Promoting your brand is challenging even for the most experienced business owner. In addition to sticking with tried and true strategies, you should add new options and see how well your audience responds.

A good place to start is to look at marketing trends for the year. What are other brands doing to get the word out? Is there any way you can adapt a trend and make it work for your needs?

What Are the Future Trends of Marketing?

Marketing is a multi-trillion dollar industry. Statista recently reported 77% of marketers plan to increase online video advertising and about 68% plan to increase social media ad spending. Pay attention to where other companies spend their money for some clues about what works best for them.

You may find your mileage varies. The trends that work for other companies–even in the same industry–may not work for you. A lot of successful marketing requires trial and error. Here are the top marketing trends you should try this year.

1. Short-Term Vertical Videos

Videos have been a hot trend for several years. Consumers want a quick and easy way to consume information. Videos give them an opportunity to watch a clip between appointments, on a lunch break, or while relaxing at home.

However, advertisers are turning to short-term videos more and more often, such as TikTok reels and Facebook stories. Choose the platform of your choice and do a bit of experimentation to see which one your audience prefers.

Once you gain a following on the platform of your choice, you’ll gain a better feel for the types of stories you need to share. Think about what’s most helpful to your users.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/BootysDiner

Get It on a Bun at Booty’s is a small diner in southern Indiana. They often use Facebook Stories to promote their current offerings and draw followers in to buy their food. As people click through their stories, they see a wide variety of menu options.

2. Influencer Marketing

Teaming up with others works for word-of-mouth style marketing. Those who follow an influencer on social media typically trust what the person has to say. They’ve come to understand they only represent quality products or are good at finding the gadgets they most want.

For example, Kim Komando has a radio show where they share tips about technology. Callers present a problem, such as needing WIFI to stretch to the backyard. Kim gives them ideas of what’s available to help extend their range.

She sticks strictly to tech information. When an advertiser approaches her about giving their product a shout out, they know the audience she serves and what their expectations are. Her listeners trust her to recommend only the things that will be of the most help to them.

Source: https://50floor.com

50 Floor taps into the power of celebrity influencers. They hired spokesperson and actor Richard Karn to represent their flooring product. Karn played Al Borland on the popular television sitcom “Home Improvement.” Fans see him as an expert on the topic and his face is a friendly, familiar one while they shop for flooring.

Who are the well-known faces in your industry? What influencer best represents your message? Influencer marketing is set to grow in the coming years, so think about the partners you’d like to work with and what you want to accomplish as you embrace this marketing trend.

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

When you think of AI, you might remember the book and movie “iRobot,” where robots and a computer try to take over the world. However, AI has many applications for marketing. Simple changes, such as adding an AI-driven chatbot can ramp up customer engagement 90% or more.

Depending on how you program the computer, AI can interact with your customers without missing a beat. They may even think they’re talking to a live agent when they are simply getting pre-programmed responses.

You can also use AI to generate social media posts. The more things you can automate, the more time you’ll have for creative efforts, such as coming up with your next advertising campaign.

4. Metaverse Advertising

The world of virtual reality (VR) is still growing, but advertisers are looking for ways to tap into the metaverse and build a following there. A recent social index report showed about 85% of social media marketers plan to utilize the metaverse and VR within their overall social media programming.

Imagine your customers going into a gaming world, for example. While in the metaverse you’ve created, they interact with a variety of objects, including your product. The idea is to improve brand recognition and get the consumer thinking about your name.

Source: https://twitter.com/LouisVuitton/status/1425144421914394625

Many brands are getting in on the metaverse and starting games where avatars can interact in various ways. One example is Louis Vuitton, where players interact as the character Vivienne. The goal is to collect 200 different birthday candles while following the brand’s story over the last 200 years.

Take Trends and Make Them Your Own

Trends come and go, but we think these four will be around for the long haul. Learn how to take them and make them your own. The metaverse is wide open for development, so think through what will engage your particular followers the most. VR and AI are shaping and changing how brands interact with customers. Take the time to get to know what’s available, pay attention to new trends and try mixing things up for the most successful promotions.

Author

Eleanor Hecks is the editor of Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.