Every year, we observe new and surprising digital developments that create the groundwork for marketing’s future. Even in a turbulent year like 2021, we have not been disappointed. If anything, digital marketing trends in 2022 are expected to be some of the most ground-breaking ever.
TikTok, which has already surpassed all other platforms as the biggest social media channel among Gen Z users, continued its surge at the start of the year. NFTs and cryptocurrencies gained traction, generating discussions about the future of commerce.
Google said that third-party cookies will be phased out by 2023, giving advertisers and digital marketers less than two years to find new ways to reach their target audiences. Most recently, Facebook changed its name to Meta to reflect the company’s desire to embrace the metaverse, a 3D virtual environment.
Overall, there are several new and interesting advancements in the digital realm that will influence how we connect with our audience. We’ve broken down the important digital marketing trends to be aware of in 2022 to help you absorb and manage the year ahead.
Here are the 9 digital marketing trends to watch in 2022:
- DIY films that are brief
- Tell a real experience
- Concentrate on your target audience
- Transparency, privacy, and trust-building
- Personalization
- Segmentation of content
- Quality encounters and conversational marketing
- Digital marketing using artificial intelligence
- NFTs and cryptocurrency in social media ecommerce
DIY films that are brief
TikTok has altered the social media environment away from status updates and curated picture grids and toward brief video broadcasts. It didn’t take long for other sites to leap on board, with Instagram debuting Reels and YouTube focusing on shorts.
Short films illustrate the fast-paced method in which we consume material and underscore the necessity for basic and brief messaging or interesting content that invites us to participate—whether it’s learning a new dance, taking on a challenge, or taking part in surveys and polls.
The beautiful thing about these short videos is that anyone can make a fast video that isn’t highly professional using their phone. Furthermore, this brief engaging video material that is frank, behind-the-scenes, DIY, true tales, and has a more unpolished look is what younger customers seek.
Tell a real experience
Storytelling is always important in brand marketing. However, when it comes to marketing your product in today’s market, customers are tired of hearing how you, the brand, feel your goods or services are superior to the competitors. They want to know how you delivered on your promises while meeting their wants and expectations.
This isn’t to say that brands should stand back and let their customers speak for themselves. Rather than just informing the consumer of the benefits of their product or why it is superior to rivals, businesses should demonstrate how the product or service may help to address a specific problem through anecdotes and client testimonials.
It may not result in immediate sales, but it is an excellent approach to position your brand in the thoughts of consumers who are investigating a certain issue. That way, when they run across that problem, you’ll be the first person they think of.
Concentrate on your target audience
Over the course of a year, social media users have grown tired, nervous, and occasionally depressed as a result of the continual barrage of content in their feeds. Some have even gone so far as to cancel their accounts. Those who stay confront a barrage of commercials, campaigns, and news that fills their social feeds every day, and to say it’s saturated is indeed an understatement.
Consider how many selling posts each individual encounters in a two-minute browse, and how and why yours would cut through the noise. Focus your approach on engaging your existing audience and expanding your database, and your messaging will reach people who are most interested in what you do.
Consumers are getting more discriminating about the material they receive and consume as the digital environment evolves, and as a result, their expectations are high—don’t be one of the accounts that get unfollowed.
Transparency, privacy, and trust-building
Consumers are becoming increasingly skeptical of the material they are being targeted with as a result of the overabundance of digital advertising. As a result, digital marketers should brace themselves for stronger privacy regulations in 2022, which will change the way they may track their consumers’ activity.
Google has declared that it would phase out third-party cookies by 2023. This means that many marketers and advertisers will have to rethink their methods.
However, data-driven content and marketing are not gone. It is also not the end of tailored advertising. If you want to put a good gloss on the demise of digital marketing monopolies as we know them, consider this: it’s the start of a new era of trust and openness between firm and customer. Inform customers about the kind of data you are collecting and why. Make it simple and quick to opt-out at any time. And don’t gather more info than you need.
As previously said, customers are more interested in “keeping it real” than ever before; embracing this new trend of digital marketing is sure to create excellent outcomes for your customer interactions.
Personalization
Personalization will be important in 2022. Rather than generating catch-all material with the intention of appealing to as many people as possible, creating targeted advertising that caters to your demographic will provide more beneficial results. But it’s not simply the content that has to be perfect. In an oversaturated market, making ensuring your audience receives those advertisements at the proper time and place is essential to engagement.
Understanding the platforms your audience utilizes and how they use them allows you to design customized messaging for each group. This will ensure that your message reaches the proper target in the most appealing way possible, maximizing your ad budget.
In addition to one adjust your marketing efforts to each social media platform, but you should also consider different locales and cultural connotations, even if you’re offering the same product. Because customers watching your ad at several touchpoints will be lured by different content, at various times, and in various ways. Believe us when we say that it is well worth the time and effort to make your audience feel noticed and understood.
Segmentation of content
Segmentation has been around for a long, and most businesses will use it to segment clients, which implies targeting customers who have similar demographics or related interests. It is also usual practice to separate forms of communication like e-newsletters, news, and updates or offers and promotions.
However, beyond the typical opt-in or -out marketing techniques, organizations can explore more extensive and thoughtful labeling of their email content that allows a consumer to really opt out of getting particular types of content.
Quality encounters and conversational marketing
Conversational marketing is nothing new for brands that have been talking with their consumers for years. However, with the development of social media and chatbots, this type of conversational marketing is becoming more prevalent and changing the landscape of how businesses connect with their clients.
A rising interest in conversational marketing is likely due to a shift in consumer behaviors that has been swiftly accelerated by technology in recent years—specifically, the expectation of instant and direct communications in real-time, whether with friends, colleagues, or businesses. With chatbots playing a greater role, these discussions can take place on a wider scale, more quickly, and more effortlessly than ever before. Large amounts of data are generated as a result, which aids in understanding the requirements and expectations of consumers.
This not only increases the brand’s relatability but also gives the customer an overall happy and rewarding experience. However, it is a difficult area to own: make sure you understand exactly what your consumer expects and what their requirements are so that the conversation does not divert or be unhelpful.
Digital marketing using artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) improvements in recent years have resulted in more intuitive reporting, automation of typical marketing duties such as site traffic monitoring, and increased search engine optimization for organic reach. But, rather than concentrating on what we’ve already learned from AI, it’s time to look ahead and see how it will affect digital marketing.
As AI technology grows, so do its possibilities, which range from automating tasks and marketing to predicting what clients are likely to want next. AI is capable of analyzing more data at a faster rate than humans. As a result, it may use the enormous data set available to assess client purchase history and behavior. Then, you’ll be able to recommend a certain item or deal, or even customized advertising.
Using AI to predict your customer’s next move allows you to target them with the product or service they require at the precise moment they require it. This type of targeting will result in high conversion rates and the impression that you understand your clients and their wants.
NFTs and cryptocurrency in social media ecommerce
Even if you don’t invest in cryptocurrency, the emergence of online currencies and NFTs have been difficult to ignore in recent years. On the surface, it may appear to be a trend that will have an impact on your marketing strategy—but that’s not the type of passive thinking we’re looking for in 2022!
With social networks such as Twitter taking measures to incorporate cryptocurrency payments and a growing trend for display tools that highlight in-app NFT transactions, now is the time to evaluate how your business can get on board. Facebook is already advocating the usage of NFT display choices and avatars, and we expect to see other firms follow suit.
Are you prepared for digital marketing in 2022?
So there you have it: your handy guide to the top digital marketing company trends set to make a stir in 2022. They are difficult to ignore, and you will not want to. Keeping up with these trends will be the most effective approach to remain competitive, expand, and ensure consumer loyalty.
From NFTs to AI to data privacy, technology continues to lead in 2022. It’s going to be a major year for technological developments, marketing tools, and forward-thinking methods, so if you make any resolutions for the new year, they should be focused on your agility, adaptability, and openness to changing with the times.
