2021 has been an interesting year for digital marketing.
As was the case with 2020, we saw some changes in the way consumers behave and what they ask for thanks to ongoing events like the pandemic. Events like these also give us an idea of what may be coming next in our industry.
However, it’s worth making the caveat that trying to map out the possible trajectory marketing will take isn’t easy. Disruptions are always happening that can change predictions.
That being said, we’ll go over some of our ideas about digital marketing trends in 2022 today!
1. A weaning-away from third-party cookies
We already know that cookies are about to die. Well, third-party cookies, anyway, thanks to Google’s resolution to get rid of them.
That means you’ll very likely see a tonne of changes in social advertising in 2022 to help digital marketers make up for that.
Among other things, we also predict renewed interest in first-party data. Far too many of us have become over-reliant on third-party data sources in the past few years.
This may lead to companies pivoting back to acquiring data from consumers themselves.
We may see the development of new methods to acquire that data, from gamified approaches to data collection to other types of value exchanges.
This may also come hand in hand with greater use of unified customer databases as marketers strive to form a more useful picture of their customers based on what data they do have on hand. Contextual ads may be part of this movement too.
2. Account-based marketing growth
This is especially important for companies in the B2B space, and may have been pushed by the increased drive for effortless transactions in the digital space.
People want a cohesive experience, from marketing to sales. This intersection between sales and marketing can seriously affect your business, especially because it tends to have an impact on customer retention.
We may even see most B2B brands establishing strategies and best-practice guidelines for this aspect of their digital marketing.
3. Increased social media commerce and marketing
You can already purchase things on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Thanks to the social media platforms’ integration of ecommerce stores and functions, social media commerce is getting more and more straightforward.
We foresee more businesses leveraging these functions next year. With people now being constantly tuned into social media, it only makes sense to take advantage of the opportunity to lead consumers straight from discovery to sale wherever possible.
The beauty of using these social media shops is that it cuts down the steps needed to get a consumer to convert too. They no longer have to go through an interim step to leave the social media platform and visit your website.
4. Further interest in personalisation
We mentioned earlier that increased interest in first-party data may be coming. Personalisation is going to be a natural part of that.
In fact, it’s the point of most data-driven marketing efforts: to send consumers a personalised message that taps into their needs.
That’s why as many as 91% of marketers say personalisation contributes to business profitability. Personalisation has long been a big deal in marketing.
So what makes this coming trend different?
Well, consider that quite a few of us seem to have forgotten the point of that data-based personalisation over the past years.
If consumers have reached the point of wanting less data collection from advertisers, wariness of spam, and unwillingness to grant marketing permission, doesn’t that tell you something’s gone wrong in the messages?
What we may see in 2022 is a shift to being customer-first again in personalisation.
Marketers may shift to more customer-focused messaging and interaction, actually making their marketing fit the persons it’s meant for, not just the brand.
5. Greater use of different media and supplemental content
As things like Google voice search get more popular, we can see different media types proliferating for content marketers too.
It may well become normal soon to see the same content come in video, image, and audio content on different platforms.
This may also present as increased usage of multiple media types through supplemental content, e.g. infographics that can be shared to promote the main content (like a blog post).
Marketers may want to survey their target audience to find out what other types of content they want, to this end.
That’s because it can give them a better idea of what to try next as well as prevent them from getting stuck with only a few content types without ever trying ones they might not think of by themselves.
Want more insight to plan your marketing strategy in 2022?
The trends above are just a few of the challenges and changes businesses may have to face soon. If you think you want more insight and guidance to weather the coming movements in the market and beyond, get in touch with us.
We can talk about what you may need for a solid digital marketing strategy this year. No obligations - just a straightforward chat about what it may take to keep your brand or organisation relevant.
If you’re interested in that, drop us a line now!
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