Most Important Marketing Trends in Silicon Valley in 2022

For the past few years, there have been a lot of buzzwords flying around from the forward-thinking innovators of Silicon Valley and trendsetting tech hubs around the globe.

New concepts and technologies like the Metaverse, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, hyper-personalization, hybrid events, mobile marketing, and marketing automation have disrupted the traditional sales and marketing industry.^1,2,3

But as a marketing professional looking to advance your career and explore the latest technologies, where should you put your energy and focus?

Keep reading to learn about the most important digital marketing trends in Silicon Valley and other tech centers for 2022, 2023, and beyond.

Key Silicon Valley Marketing Trends

In 2020, Marketing’s focus was increasingly on emerging, digital technologies when the global COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing the world to lock down and interact remotely. This propelled marketing even further in a digital direction.

According to HubSpot, 76% of companies were using marketing automation in 2021. Zippia reports that 79% of marketing and sales professionals say that artificial intelligence (AI) has helped their business to boost revenue.^4,5

Here are the top digital marketing trends for now and the future that can be learned in a leading online marketing master’s program.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Early adopters of AI in marketing are Google and Facebook. Both companies have found tremendous success using algorithms to personalize ads based on user web browsing habits.

It is predicted natural language processing (NLP) will be used to discover the products and services that are mentioned on social media and to create marketing copy automatically.

Chatbots, already widely used, are becoming even more sophisticated, moving from customer service into more significant customer interaction as an automated marketer, using advanced natural language processing and conversational AI.

AI also can provide a marketing department with a complete view of their customers, targeted and automated. It will also be used to gather and comprehend huge amounts of consumer data, and to create data-driven stories.^1,6

The Metaverse and Mixed Reality

While marketing professionals are still getting the full scope and potential impact of the metaverse, they’re intrigued by the idea of persistent digital worlds, with the possibility of virtual events and sponsorship opportunities.

However, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) have already found their way into marketing initiatives. AR uses the ability to view products like furniture and clothes in real-world settings, and to create more immersive, personalized shopping experiences.

VR marketing may include virtual product showrooms, malls, or real-world tours of properties for potential buyers.¹

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation—collecting and analyzing customer data and streamlining marketing processes—has transformed the industry. This is the second generation of marketing automation, which brings in even more data from a wider population for greater personalization through more sophisticated metrics and data insights.

Newer tools look at accounts, rather than just individuals, to better understand an organization’s combined engagements and interactions with businesses to produce more relevant marketing content.²

Micro-Moments for Personalized Marketing

Using today’s specialized tools that measure and predict consumer behavior, marketers will be able to quickly capitalize on all opportunities to sell their products or services, even if that interaction lasts just seconds.

Nowadays, customers expect brands to know what they want and immediately respond to their needs, offering something unique exactly when and where they need it.

Examples of this include a tech-savvy travel company seeing their customer has just arrived in a new location and offering them restaurant recommendations.

Using AI and machine learning, these moments can be identified and targeted ads can be directly served to existing and potential consumers.¹

Mobile-First Marketing

According to Zippia, 85% of adults in the U.S. own a smartphone, and on average, they spend more than five hours a day on their devices.⁷ Today’s marketing professionals must focus on getting their message across to people via phones and tablets to optimize business outcomes.

The biggest mobile-first marketing trends include:

• Shoppable links
• AI-powered visual search
• Augmented reality shopping experiences (e.g., view products in your home)
• Real-time engagement
• In-store app use
• TikTok incorporation
• Less “friction” between customers and purchases
• Pop-up bump offers tied to SMS marketing platforms
• Native advertising (ads that blend into the website or app)
• Social and video commerce (live streaming integrated with instant purchasing)3

Since smartphones and tablets are the main online browsing and shopping platforms for many consumers, marketers must learn these techniques to successfully reach customers.³

Focus on Agility in Digital Marketing Trends

As customer needs evolve and markets get disrupted by new methods and technologies, companies need to be sufficiently agile to change direction with the shifting winds in marketing trends. Just as with product development, marketing teams must be flexible to adapt to change and keep up with the competition. Marketing technology must support communication and collaboration.²

Hybrid Marketing Events

A major digital marketing trend popularized by the pandemic is the hybrid event that can be attended in person or virtually. Hybrid events permit relationship building using the convenience of online channels.¹ These events can be done by:

• Allowing remote access
• Leveraging VR or AR technology for a more immersive experience
• Allowing in-person attendees to interact with digital elements

Video Shorts

Short-form video content is highly effective at engaging potential customers. Targeted videos allow marketers to have greater control over the message and they are easier for users to consume, as opposed to lengthy articles.²

Get Today’s Must-Have Tech Skills with an Online MS in Marketing from SCU

Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business Online Master of Science in Marketing (MSM) will equip you with the skills you need to be a leader and innovator in tomorrow’s marketing industry.

SCU’s tech-focused MSM curriculum features courses including:

• Marketing trends and technology
• Marketing analytics
• Foundations of MarTech
• Programmatic advertising
• Social media marketing
• E-commerce
• Channel marketing
• Digital advertising

SCU’s unique online learning experience combines lectures and coursework with real-world, hands-on training, guided by seasoned business professionals.

For almost a century, Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business has educated and inspired business leaders, creating a legacy of entrepreneurship and helping working professionals to accelerate their careers with immersive online master’s programs including our top-ranked Online MS in Marketing.

Reach out to an Admissions Advisor for more information about SCU’s Top 10 Best Online MSM program.