In 2021, we saw a lot of changes from 2020 cement their place in the world as “the new normal”, which left everyone to start refocusing in 2021 on planning and innovating for the future, without the unsettling worry of what’s going to happen in the present.
Today we’re going to take a look at a few of those innovations that will start to change how you do your digital marketing in 2022.
1. Continuing Social Media changes
With Social Media and its policies now firmly in the spotlight after a run of “exposures”, there is expected to be a lot of changes coming this year. It’s predicted that by the end of 2022, most, if not all Social Media companies would have revisited their privacy policies and tweaked their algorithms in some way to improve the quality of content and the security of their users.
Instagram is one example where we’ve had some rough details about what the changes could look like. They’ve announced that they are developing some changes to the feed of content. They aren’t removing the algorithmic feed, as they feel that “ranking helps us connect people with the content that matters to them most.”
Instead, they are developing a favourites feed, where you will pick accounts you want to see content from the most and the content will be displayed to you in chronological order and a true chronological feed which will let you see every post from everyone you follow in chronological order. All three options will be available, and they are targeting the release for ”early next year (2022)”.
2. Personalisation becoming key
Long gone are the days of general marketing, as personalised content is taking over with more and more brands building large audiences with authentic, relatable content that connects. General marketing just isn’t enough anymore, if your message and material aren’t made with your audience members’ intricacies in mind, it’s likely to fall flat.
Learning your audience will never be more important than in 2022, as the consumer model has changed to a point where brands need to meet their audience where they are, otherwise the chances are a competitor will be or they will go and find someone else.
This means researching into your audience’s habits to determine the best place to meet them online and showing them what you can offer, and having that content be personalised to them with their exact needs and wants. They want to see how you can help and benefit them, not how great your product or services are for everyone.
3. Community content taking the spotlight
What better way to make your brand feel personalised and interested in its audience than using user-generated content in your promotions and online activity? Integrating this content will make your audience feel like they are part of your brand and a valued member of your community.
Whether this is sharing posts on Social Media or using reviews on your website and other promotional material, it’s all content that is multifunctional. It builds a community around your brand of like-minded people who enjoy your products/services, it promotes your business from authentic people making it more trustworthy, and it also shows that you care about your community and audience as you are paying attention to them.
Further to the shift in the consumer model, this extra level of care and attention will go a long way in your marketing to show that as a business and brand you have your customers best interests at heart and care for them, not their money.
4. Short-form video
Talking about meeting your customers where they are, video has been being urged as the medium to reach your audience and impact their customer journey for a long time now, but the numbers don’t lie.
84% of marketers say that video has helped them generate leads, 96% of people say they have watched an explainer video to help learn about a product or service, and 69% of people say they would rather watch a short video than any other medium type to learn about a product.
So all the talk around video being the way to go is true, and with 500 million people using Instagram stories a day, short-form video is taking over. With the rise of TikTok and other Social Media platforms jumping on the bandwagon such as Instagram with Reels and YouTube with Shorts, it’s pretty clear that the way people engage with video has changed.
Short-form video is classed as anything under 3 minutes, but the majority tends to be 60 seconds or less. The positive about this type of video is that you can create multiple pieces of content in the same space of time as it used to take one, large, highly edited video. In 2022, this is going to be a crucial way to reach your customers.
2022 is set to be a great year for technological advancements and the online world – hopefully, you enjoyed our insights into what we predict the year ahead will look like for digital marketing
If you’re looking to overhaul your business’ online marketing, contact our team of experts today to find out how we can best help you reach your goals.
