The Top 5 Marketing Channels You Should Be Using in 2022

Multi-channel marketing is more important than ever.

What’s the best way to market my product? How can I reach the most leads? Where are my clients going to connect with my brand?

These are the questions that haunt all savvy business owners. Because in 2022, the newest and trendiest marketing channels seem to shift monthly. If you had an unlimited budget and an army of staff you could leverage every point of connection out there. But unfortunately, that’s just not realistic. You need to make choices about where your marketing money and efforts will have the greatest impact.

It’s the 21st century, and any company that’s not incorporating a multi-channel approach in their marketing strategy is wildly behind the times. Multi-channel marketing is effective because it allows customers to engage with your brand on their own terms. Every lead is unique. Some may unsubscribe from your email lists because they like a clean inbox — but that doesn’t mean you’ve lost them. Because those same customers may love seeing your stories on Instagram. 

...you’re using Instagram, right?

Don’t worry, you don’t need to abandon traditional marketing, direct mailers, and advertisements. But by diversifying and keeping up with the times, you have a much higher chance of engaging a wider swath of clients. Keep reading for the top five marketing channels we recommend in 2022 for improving brand awareness, generating leads, and upping your marketing ROI.

Which marketing channels do you need to be using in 2022?

1. Social Media

Customers want to be able to find companies on social media. In fact, a recent survey from Hubspot found that consumers expect brands to have an active social media presence on at least three platforms.

But you need to make careful decisions about which platforms to engage with. Is TikTok here to stay, or will it go the way of Vine? Does your product lend itself to photos that will do well on Instagram? Make sure the platforms you leverage align with your audience, your industry, your products, and your overall marketing strategy. 

Once you’ve opened your social accounts, get ready to loosen that tie, metaphorically. Lean in to the unique features of each platform. Stay engaged in the trends and styles. Twitter is great for quick, direct quips. Instagram Stories are an excellent format for intimate, behind-the-curtain teasers. 

When you do post, our Digital Marketing Manager Sara Brennan recommends you take advantage of boosted social media posts. This feature from Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn lets you “boost” individual posts. It’s not an advertisement, per se. The boosted social post is an organic post that you want to be seen by more customers. Ideally, you will boost posts that already perform well. The boost will expand that engagement exponentially. And you can target your boosted posts to particular audiences for maximum effect. 

2. Email 

When it comes to marketing, email still reigns supreme. ROI on email marketing is $42 for every dollar spent. Email is the most effective way to directly market to hundreds or thousands of customers at a time. You’re not relying on an algorithm. And you know that your message is landing directly in your customers’ inboxes. 

The very first step in any email marketing strategy is to gather customer data. This data helps you build a comprehensive view of each customer and finesse your campaign strategy. Segment your audience by the data you’ve gathered, as well as by industry, company size, and location in the sales funnel to target emails effectively. 

Also, automate everything you can with a sophisticated CRM like Hubspot. Welcome emails for new sign-ups, thank you emails for orders, and gentle reminder emails for customers who’ve signed up but not taken action yet can all be automated to save you time.

3. Account-based Marketing

So much of marketing boils down to a numbers game. The “rule of seven” dictates that you need a potential customer to see your ad seven times before they’ll take action. And that’s probably a low estimate in the information age!

Account-based marketing takes a more surgical approach. You target high-profile accounts that are likely to convert. Then you design personalized campaigns around those accounts based on their key decision-makers and pain points. This also includes cross-selling and upselling existing customers, which is easier than converting entirely new ones.

The design of these campaigns is limited only by your imagination. They will often take the form of invite-only events or webinars. Website personalization is a popular strategy as well. With website personalization, whenever these key account holders visit your homepage, they get a personalized experience not seen by the general population. 

4. Website

You have to have a website. That’s a given. Once a customer is on your website, it’s almost as if they’ve walked into your brick-and-mortar store. But your website can be more than a digital hanging out of your shingle. It’s a powerful marketing tool in its own right. 

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is vital. This process involves tailoring your content to rank as highly as possible on search engine results pages. So when customers search for terms related to your business, they’ll see your page in the results. Beyond SEO, make sure your website is optimized for mobile users. If a customer visits your homepage on their smartphone but finds a jumbled mess, they may jump ship as quickly as they arrived. 

Not every website visitor is automatically a qualified lead. But if they’re on your website, they have entered your sales funnel and they are a lead that can be nurtured. 

5. Influencers 

It sounds simple. But influencers have … influence. 

You have to be thoughtful about the influencers you partner with. If you work in pharmaceuticals you wouldn’t want to approach a fashion influencer. But you should keep abreast of influencers who operate within your industry. And when it feels right, reach out and see if there is mutual interest. 

This quickly growing marketing strategy cannot be discounted. It’s a tremendously effective way to get your brand seen by a small, but hyper-focused, audience. And you’ll know it’s an audience who is interested and knowledgeable in your field. 

And don’t rest on your laurels! Engage with your new influencer partners on their platforms. Comment, like, share, and tag. The best of these partnerships will feel truly cooperative, with both parties benefitting equally.  

Build better brand awareness 

Don’t let your brand get lost in a sea of digital distractions. Reach out to Vye today to discuss how implementing consistent multi-channel messaging can change your game.