2022 isn’t over yet. If you haven’t worked on growing your business yet this year, it’s time to start.
In this article, we’ll dive into business growth strategies for 2022, which can help you increase your customer base, increase revenue, reach a new target market, launch a new product line, and help you increase your market share.
Expand Your Digital Marketing Program
It likely comes as no surprise that a marketing agency would recommend expanding your marketing program and adjusting your marketing strategy this year, but we’re not the only ones recommending this shift. The recommendation to expand your digital marketing program has been on the minds of many business owners and leaders all year. Here’s what you should focus on.
Boost Your Online Presence
If your business isn’t online in 2022, it’s time to go online. Build a website, create business listings, join social media, and, if you’re a product-based business, add products to third-party sites like Amazon and Etsy. The key is to be where your target customers already are.
Optimize Your Videos for SEO
Video has had its time in the spotlight and that isn’t changing anytime soon. However, simply creating and publishing videos isn’t enough.
According to Cisco, “Globally, Internet video traffic will be 82% of all consumer Internet traffic by 2022.”
So, you also need to optimize your videos for SEO if you want to generate more traffic to your website.
Work with Micro-influencers
The Association of National Advertisers defines a micro-influencer as “an individual who has between 10,000 and 50,000 followers on social media.”
Micro-influencers aren’t new to the marketing scene, but they are becoming more popular as more social media platforms are used in the daily lives of many Americans, such as TikTok. Micro-influencers are ideal for promoting products and should be thought of as another form of paid advertising.
Influencer marketing can also be used by service-based businesses. It’s best to develop a giveaway or competition for the micro-influencer to promote.
Our team also recommends working with nano influencers, which are influencers with 1,000 to 5,000 followers. Working with nano influencers is great if you serve a specific location or you have a smaller budget.
Consider Strategic Partnerships
Partnering with a like-minded business can be mutually beneficial for both businesses and there are many ways to do so, depending on your goals. You can start partnership marketing where each business promotes the other business’s complementary products or services to its audience. This can help you grow your audience, which can help you grow your business.
You can also dig deeper into partnerships by creating a product or service together, or working on some other collaborative project with another business. This would help you grow your audience as well as provide you with additional resources from the other business to launch a new product or service to market faster.
Work on Your Company Culture
If you don’t have a company culture strategy, now is the time to create one. Having your leadership team determine what kind of culture they want to foster is a great place to start. Then, develop a strategy to get to where you want your company culture to be.
Tip: Many employees nowadays want to be part of something bigger, so tie your company culture to your company mission. Make it matter to everyone on the team.
But company culture isn’t just top-down. Just like any strategy, it may not come to fruition how you originally planned. So, survey your employees to ask them what type of company culture they want to be part of and then involve them in building that company culture.
Hire the Right People (Including Freelancers)
Having a great company culture depends on hiring the right people. Make sure your new hires align with your company values and culture. And set up a growth plan for each employee from the very start; it’s best to think about this even before you post the job. Even though each applicant’s goals will vary, it’s best to have a general track mapped out to give your applicants an idea of what to expect in the years to come if they choose to work at your company.
Hiring the right freelancers and contractors is important to your business’s growth. Not only can hiring a freelancer instead of a full-time employee be more affordable and easier but doing so also helps you be more flexible to accommodate business changes. Whenever something new comes up where you don’t have the staff to take that project or challenge on, you can delegate it to a highly-skilled freelancer.
Follow the Latest Laws and Guidelines
NFTs, cannabis marketing, and influencer marketing – oh my!
According to Davis+Gilbert, there are at least 10 laws and guidelines that marketers need to be aware of in 2022. Many of these changes impact a lot of different businesses, including those that work with athletes, offer subscriptions, and create products that are “Made in the USA.”
Keeping up with these laws and regulations won’t necessarily help you grow, but doing so will help you avoid losses caused by not following them, which can directly affect your bottom line.
Consider Supply Chain Issues
While supply chain issues are commonly felt by many businesses and consumers, it’s important to perform due diligence on your supply chain before making customer promises. Specifically, you can only advertise a product when you can meet customer demand. Also, you must be able to meet your promised shipping times.
Offer Social Impact… Carefully
Consumers and businesses love sustainability, so green or environmental marketing has been popular in recent years. However, the Federal Trade Commission recently updated its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (“Green Guides”).
Access the full guide, including recent amendments, in the national archives of the Code of Federal Regulations. For a shorter, slightly outdated summary of the Green Guides, visit the FTC.
In general, it’s important to verify the accuracy of green claims before including those messages in your marketing.
What are Your Growth Strategies in 2022?
We’ve gone over the top growth strategies companies are using in 2022. What strategies have you implemented this year? What strategies will you implement as we finish out the year? Let us know on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter!