The marketing technology industry is expected to reach £4.6 billion through 2022-23 in the UK. In this article, we will look at the 15 latest marketing trends in the digital marketing, review marketing, content marketing, and social media marketing space, along with other forms of marketing.

The marketing industry keeps evolving with new trends, technology, and strategies. In response to changes in consumer behaviour, businesses may be wanting to transition from conventional forms of advertising to digital ways of marketing. Moreover, having knowledge of the most recent developments in the marketing landscape can potentially help small and midsized enterprises (SMEs) to make informed decisions about which marketing platform and strategy to adopt for their business.

An effective marketing strategy can also possibly help SMEs to target their customers better and increase their sales potential. Below, we’ve compiled a list of 15 marketing trends and statistics to help businesses keep abreast of marketing advancements and plan an effective marketing process.

The digital marketing landscape in the UK

The digital marketing landscape in the UK is possibly a fast-changing area often driven by rapid technological advancements and innovations. Additionally, many companies looking to expand their business may also be keeping a close eye on the latest marketing trends to adjust and adapt to changing consumer needs and buying behaviour. According to a report by We Are Social in partnership with Hootsuite, ‘ The UK is experiencing an evolution in search behaviours’. The report also states that:

1. The daily internet usage climbed from 5 hours 28 minutes to 6 hours 26 minutes year over year, indicating that Britons now use the internet for a full day more each month than they did a year ago.
2. The pandemic has also affected the apps UK residents download. ‘Zoom took the top spot, followed by TikTok. The NHS’s Covid-19 app sits in third place’.

In the next section, we will explore the behaviour of consumers in the UK in regard to their digital preferences.

15 Marketing statistics for 2022

1. Customer reviews can affect marketing performance

According to Software Advice’s recent survey, customer reviews posted online can affect the marketing performance and reputation of a business significantly. In fact, 96% of employees reported that their business reverts to customer reviews at least occasionally.

2. Online videos may be preferred over television

According to a report by Social Films, ‘6 out of 10 people prefer watching online videos to television’ in the UK. The report also states that ‘brand recall from the videos is 85% more than text’, and ‘social videos are shared 1200% more than text and images combined.’

3. SEO keyword strategy could be an effective performance indicator

According to a HubSpot Report, more than 50% of marketers state that organic traffic and keyword rankings are the best indicators of how well their SEO tactics are working. The report also states that having a smart SEO keyword strategy is one of the most effective methods, according to 71% of marketers polled.

4. The era of digital commerce may be on the way

Over the next two years, digital commerce will be the most significant way to penetrate the market, according to 86% of the leaders polled according to the Gartner Digital Commerce Survey.

5. More respondents may prefer shopping via website than mobile

For British online shoppers, in the third quarter of 2021, 3.5% of eCommerce website visits made via mobile devices resulted in purchases, compared to 6.4% for desktop users according to an article by Statista.

6. Facebook may be the most popular social media platform for shopping

Almost 30% of the consumers surveyed in the UK by Capterra state that they have used social media platforms to make a purchase, with Facebook being the most popular platform (70%), followed by Instagram with 44%.

7. Most people surveyed abandon their cart while shopping online

As per the Ecommerce Quarterly Report by Kibo, the rate of cart abandonment on average on a website is 80%, with social media having the highest abandonment rate. Moreover, 30% of consumers use desktop computers to browse, while 69% use mobile devices to do their shopping.

8. Surveyed SMEs use reviews to improve customer experience

59% of the people surveyed by Software Advice’s latest study stated that they use the feedback collected from online customer reviews to improve their products and services and 31% said that they take advantage of the online reviews in their promotional marketing campaigns —for example, in email marketing campaigns.

9. Content marketing could be an effective form of marketing

According to 29% of the marketers, content marketing has been extremely or very effective for their company during the past 12 months —between July 2020 and July 2021— with 74% of the marketers surveyed stating the value offered by their content as the main contributing element, as per the Content Marketing Institute.

10. Visuals can improve the performance of marketing initiatives

Visual content was either vital or extremely important to their marketing strategy according to 33.4% of the British marketers polled in a survey by Venngage. Moreover, the majority of respondents (66.7%) indicated that graphics were either very essential or moderately significant for their marketing initiatives.

11. Majority of respondents enjoy browsing brands offering promotions on social media

59% of customer respondents in a Capterra UK survey stated that they enjoy browsing brands that offer sales and promotions on social media. In addition, consumers want brands to actively respond to their comments in threads and posts (33%), and to view unique and entertaining content (40%).

12. AR/VR and metaverse may be next in the line of interest

Over the next 12 months, more than two-thirds of marketers in the UK (67%) plan to devote at least a quarter of their spending to an AR/VR/metaverse social strategy as per The 2022 Sprout Social Index. Only 39% of customers, however, believe that these new technology will influence how they interact with brands in the upcoming year.

13. 39% of respondents think around half of online reviews are fake

According to a survey by Software Advice, 39% of survey respondents in the UK think that around half of the online reviews on a seller’s website are fake. Moreover, 45% of respondents said they trusted online customer reviews more even than personal recommendations from friends or family members (26%). In light of this, marketers may want to emphasise the integrity of their reviews when it comes to marketing initiatives or promotional messaging.

14. Most emails are opened within the first hour

According to a report by GetResponse, ‘22% of sent emails are opened within the first hour of delivery’ and the average open rate for emails in Great Britain is 18.87%. This can help marketers decide which time of the day they want to launch their email marketing campaigns to maximise the output.

15. Social media is the most popular channel for marketing

A report by Statista states that social media is the most successful marketing channel according to marketers in the UK. Moreover, 72% of the UK marketers spend majority of their marketing budget on online marketing.

To wrap it up

Marketing is a dynamic industry and keeping up with the latest marketing trends and the current state of the market may often get overwhelming. In such a case, businesses may need to analyse their target demographic and marketing intent while developing their marketing strategy. Moreover, it may also be crucial for businesses to analyse these marketing statistics and gradually utilise such insights alongside the data they may be currently gathering as a guide or reference.

Having said that, there is no one-size-fits-all approach that can work well for everyone. The correct marketing strategy is the one that works best for your business.