After a period of great change, the famous "new normal" has arrived. Marketing has had to cope with the rapid speed at which new trends are moving in this sector. That is why, in order to have a good digital strategy, it is not only necessary to know the new trends, but also to anticipate and adapt to them.
Here are 10 key trends in your digital strategy for 2022:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) The importance of user privacy
In an increasingly interconnected world, where sharing information online is commonplace, is privacy dead? Quite the opposite. Users' concern for maintaining their privacy online has increased in recent years. That is why it is essential to include a privacy policy in your digital strategy.
Since the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, websites are obliged to establish a complete, clear and updated privacy policy.
The web privacy policy must inform the user about:
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Identity, location and contact information of the owner of the website (whether natural person or legal entity).
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What personal data is collected, stored and processed.
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What methods are used to collect such data.
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The purpose for which the data is collected.
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How the data collected is stored and secured.
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When and how they can consent to the collection and processing of their data. And what rights they have over it and how to exercise them.
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What third party services you are using to collect, process and store personal data.
Including a correct privacy policy in your digital strategy will foster trust and transparency towards your audience and will favour your brand image.
2) The rise of inbound marketing as part of a digital strategy
Inbound marketing is a methodology that uses marketing and advertising techniques in order to reach your potential customers in a more effective way. The purpose of this methodology is to accompany potential customers who are interested in purchasing one of your products or services to the point of purchase. In addition, inbound marketing is beneficial for your company in many ways, as it helps to obtain leads and their subsequent loyalty.
Is inbound marketing a fad? Many companies already have a marketing strategy that includes this methodology, and it is a reality the important presence it has within the marketing sector. Inbound marketing is not a fad, it is a methodology that aspires to have an evidence of dominance for at least another decade, which is why including inbound marketing in your digital strategy can mean a radical change in the results of your campaigns.
3) The arrival of the metaverse
If there is one novelty that has marked these last months of 2021, it is the arrival of the metaverse, and with it the announcement by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, in which he puts a reality on the table: in five years Facebook will cease to be a social networking company and become a 'metaverse' company.
But what is the metaverse? It is a virtual space in which several people can interact with each other and with digital objects.
Social networks allow us to do many of these things, but it is always through a 2D screen. A sense of presence and teleportation would be key aspects of this new environment.
The introduction of the metaverse into our society will favour the new normality and help the online connections to which we have become accustomed in recent years marked by the pandemic. Its emergence is not new, but it is true that after Zuckerberg's announcement, it has come to the forefront of study and is considered one of the most notable trends of the coming year that will create new businesses as well as require adaptation of existing businesses.
4) The expansion of programmatic advertising
Have you ever noticed that when you search for something online you keep getting ads related to what you are interested in? It's as if the internet knows exactly what you need. This is largely thanks to programmatic advertising, a new automation technique that is revolutionising digital strategies and the way ads are delivered to users.
Programmatic advertising refers to the automated buying of audiences for ads, targeted based on the buyer's needs. This automation makes it easy to buy audiences en masse from a single integrated platform, while maintaining the relevance and effectiveness of the ads, something that would have been impossible by buying each audience manually.
This is why it is highly recommended to use programmatic advertising in your digital strategy. This way, your brand will be able to reach a more targeted audience in less time, which will favour the buying process of your product or service.
5) Event-focused email marketing
A very effective technique used in email marketing is the implementation of workflows in the process of customer acquisition or customer loyalty. Normally workflows are used when the user fulfils a series of requirements, it is then when they enter a flow, configured to be carried out automatically, and receive communications adapted to their characteristics as a user.
Recently, this technique has been directly related to the realisation of events organised by the brand. The workflows will have as a central point the celebration of this event and will focus on sending communications in relation to it. For example, if a brand organises a webinar, the user will receive communications before and after the event. Thus reinforcing attendance and user interaction.
6) Shopping on TikTok, Twitter and Pinterest
More and more social networks are joining in to use their platforms as sales showcases. They take advantage of the huge number of users who consume content to sell their products. Instagram debuted this technique some time ago, but it was only recently, in the last few months of 2021, that the popular social network TikTok added a new shopping tab to its profiles.
Thus, the social network allows companies that have a TikTok For Business profile to synchronise their product catalogues with the application to take the user directly to their eCommerce.
Twitter did not want to be left behind and has also launched a pilot test in which users with an account in the US will be able to make purchases through the social network. When users visit an account with the Shopping module, they will be able to browse the brand's product catalogue and make purchases without leaving Twitter.
Pinterest has also joined this trend and has included a "shopping" option on its platform. The social network has taken advantage of its important role in the selection process, on the part of users, before making a purchase, to connect them directly with brands and thus facilitate the process.
7) Google Web Stories
Google has recently surprised us with the introduction of Stories on its platform. This format, which has a great impact among social network users, allows the creation and consumption of ephemeral content and generates a direct connection with the user. Thus, with Web Stories Google is positioning itself alongside the pioneering platforms (Snapchat and Instagram), betting on this type of format that will help brands to attract audiences to their website.
In addition, the creation of Web Stories will favour Google's web positioning as well as the visibility of your brand.
8) Increasing brand investment in social ads
Brands are increasingly relying on social networks as a channel for sales. According to a study by Emplifi, if we compare the first and second quarter of 2021, the growth in investment in Facebook Ads is only 3.2%. But if we look at last year's figures, we find that marketers have invested 49.9% more compared to the second quarter of 2020.
9) Creativity in Social Ads: Increasing consumer demand for the content they consume.
Social media audiences have become increasingly demanding about the content they consume. That is why brands face a creative challenge every time they want to advertise on these platforms. Users are not satisfied with simple and not very elaborate content, they are looking for something that breaks with the established and that generates interest in what is being advertised.
A good creative team is essential for brands that want to stand out in their advertising and that strive to represent their brand image so that it reaches the user in the most effective way possible.
10) Video marketing
If we have to highlight a trend that has been gaining importance in recent years, it is the introduction of video content on all social platforms, it is the introduction of video content on all social platforms. With the impressive boom of the TikTok application, many platforms have opted to include a similar format in their publications.
This is the case of Instagram, which has opted to create the "Reels" format, a tool within Instagram itself that allows us to upload several clips of up to 15 seconds of video, with effects or with tools and filters.
This new format opens up promotional and advertising options for brands which, through creative processes, can reach wider audiences and increase their engagement.
These are some of the digital marketing trends that will be very strong in 2022. Anticipate them and start introducing them in your digital strategy to get the most out of your campaigns and achieve your goals.