6 Marketing Trends We’re Forecasting for Online Businesses in 2022

Written by: Online Business Owner • November 08, 2021

Image Source: unsplash.com/@brookecagle

Below is a rundown of the 6 trends we’re tracking for online businesses in the new year.

A quick aside: We don’t present these trends as a definitive guide of what will for sure happen over the next 365 days. We say this for two reasons:

1. If 2020 taught us anything it’s that the best laid plans...you know the rest! The world changed forever in the last two weeks of March 2020. Who knows what 2022 holds. It could change forever again!

2. My crystal ball is in the shop for its annual tune up this week.

These trends are based on lots of industry research, surveys, conversations, and the age-old skill called “noticing what’s happening in the world”. Let’s dive in!

The 6 marketing trends and important marketing changes we’re forecasting for online businesses in 2022:

1 — Being Digital First or Digitally Native Isn’t Differentiating Enough

Before the pandemic the leading differentiator for online businesses is that we were...well...online! But, virtually every business figured out a way to come online in some form or another in 2020. That means that “being online” doesn’t make you different enough anymore!

2 — Owning Your Content and Your Audience and How You Reach Them

During 2021 we saw the most changes to social media, consumer privacy, and data tracking and access in years (if not EVER). That means that the tried and proven marketing strategies from before this past year may not work as well as they did before. Pair these changes with the Great Facebook and Instagram Outage of 2021 and the Facebook whistleblower’s testimony and you have a different marketing landscape on the horizon for 2022.

I believe it’s vital for online businesses to have control over three key parts of their marketing: 1. Their proprietary and unique content. 2. Their access to their audience. 3. Their strategies for distributing content to their audience.

3 — Social Media for Online Business Is Changing

A changing world, new generation of consumer, and advancing technology has combined to create massive changes on social media over the past 12 months!

We now know that short form video content — think IG Stories, Reels, and TikTok videos — are the most popular form of social media content online today. AND, at the same time, 2021 saw a return of Twitter, a decrease in Facebook use, and the rise of live long form (and unproduced) audio content a la Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces.

4 — Email Marketing is More Critical Than Ever

With an ROI of 36 to 1 and 77% of marketers reporting increased email engagement over the past 12 months, email marketing is no longer a nice to have — it’s a must have!

If you’ve yet to jump into email marketing for your online business then 2022 is the year to get started. If you’re already emailing your audience, then next year is the perfect time to improve your marketing strategies through more personalization and better segmentation. 

5 — Audio Is the Next Content Frontier

You may not realize it but there are only 2 million podcasts in the world. While over 200 million business accounts exist on Instagram. Podcasting is just one example of a deeply untapped market for online businesses.

With podcasting becoming easier, more and more people listening to audio online, and brands like Spotify and Facebook getting into the podcast and live audio game, I truly believe that online audio is the next frontier for online business owners. And it’s not just the Spotify and Twitter Spaces of the world that have huge potential — tools like private podcast feeds can help revolutionize the course and membership industry!

6 — Artificial Intelligence Goes Mainstream

While we’re not living in the Metaverse yet (although there is some interesting dialogue about the Metaverse being more of a TIME and less of a PLACE), there are many advancements in the field of artificial intelligence that are available for us as entrepreneurs NOW and that make our lives easier!

In 2022 you have the opportunity to explore tools and resources powered by AI that can enable you to create more content with ease, reach more potential customers, and do business smarter.

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