The year is coming to an end and it's finally time to make a recap of what happened in 2022 in the field of marketing. In fact, our sector is extremely dynamic and every year new trends always emerge that must be taken into consideration in order to develop successful digital strategies for your company.

In this article we want to offer you a full report on the main trends that emerged during 2022 and, looking to the future, we will anticipate some of the trends that are already taking shape for 2023!

2022 Trend Report

2022 was full of new trends, let's find out which ones were the most important!

The first macro-trend to highlight concerns the definitive explosion of video format, accompanied by the consecration of TikTok as a leader among social platforms. According to data collected by App Figures, TikTok is the most downloaded application in the world thanks to its 54 million downloads, a figure that will inevitably continue to rise in the next year. TikTok videos and Instagram Reels represent the currently dominant social format and 2022 has shown that companies need to shape their messages also through short videos to grasp the enormous visibility they offer.

During this year we have understood the extraordinary importance of brand awareness. According to the 2022 Global Annual Marketing Report, top marketers agree that building brand awareness has become their primary focus. Today, in fact, between the fragmentation of the media and the ever-evolving sources of brand equity, companies must know how to make the most of a number of different channels to reach an ever wider audience.

In 2022, the need to know how to analyze data to promote has also emerged customized marketing strategies.  The importance of data for marketing has grown and companies have realized how crucial it is to pay attention to consumer engagement. Analyzing the data gathered from consumer interactions allows marketers to improve their strategies to make sure they're reaching their ideal audience with the right messages.

The fourth trend highlighted by marketers is about making your brand the own promise. In fact, when acquiring a brand, consumers are always looking for something more than just a product or service: marketers must take responsibility for create links with these consumers who in such a competitive market have never had such a wide choice.

Finally, 2022 was also the year of Metaverse. Like it or not, more and more companies are approaching this world through collaborations with virtual platforms capable of hosting virtual events and experiences, effectively erasing the boundary between reality and the virtual world. Before activating marketing strategies related to the Metaverse for your company, however, you need to ask yourself whether your type of business is suitable for landing in the virtual world or not. Therefore, it is still too early to understand how to exploit the Metaverse to your advantage, but it is undeniable that the attention towards this virtual world remains very high. Although, according to some marketers, the Metaverse is already here and it's called the internet.

What will be the trends in 2023?

Having summarized the trends that have emerged in the marketing industry in 2022, let's now move on to what awaits us in the future.

First of all, email marketing for the launch of products and services of small businesses will become increasingly important. By now, 89% of marketers say they use email marketing to generate leads and this trend will grow even more in 2023. In fact, everyone has at least one email account through which they can be easily reached by companies. Emails are therefore a fundamental tool to significantly increase the company's profits, especially in the case of small businesses or new businesses.

The second trend we want to present to you concerns influencer marketing which also in 2023 will continue to have great importance. On average, in fact, every dollar invested in influencer marketing corresponds to a profit of about $5,20. If up until a few years ago influencer marketing was a niche activity, today the same cannot be said: now almost all companies use this form of marketing which, in particular through Instagram and TikTok, easily makes the contents produced viral by companies.

In 2023 we will also see a remarkable implementation of chatbot to improve the user experience of users. According to Drift more and more sites are adopting this system, which is why chatbots are experiencing rapid growth that will continue in 2023. Updating your website with the inclusion of a chatbot will allow even small businesses to provide their customers an assistance service that is always active, even outside working hours.

The growing importance of consumer data collection recorded in 2022 will lead in 2023 to address the new privacy regulations. Next year, therefore, companies will have to focus on data collection through more transparent practices, such as the creation of forms to ask their customers for essential information for planning and scheduling the launch of new products or services.

Finally, in 2023 an increase of desire for customer gratification in purchasing processes and it will be increasingly important to aim for immediate customer satisfaction. Any delay, error or unforeseen event in the purchase process results in an empty cart and therefore in a lost customer. Marketers will not have to limit themselves to reacting to the unexpected, but acquire knowledge that can quickly support the user before he abandons the purchase.

These are just some of the trends we will see in 2023. For everything else, we just have to wait and see what happens.