As CEO of Luke Lazarus Consulting, Luke Lazarus has taken the business world by storm. His innovate and insightful ideas on marketing have helped hundreds of startups to scale in ways that they otherwise might not have been able to. Since he earned his MBA from the Melbourne Business School in Australia, he has proven time and again that he has his finger on the pulse of consumerism and what consumers are looking for in brands today. Always operating with a desire to help entrepreneurs and startups find their place in today’s business world, Luke Lazarus offers his thoughts on the top marketing trends to pay attention to right now.
As Luke Lazarus reviews the top trends for marketing in 2022, he notes that there are a lot of hot topics to focus on and that some of these trends have been at the top of his must-do list for a long time. But he believes that marketers need to adjust the way they apply these trends to their business and brand building because that’s where real change is taking place.
More Valuable Content
One of the key points that Luke Lazarus makes in his piece on marketing trends in Australia is the essential need for brands to provide a higher quality of content to their audience. Content is still vital, but its value is diminished if it’s not impactful or visually compelling. He points out the importance of making a move away from heavy sales tactics and instead focusing on genuine value.
Building Stronger Connections
Connecting with clients is not a new fad, but rather the purpose of all marketing. Lazarus argues, however, that there are new technologies and methodologies available now that provide much improved connection prospects. He believes it is necessary for businesses to have a more in-depth understanding of their customers so that they may establish relationships based not just on sales but also on shared values.
To do this, it is necessary to include technology by automating key processes. He also feels that personalization and segmentation are crucial parts of the process, allowing businesses to make greater use of every client connection they develop.
Voice Optimization
More individuals are talking to search engines instead of typing these days. These search engines must sift through millions of possible websites attempting to answer the query in order to provide the optimal response. There are parallels between search engine optimization and voice optimization (SEO). However, the latter needs a more straightforward approach to responding to voice inquiries, which has resulted in a resurgence of the FAQ writing style. It is essential to know who your consumers are, what they want, and how they utilize voice. It is equally important to comprehend how your competitors are striving to answer these concerns so that your business can outperform them. It is also essential to develop material for humans and not simply search engines. Content that seems to be over-optimized for voice might be difficult to consume without voice. Marketers must continue to strive for this equilibrium.
Content in Installments
The manner that individuals consume media is continually evolving. They are shifting away from large-budget media businesses and demanding more substance from the businesses they purchase from. This may rapidly become burdensome for marketing content developers who are expected to consistently provide fresh material and achieve success. Serialized material is gaining in acceptability and popularity because of this. Instead of publishing your next major piece of content all at once, businesses should consider releasing it as a series that can be stacked. Engage individuals over time, get followers excited about the series and anticipating the next installment.
Buy Buttons
Shoppable posts, a pandemic holdover, further integrate the purchasing experience into ordinary internet behavior.
Shoppable social media postings enable users to click a post and purchase a product without ever leaving the social media site. Through these postings, businesses can create a smooth purchasing experience, and social media networks appreciate the business for not directing visitors off-platform. This is a win-win situation for all parties concerned and a winning marketing trend for 2022 and beyond.
Building Rapport Through Social Media
When social media first came out, most individuals utilized social media communications to talk to their friends and family. Later, as social media gained in popularity, more customers began to use it to contact customer service after making a purchase. Then sales teams started using it to maintain contact with prospects and develop leads for closing. Social media messaging is still developing. In the awareness and consideration stages of the buying process, people are increasingly utilizing it early. The ability to communicate with clients through messaging services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp as well as social media sites like Twitter and Instagram Direct Messaging is a must for marketing businesses today.
Customized and Personalized Email Marketing
In the digital age, personalization is a way for brands to stand out. Specifically, consider email personalization. Lazarus is quick to note that email doesn’t sound like the most modern and up-to-date trend, but when used well, it can really work well. Companies must deliver very specific messages to consumers at various times. This is where technology comes into play again. The use of automation, segmentation, event-triggered emails and machine learning are all critical tools to help brands really stand out.
Email appears dated compared to some alternative digital marketing tools. But when utilized properly, it is still quite powerful. Instead of sending emails that are generic, in 2022 and beyond, businesses will concentrate on making them more personally relevant to everyone. Of course, no business has the time or money to design a unique newsletter for each subscriber, so they are adopting cutting-edge technology to give that more personal experience, instead. They include things like automated email delivery, ML technology, event-triggered emails, and segmentation.
Interactivity
Another of the latest marketing trends that Luke Lazarus sees in 2022 and beyond is interactivity, where there is content that allows consumers to directly interact with the brand or company. Consumers want to see data in a clear way. Lazarus refers to this as transparency. According to Luke Lazarus, there are a lot of ways to provide that type of interaction, including calculators, quizzes, tools, videos, and other interactivity methods that are on-brand. Business is discovering new methods for attracting their target customers and inspiring them to continue down the buyers’ path. Brand storytelling includes imagery and interactivity that helps the consumer to feel emotions as they interact with the business.
Embracing Automation
Automation has become crucial for marketers in the modern business world. Automation eliminates the tediousness of marketing and allows your team to focus on more stimulating, creative tasks. It helps businesses do more with less, combining management and analytics across marketing channels to keep a target audience engaged 24/7 without losing sleep.
Automated Engagement with Chatbots
The use of chatbots extends beyond customer service. They play a crucial part in assisting a prospective client in successfully completing the buyer’s journey. Implementing chatbots on a website shows how much a business appreciates its customers both before and after a sale. As a result, they are more likely to make a purchase or show a propensity to acquire more of the business’s products or services. With messages and the aid of technology, chatbots combine marketing, sales, and customer service to look seamless from the perspective of the customer.
Beginning as a simple question-and-answer tool, chatbots assist website visitors in finding the information they need. But they may gain knowledge through interactions with visitors to a website by using artificial intelligence and machine learning. They will eventually be able to offer the best and first response, more quickly and consistently.
