Here it is - an annual prediction/reflection blog post. I read an e-newsletter this week that called such posts tired and boring. But you know what? They work, and they are a perfect illustration of my predictions of where marketers will and should focus their time in 2022. So why not end the year with my top 3 tech marketing best practices for 2022?
1. Iterate and improve
My first tip will hopefully be good news for marketers everywhere. With “pivot” being one of the most frequently used words in marketing over the past two years, 2022 will be a time to truly reflect on which of those pivots worked, which should be part of your future-focused marketing plan, and which should be chalked up to quick reactions to operating in a pandemic.
Iterating, optimizing, and improving will be key imperatives in 2022 - a welcome reprieve over the frequent pivots we’ve had to initiate recently. In fact, this blog is an example of how Alloy is iterating and optimizing. We know that listicles like this are among our top-performing content types, so here I am, iterating on that approach!
2. Prioritize SEO
Despite the frequent pivots of the past 2 years, I’ve seen all too many marketers deprioritize SEO. The reasoning baffles me - maybe it’s because SEO requires a long-term commitment when they are looking for a short-term win. Maybe it’s because SEO is seen as a by-product of other marketing tactics. Maybe it’s just not exciting enough. But no matter the reason, 2022 is the time to get back to the foundation of good strategic marketing, including SEO.
After all, SEO has an exponentially higher conversion rate than other marketing channels.
So 2022 is the year to dust off your keyword list (buying patterns have changed drastically since the onset of COVID), refresh your website content, and create a strategic content plan that maps to your SEO goals. (You can bet ours includes keyword-rich listicles.)
3. Decrease reliance on third-parties
I previously declared 2020 the year of owned media, but the onset of a pandemic meant 2020 ended up being the year of nothing but change. However, a multitude of factors, including the blocking of third-party cookies, Facebook’s outage earlier this year, and increasing privacy/data collection regulations, means that 2022 really will be the year that tech marketers have to come to terms with the fact that they must build their own audiences instead of heavy reliance on third-parties.
Content marketing (ahem, like blogging), communities, and co-branded events are all great ways to start growing your own audience instead of simply relying on others.
How is your 2022 marketing plan coming along? Does it include these 3 elements? If not, or if you’d like to chat about how we can help your tech company build awareness and drive leads, contact us.