Over three-quarters of the world’s population has access to a smartphone, so the need to implement successful digital marketing tactics is more important than ever before. People want convenience, whether they are looking for the latest gadget to buy or looking for a lawyer, accountant, or financial adviser. They want easy, engaging information at their fingertips.

As the clouds finally start to clear after a chaotic two years of pandemic restrictions, and as businesses start to regroup, recover, and plan, here are 5 marketing trends we believe will be important in 2022.

Do bear in mind that these are overall marketing trends and not all of them will be relevant for your professional services firms or their clients.

The 5 marketing trends in no particular order are:

Storytelling

This is a form of short videos and podcasts that talk about a particular topic or theme and over the past couple of years they have come to the fore – 2022 they will become more mainstream. Professional services firms can easily tap into storytelling to retain existing clients, attract the attention and interest of new clients whilst highlighting your teams’ capabilities.

A good point to remember is that people prefer to scroll rather than click, this allows for a smoother user experience. This could be a useful effect to add to a website or social media platform. An example of how you can apply it in your marketing is on your website. You can tell the story of your firm and your people, whilst you describe how you have helped people like them. This will keep their interest whilst informing them about certain aspects of the services you provide.

TikTok

If you think TikTok is all about dances and silly content, you are wrong. We have noticed a surge in popularity with some professional services firms catching on to the trend. It will be interesting to see whether the trend really does take off mainstream.

Instagram has been fighting a losing battle against TikTok over the past year, but they have fought back with the introduction of Instagram TV and reels. Keeping customers entertained (and informed) in a short space of time is key given the deluge of information and content people consume every day, and particularly given the human attention span is around 9 seconds!

Here is a great example of a lawyer on TikTok.

Public safety warning. You may not get the results you are expecting if you look for accountants on TikTok…

Video

Video has always been a highly engaging medium and channelling it on TikTok means you can share snippets of information about your firm with your audience in a short timeframe, and your audience is likely to stay engaged! Your potential clients are also more likely to check your website if they feel informed and that your firm is the right fit for them.

Artificial intelligence

An emerging trend in 2022 is interactive content delivered through Artificial intelligence (AI). Professional services firms are usually more cautious when adopting innovative technology, but this is one trend that is not going to disappear. Professional service firms need to look at ways to integrate AI into their customer journey and their marketing. Artificial intelligence can be key for accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors as it saves time and resources when it comes to repetitive tasks, and it can reduce human error!

Chatbots

Even though they may sometimes be incredibly irritating, chatbots are a great tool to use if you still want your firm to provide top service, even when you are at home with your feet up. Providing a service to your clients 24/7 could help differentiate you from your competitors. To top this off, AI is much more efficient at collecting data, and at providing insights that could kickstart your firms’ marketing campaigns.

Technology is not going to go away in 2022. If anything, the pandemic has proved that we cannot do without technology. Using technology and digital marketing more effectively in 2022 is crucial so your clients feel engaged, so they have access to information instantly, and that they feel you are communicating with them with honesty and integrity. (If you keep them entertained at the same time it’s a bonus!) 😉

Contact us

One trend we predict (and hope) will gain popularity once again in 2022 is coffee meetings. So, if you need any help implementing these or any other marketing tactics, contact Lara to arrange a coffee and a chat, or book a virtual coffee with Lara here.

Listed under:
Marketing