What are the marketing trends of 2022?

Looking ahead, beyond this tricky time of lockdowns, shutdowns, countdowns, showdowns and slowdowns is a brand new year to plan for.

I always find this a time of promise and excitement. By year’s end, I’ve rarely ticked all the boxes on the To-Do list I’d created 12 months ago, but I do feel as though I experience growth in the right quadrants, shedding habits that no longer serve, a little more wisdom, alot more joy and the optimism of new year celebrations and downtime.

What can we prepare for, when thinking of our online brand profile over the next year? An increase in online research and use, for which finessing your Personal Brand will play an important part.

Here are my thoughts for how best to plan, prepare and perfect your site content and personal brand profile for the next 12 months

Voice search

Voice search has come a loooong way since every voice activated response to an AI query was ‘Did you mean ‘Hamilton Island’. With more of us online, on our phones, in smart homes with smart speakers and voice assistants, Voice Search is highly competitive, honed, friendly, practical and useful. Even if you think that the service you deliver online is unlikely to be sought after in a voice search, as online becomes more an extension of us, it’s best practice to be fully optimised.

Voice search is fast and, optimised for speech patterns, great for longer, conversational keywords and easiest to use on mobile (the device we’re using most)

1. Clearly articulate what service you deliver, to what audience, to solve what problem (= the answer to every issue in SEO in my vast worldly experience)
2. Work your Google My Business listing hard to be optimised in Google’s environment, so you turn up on local searches. ‘Query Service near me is the most commonly asked question in search’
3. Work your FAQs hard to answer the most frequently asked questions, in a conversational way. FAQ content areas are coded so Google knows that here, you’re answering questions. Google wants to be the best Answer Engine, so FAQ schema signals to google you’re there for your users first.
4. Answer questions in your Blog content
5. Share out your Q+A blog content across socials. Invite questions and answers back for more information about what your customers and clients are searching for and the solutions they need.

Show up across channels

We’ve all noticed an explosion in user generated video content on all socials. Delivering strong content, that answers your client’s queries, solves the most commonly asked questions quickly and succinctly is delivering immense value for Personal Brands and this will only continue.

You don’t have to dance or lipsynch. You don’t need a recording studio. You do need some mother courage and adult person undies, but it does become easier to turn up online the more you do it. Just like ‘Zoom’.

LinkedInLives are doing particularly well for engagement. According to their own site:

“Live videos get, on average 7x more reactions and 24x more comments than native video produced by the same broadcasters.

https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/linkedin-live

LinkedIn is notoriously difficult to affect. Engagement, logging in daily, optimising your profile, and doing Lives will help you boost your presence inch by inch.

Showing up across all channels helps people integrate into your business. Engage creatively and effectively and you’re more memorable.

This is definitely one for me to add to my ‘to do in ’22 ‘

Use a tool like Descript to record your video, easily edit it and repurpose for all channels such as YouTube Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram through restream right in the Descript dashboard. Mix this up with native live streaming, as each platform likes you to turn up there, and you’ve got the best of both worlds – by the seat of the pants live performance, AND, well edited content through Descript.

Just do it

Don’t be put off by reasons not to be online and visible. Your Personal Brand amplifies your expertise and experience, adds depth and narrative to your business and sales and even though every minute, hour, day, competition increases, noone else is in competition to be you.

You are a unicorn. Tell the world about your unique service, solutions, value and values through your Personal Brand. As the challenges of the pandemic take their toll, as we spend more time in our bubble, we are looking for stronger connection.

This comes through Your Voice, Your Message to Your Audience.