Digital marketing trends 2022
Video marketing
Video content is rapidly taking over social networks: it already accounts for the majority of Internet traffic, and some forecasts predict that it will account for up to 82% of traffic in 2022. TikTok, with its short video format, has played a significant role in the popularity of video content. Similar platforms have appeared in all major social networks: Reels (Instagram), YouTube Shorts, Clips (VKontakte). The short video format will not lose popularity in the coming years because:
It saves time. According to Elite Content Market research, 66% of internet users watch short videos when they want to evaluate a product, while only 18% prefer articles with illustrations. Other data shows that 68% of users will definitely watch a video to the end if it’s less than 60 seconds long.
It’s popular. The number of TikTok users has passed the 1 billion mark in 2021, which means that advertising in short video format has already become a marketing standard.
It’s trendy. Short videos are going viral faster than other content.
Shopping without unnecessary clicks
The trend towards fewer clicks when paying is due to human psychology. The more buttons that need to be clicked, the more likely it is that the shopper
- will get distracted and forget;
- change his/her mind, or decide to postpone the purchase to a more convenient time;
- decide to look at other options, go to a competitor’s site;
- will lose the first “wow” impression of the product;
- will not want to go through a long and routine payment procedure;
- decide that it is better to buy the product offline;
- due to age or disability will have to wait for other people to help them make the payment.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to cut back. That said, payment security must remain a priority. Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay are leaders in this area. If your website doesn’t provide the option to pay via these services, be sure to make sure that in 2022 the option is added. If no meaningful alternative is added in the near future, users may begin to abandon online shopping en masse at shops that do not include payment options with these services.
Audio ads on podcasts
Many companies ignore this promotion format in vain. It is a “blue ocean” in terms of advertising. The cost of thousands of listens is minimal. Especially if your target audience is decision makers, and they are very busy people, they prefer to listen to podcasts on the way or while waiting, instead of watching videos.
Augmented reality (AR) technology
The future is already here. More and more companies have started to pay attention to this tool. In many brand accounts on Instagram, you can see just these solutions. AR effects help you try on makeup or even an image, create a 3D character or even a game. Since we also create AR effects, we’ve noticed a trend of increasing referrals to this service from clients. This technology allows not only to show the product, but also to carry out constant marketing activities for the audience. How much you can use it in your niche is up to you to decide.
Artificial Intelligence
Marketing is one of the promising areas for AI adoption in 2022. We can already list at least X uses for it:
- Segmenting the target audience and compiling a customer portrait. AI not only analyses, but also customises the interaction of the service with the customer based on their preferences (e.g. push notification management).
- Collecting and analysing information online.
- Marketing automation. This area has been under development since 2019, aiming to improve targeting with machine learning technologies.
- Individualization of customer interactions. For example, email newsletters can be designed in such a way that each client will receive emails at the most convenient time for them to interact. This level of service cannot be provided by human labour without space cost.
- Content development and management. Amazingly, machines are already learning how to write articles. In the near future, machines will make it easier to develop content strategies by analysing consumer behaviour.
The marketer of the future will only adjust the machine’s work and make key decisions – choosing the best of the options.
Metaworlds and virtual reality
The user is reluctant to provide their data for commercial purposes, which is a major obstacle to the development of the direct-to-consumer sales model. But the real economy is being replaced by a virtual economy based on metavowels in which the user acts as an avatar. Within the meta-universe, a direct-to-avatar sales model becomes possible. Virtual universes such as Roblox and Fortnite provide the tools to do so. Virtual marketing is set to grow by leaps and bounds in 2022 as internet users’ interest in meta universes grows steadily.
The behavioural characteristics of an avatar are a promising area of study, as they are strikingly different from the behaviour of a real person. Sales to avatars are subject to their own laws, which have yet to be worked out. Everyone has a chance to be a pioneer and make a breakthrough. We can’t rule out new super-popular meta-villages in the near future; it’s important to recognise them at the developmental stage and not to miss the moment.
“The behavioural characteristics of an avatar are a promising area of study, as they are strikingly different from the behaviour of a real person.”
Convenient payment formats
Users appreciate the trend towards more payment options. If you provide the customer with a full range of options, it will have a positive effect on your company’s image. Even experimental features in this direction should not be neglected, as fashion is often more important than practical applicability. Popular trends today are:
- Social media and messenger services.
- Chatbots. Telegram bots are already capable of accepting payment, and it is possible to make purchases without closing the messenger.
- Voice purchases. Already mentioned above, this is an independent trend that is breaking records in popularity.
- Payment without data entry. Services from Apple, Google and Samsung are gradually discouraging users from driving their card details online. It’s time-consuming, unsafe because of fraudulent sites, and there’s a risk of typing in the wrong number. There are more and more cases of people refusing a purchase if there is no payment button on the site via Google Pay and its closest analogues.
Protection of personal data
We all remember how user data was leaked during the lockdown, and we know how frustrating it is when a person registers somewhere and they instantly start getting calls from companies with “unique” offers. So many people have stopped leaving their contacts and this leads to it being almost impossible for marketers to work with them. This is why companies should take care to protect the personal data of their customers, so that they know for sure that you are not being leaked. This builds trust and increases loyalty in the eyes of the customer.
Working with Influencers
Every network user has someone they listen to. Preferences depend on professional activities, hobbies and tastes. The general trend is this: a person is drawn to useful content. If he is an entrepreneur, he subscribes to the blog of a successful entrepreneur; if he is an athlete, he watches sports bloggers. By getting useful information from their blogger time after time, the subscriber gets used to considering the source as authoritative. Therefore, advertising advice from an influencer is perceived less critically by his audience than a simple commercial, no matter how well filmed.
The bloggers themselves benefit from this, as collaborating with brands as an endorser brings them a lot of extra revenue. In the recent past, micro-influencers have been trending and the main bet has been on quantity. In 2022, the trend is expected to be towards quality, i.e. number of subscribers + the right audience. But that doesn’t mean that other scenarios of interaction with Influencers will disappear. In any scenario, it is the blogger’s audience that should be chosen, and factors that can affect loyalty or change the quality of that audience should be taken into account.
Omni-channel marketing
Omnichannel marketing is replacing the ageing multichannel marketing. Multi-channel marketing involves interacting with the customer through different channels that are not connected to each other, each with its own strategy and features. This approach suited the customer until quite recently, but with the development of information technology, with the increased availability of different types of devices, multi-channel is gradually becoming inconvenient. The focus of importance shifts from the channel itself in multi-channel to the user in omni-channel.
The point of omni-channel marketing is that no matter how many channels a customer uses, he remains the same customer, which means that on different channels services should recognise him and work with him in the same way. For example, on Facebook, a customer subscribed to an email newsletter was looking at a particular product category. This means that in the next newsletter he will receive recommendations based on his actions on Facebook. For example, a notification about discounts on products in the target category.
It’s important for services to identify all the user’s devices as the same user, allowing them to follow the sales funnel from ad to purchase, changing devices as many times as they like.
Content marketing
Content is our everything. People have searched for information, and will continue to do so. Your job is to make it useful. You must always be where the audience is looking for information. From a Technavio report, the global content marketing market is expected to grow by $418 billion during 2021-2025, at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 16%. That’s because content marketing has the highest ROI of any digital marketing strategy. Overall, it costs 62% less than traditional advertising and increases leads by a factor of 3. Growth will not slow down next year, so professionals in this field will have to create more content than ever before.
Marketplaces
No matter how well you feel about them, they will be trending next year. It’s important to understand that having a marketplace as your only sales channel is extremely inefficient. If you only use them, you won’t gather a base and you won’t be able to increase LTV. If your product is not on the marketplaces, your product is not there for the potential customer either. This format of operation helps you save on marketing and sometimes on logistics.
Predictive chatbots
These are autoresponders or guides that accompany or serve the customer when they contact the helpdesk. Upgrading chatbots leads to higher speed and quality of service and lower costs for consultants and operators. Ideally, the customer should be able to get answers to any product or service-related questions from the bot. This is achieved by introducing artificial intelligence, bots become trainable, the user benefits more from the interaction with them. The demand for smart bots will increase in 2022.
Another key function of them is to increase the conversion of visitors into customers. When a visitor opens a website or product page, the bot immediately catches their attention, gives them important information, and offers help. There are ready-made predictive chatbots available, all you have to do is set them up and add them to the website page. Developer platforms are also popular, allowing developers to create their own solutions. Today, bots are predominantly under the control of operators, but their autonomy will increase in the near future.
Geofencing
This is a technology for interacting with a gadget owner as they move from one geographical area to another. Tracking movements using GPS gives businesses many organisational opportunities, but the greatest value comes from marketing. Geofencing can be used to:
- To promote new locations. For example, knowing the movement geography of 1000 people, you can sort out 200 of them as constantly visiting the kilometre zone around the new shop. Such people can be sent a personalised invitation by email with a promo code. When he finds out that a new supermarket has opened near him and that he is getting a discount, he will surely want to go there.
- Attract customers to existing outlets. For example, when a person crosses a target area, they receive a push notification inviting them to grab a cup of coffee at a personal discount at a place that is close by. This works 53% of the time according to current statistics, and it’s an area that will grow every year.
- Study behaviour. With data on a person’s movements over a substantial period of time, you can understand their needs well and show them the perfect targeting ads.
Voice assistants
Digital assistants in their early days were primarily used for entertainment purposes or to control basic gadget functions. Today, they are used to make purchases. Voice shopping is projected to grow to $40 billion in 2022. Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa remain the most popular voice assistants. According to Google’s statistics, 52% of smart speaker users use them for commercial information, so companies may already consider them as a channel of interaction with customers.
As the technology of voice interaction with the user improves, commercial will be one of the most developed areas. In 2022, the number of voice purchases is expected to grow, and the functionality of personal assistants is expected to expand. In addition, targeting is also expected to improve with smart devices that hear and see the user 24 hours a day.
Engaging non-profit organisations
According to Ernst and Young, 69% of consumers believe brands should make a difference in the world. This is especially true for millennials, with 83% believing it is important that the values of the companies they choose align with their own. And 81% are willing to support socially responsible businesses that publicly state their position. These types of partnerships can help you reach new audiences around the world. This trend will only increase, and a well-designed marketing plan for partnerships with non-profits is essential to this development. This should include effective targets such as product placement, affiliate marketing, percentage of sales donations or corporate sponsorship.
Digital marketing trends in 2022 are largely driven by technology. At the same time, companies should not forget the basic tools: targeting and contextual advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), social media promotion, email marketing, media publications and conference presentations. With the synergy of basic and on-trend marketing tools, your company will be an industry leader.
In content marketing, informative, unique content is still at the top of the list. In terms of formats, users prefer videos, especially short ones; podcasts, including educational ones; interactive content, including AR; content that provides valuable insights rather than just selling.
In SEO optimisation, it is important to focus on voice search, mobile search traffic. To do this, you need to gather the right keywords, work deeper with your target audience. And don’t forget about UX and SEO-optimisation of videos.
Adopt a new event format – hybrid. Combine online and offline.
Remember how important it is to deal with sensitive information, user details. Pay more attention to cookies, collect user consent to work with data, don’t invade personal space.
Turn to the power of artificial intelligence – for predictions, process automation, customer service.
