Brand awareness continues to be a huge priority for B2C companies regardless of size. Despite that, too many small businesses are not taking the pulse of their strategies to see if they are helping. Because of this, many are falling behind their rivals. As the new year approaches, many are also taking stock and formulating strategies to improve their brand awareness. Hubspot has recently published some research regarding where B2C branding is headed which may help you get a handle on your future strategies. The following is taken directly from that research:
- In 2022, 51% of B2C marketers plan to increase their marketing budget. To understand what trends B2C marketers are leveraging in 2022, we surveyed 1,067 global marketing professionals working in B2B and B2C companies.
- Short-form video took off in early 2020 and shows no signs of slowing down. This is good news for brands, as the short-form video trend content offered the second-highest ROI for B2C marketers in 2021, behind influencer marketing. Despite coming in second for ROI, it’s the trend marketers plan to invest in the most in 2022. Roughly 33% of B2C marketers already invest in short-form content, while one-third of those who haven’t will do so for the first time in 2022.
- For most B2C marketers, the power of influencers is clear. In 2022, 61% of B2C marketers surveyed in the study plan to leverage it. In fact, it’s the third-highest trend they plan to prioritize, behind short-form video content and inbound marketing. This is because in 2021, it offered B2C brands the best returns. When asked to select their top ROI driver from a list of 27 tactics and strategies, 11% of B2C marketers chose influencer marketing.
- Data suggests that video is the leader when it comes to content marketing. However, audio is slowly creeping up into the mix.According to the survey, only 19.1% of B2C marketers use podcasts or other audio content in their marketing. Of those who do use it, 37.4% find it to be one of their most effective trends.
- Inbound marketing is all about meeting consumers where they are. Instead of marketing efforts that push messaging out to consumers, this focuses on attracting them toward you.Behind short-form video, inbound marketing is the top trend marketers will invest in next year.In fact, over 80% of marketers plan to keep the same budget or add more for this strategy.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer