Source: “The state of content marketing in 2021 [stats & trends to watch]” by Kirsty Daniel of HubSpot. 

By December 2021, it was reported that “92% of marketers have seen an increase in personalized marketing.”

Source: “12 content marketing trends you need to follow in 2022” by Michael Brenner of Marketing Insider Group

Not only did content marketing trend upward in 2021, but it became highly personalized, too. 

That means companies used data collection, analysis, and automation to engage customers.

Examples of personalized marketing include: 

• Targeted emails
• Custom video messages
• User-specific content

Ever hear of Spotify Wrapped? It’s a marketing campaign that lets Spotify users see a compilation of all the audio they engaged on the Spotify platform throughout the year. 

How will your business personalize content marketing in 2022?

This group is made up of consumers who don’t just claim to be motivated by values-based marketing—they act upon those motivations, too.

Is 18% of the U.S. buying population a lot?

According to the research, it’s not as high as we might have thought, but it is “still a significant slice that ought to command any marketer’s attention.”

Source: “Values-motivated consumers make up 18% of the US buying population” by Dipanhan Chatterhee of Forrester.

But what did he miss? What else do marketers need to know about values-motivated consumers?

It looks like these consumers are no different than any other U.S. online adult. Gender. Income. Education. It all averages out to be the same, more or less.

So, what’s the difference?

Age.

One out of 10 Baby Boomers are reported to be motivated consumers, whereas one out of four Millennials said the same.

As younger consumers displace their elders, brands will have no choice but to lean into values-based marketing.

What values are important to your customers? How are you letting them know that you know what their values are?

“67% of companies planned to increase their spending on web & video conferencing in 2021.”

“97% of remote workers would like to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers.”

“61% of workers said they would use video conferencing more after the pandemic because it was as effective as meeting in person and saved time.”

Source: “84 current video conferencing statistics for the 2021 market” by Mandi Sadler of TrustRadius

While it is true that a commitment to video conferencing efforts trended up in 2021, it is not clear whether marketing departments invested spending on video conferencing professionals.

Rather, the money did—and will likely continue to—fall into the laps of major software companies that support video conferencing capabilities.

As we enter 2022, marketing professionals should prepare to pay for new tech features and tools form companies like Zoom, Google, and Microsoft, among others.

What sort of video conferencing preparation do you need to make in 2022?

That’s not a huge increase, but consider this: 69% of marketers who said they didn’t currently use video said they would start to do so in 2021. That figure is up 10% from the one reported the year before.

Source: “What video marketers should know in 2021, according to Wyzowl Research” by Adam Hayes from HubSpot.

Video marketing isn’t going anywhere but up, up, up.

On YouTube, people watch one billion hours of video every day.

On the Gen-Z favorite, TikTok, the average user spends 46 minutes a day consuming content.

Your audience will almost always dictate the types of videos you make—and the platforms you choose to share them—but in general, good uses of video will feature:

• Tutorials
• Product demos
• A look behind the scenes
• Customer testimonials
• Company culture
• Employee profiles
• Branded narratives

What sort of videos will be a part of your content marketing strategy this year?

In October 2021, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta and planted its virtual flag in “the metaverse.”

What? What is that?

The metaverse is “the next evolution of social connection” consisting of “3D spaces that will let you socialize, learn, collaborate and play in ways that go beyond what we can imagine.”

An entire augmented reality UNIVERSE in which we can engage only those entities we choose to engage? Jeez.

From a business perspective, at some point—like in the next five or 10 years—your business will need to determine whether it should open up shop on the augmented streets of the metaverse.

Should you? IDK. It looks like the metaverse could help your business: 

• Create new spaces for customers to engage your brand

• Introduce new currencies for your business to exchange

• Create new tools for your employees to collaborate

But you’ll have to read more about that here.