budget or more into virtual events in 2022.

9. More consumers will hear branded audio content.

 In the summer of 2021, marketers were perplexed by Clubhouse -- an invitation-only audio chatroom app that quickly gained millions of users without publishing any visual content. According to our research, 53% of professionals whose companies leverage content marketing find "podcasts or other types of audio content" effective when it comes to engagement and brand awareness. However, only 1% of marketers that leverage audio content say it yields ROI. 

When it came to investments in audio chatrooms, like Clubhouse or Twitter Spaces, we saw a similar theme. Although only 16% of marketers say they've invested in this trend, 34% of those marketers find it effective. Although audio platforms might not have great monetizing features or conversion paths, this data hints that they still provide the engagement and brand awareness companies need to see from them for a continued investment. 

10. Inbound marketing will remain a best practice for growing brands.

While inbound marketing has been around for years, 27% of marketers say they will leverage it for the first time in 2022. while 11% of marketers say it will be their biggest investment in the next year.  Throughout the last two years, the world's dealt with unprecedented change, and outbound marketing tactics have become even less effective in reaching prospects and leads. John Hazard, the founder and content strategist at digital marketing agency Lighthouse Creative Group, sees this as a place of opportunity to generate interest despite their typical formulaic production. “Screen fatigue is a big issue for brands."

Inbound marketing can be a valuable asset to create brand awareness and build trust digitally through refocusing strategy to drive customers to seek out your content. The process of inbound marketing requires you to produce quality, valuable content tailored towards your target audience and buyer personas and their needs.