Four Ways to Update Your Marketing for the New Year

Although many marketers are (understandably!) thinking about their end of year reports and projects at this time of year, it is also beneficial to think about the strategies for the upcoming year as well. A new year means a new budget and new opportunity to implement strategies or campaigns that your team hasn’t tried before. But how do you know which strategies will be successful? A new year might bring new opportunities, but you don’t want to try something new only to have it flop. If you want to update your marketing for the new year, it’s important to understand the new trends that are emerging in the industry as we move into 2022. Below is a brief list of marketing trends that could prove beneficial in the next year; read through and keep these in mind when you’re creating your 2022 strategy!

1. Marketing budgets are getting smaller, so keep it flexible to maximize your impact. According to Forbes, in 2021, marketing budgets fell to their lowest level in recent history. While this might seem like bad news, you can also think of this as an opportunity to remain as flexible as possible when deciding which campaigns you want to implement this year. When you have a limited amount to work with, you want to make sure every dollar you are spending counts, and you need to be flexible enough to quickly pivot if it turns out one of your efforts isn’t providing the return you hoped for.
2. Social listening is essential. Social listening is a strategy that involves not only monitoring your own social channels, but also keeping an eye on what’s trending across social networks, especially when it’s related to the audience you are trying to target. Social listening allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s trending, while also giving you a clear idea of what your audience wants. This is definitely a strategy you will want to consider in the new year.
3. Technology continues to grow, but don’t underestimate the benefit of human talent. With every passing year technology is only continuing to grow and evolve. From SEO tools to social listening and analytics platforms, there are various tools meant to help automate time-consuming marketing functions. These tools can be incredibly helpful, but that does not mean they should replace human work and expertise. Implementing automation tools that eliminate busywork or tedious tasks can be helpful, but having human employees that can understand and analyze the data pulled from these tools is still necessary for success.
4. Mobile web browsing will only continue to grow. Most marketers know that in order for their brand’s efforts to be successful, their content has to be mobile-friendly. Most users now engage with content on their phones, and there is no sign of a decline in mobile use any time soon. So if your mobile user experience could use some work, you might want to consider making that a priority in the new year.

Digital marketers need to stay up to date on marketing trends so they can continue to implement successful campaigns and strategies, and what better time to update your knowledge of current trends than while moving into a new year, with new opportunities for growth? As you look back on everything you accomplished in 2021, get excited about all the ways you can update your marketing in the new year. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, AMA!