What takes a small business from grassroots to global? Digital marketing! Nearly every day we here at GreenCup Digital learn about yet another incredible online resource, digital tool, or creative way to connect to people around the world. Take a page from the pros and promote your brand far and wide in 2022 by investing in the latest customer-influencing digital marketing trends like inclusive small business websites, visual social media campaigns, and well-developed small business success stories.
2022 Digital Marketing Trend #1:
Smile for the Camera
While no one can deny the power of the written word, people everywhere are acknowledging the head-turning effect of videos and snippets found on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Video helps audiences see and experience your services and products firsthand; pair with some snappy, feels-inducing music and a killer caption, and you’ve got a recipe for digital marketing success. Not sure you’re ready for the big screen? Start small! Explore the accounts of your favorite brands or try a viral challenge, incorporating your own small business twist on it.
2022 Digital Marketing Trend #2:
Inclusion is Key
Diversity, equality, and inclusion are built into the very fibers of the American dream. As a small business owner, one of the most impactful and important ways to make services and products accessible is by being sensitive to your audience’s individual identities. People are more likely to patronize your business if they can identify with your message, brand, and tone. Use the new year to refresh your web content, tone, and language. Focus on updating your online presence and brand to showcase an array of personas and nuanced characteristics in your market. This could mean swapping out images to reflect a more diverse palette of people, removing language that points to a single type of family structure, or observing your social media metrics to ensure you’re staying on top of your audience’s various age ranges and local events. You want your brand to represent and draw in your target audience, both of which are completely achievable by getting creative (and inclusive!) with your marketing efforts.
2022 Digital Marketing Trend #3:
Tread Cautiously With Facebook
With a new redesign looming, digital strategists feel a “sit back and wait” approach is best when it comes to delegating Facebook’s piece of your yearly advertising budget. Not only are Facebook’s built-in metrics a bit wonky, the user population is aging older and older, and the algorithms grow more confusing by the day, but some believe Facebook’s leader-in-charge is in desperate need of retirement. Perhaps Facebook’s transition will launch some fresh faces into Facebook’s ever-darkening, stormy seas…or perhaps the current commander will remain at the helm much like the captain of the Titanic. Instead of risking your digital marketing strategy by sinking dollars into a potentially-shipwrecked platform, try spreading your social media budget across platforms with more robust, proven growth, like TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Be sure customers can find your business outside of Facebook and that your branding on other platforms is cohesive, consistent, and recognizable.
2022 Digital Marketing Trend #4:
Tell A *Unique* Story
One of the keystone elements of your small business digital marketing strategy is enticing customers to pick your business over all other businesses in your field. What’s the easiest, most genuine way to stand out in the crowd? Tell your story in a unique way! Instead of reciting the same old origin tale, prove you’re the business to patronize by showcasing your achievements. Highlight customer reviews and testimonials, write a blog post about a happy client experience or display a set of before-and-after graphics. The more problems your business can solve, the better! Split each problem into its own little novella – with your proven business offerings as the perfect solution.
2022 Digital Marketing Trend #5:
Showcase Sustainability
Want to make the purchase process easier for your customers? Release them from the chains of neverending research! Now more than ever, consumers are seeking sustainable, eco-friendly businesses to support and buy from. Even Google is joining the fun by suggesting new, eco-friendly commute options on Google Maps. Demonstrate your commitment to conservation with transparent, easy-to-find examples of sustainability on your website. Do you use recycled packaging? Flaunt it! Have a clean, green return policy? Show it off! This is the time to get creative about explaining how your business is addressing a problem we all want to solve.
The new year is the perfect time to step up your digital marketing strategy and enhance your online presence. Not sure where to begin? GreenCup Digital can help! With a team of digital marketing experts who specialize in all five of the strategic trends listed above, we’re ready to partner with you and make 2022 your most successful year to date. From copywriting to web design, SEO to social media management, our digital wizards work hard to perfect your digital marketing so you don’t have to. Ready to learn more? Connect with us here and let’s talk!
