Digital marketers don’t need a time machine to predict what’s coming in 2022. The signs are there for us to see in the trends and the statistics. A lot will happen in the digital marketing world throughout 2022. Search engines will slowly abolish cookies, brands will step up their creativity while creating marketing content, and a lot more. We’ve compiled the top 10 trends that will shape digital advertising in 2022 –
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1. Cookies are Dying
Google will end cookie tracking by 2023. Cookies that digital publishers used to track users’ internet activities for targeted advertising will be obsolete soon. It is part of Google’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy. The search engine is trying to improve user privacy to boost user experience.
That means digital marketers must look for other ways to track and target users. Using the users’ IP addresses is an easy solution. But, savvy brands will also implement advanced techniques like ETag tracking and user behavior analysis. This is a giant move by Google. It will force marketers to use innovative tactics to reach their target audiences.
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2. Content Marketing is Still Alive and Well
In a recent survey, over 70% of digital marketers stated that content creation was still their most effective SEO tactic. Even in 2022, content marketing will play a critical role for companies aiming to grow their sales through digital avenues. There’s plenty of content on the internet – what type of content will stand out in 2022?
- Both internet users and search engine administrators prefer ranking unique and high-quality content higher on the SERPs.
- Brands with authority in specific fields should focus on creating detailed content for their niche audiences.
- The frequency of blog or article posts will matter less. Google’s algorithms are now highly adept at differentiating high-quality content from low-quality.
Posting relevant, engaging, and informative content (even occasionally) can help businesses increase their sales through search.
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3. Google is Making Local SEO More Important and More Convenient for Businesses
Businesses simply cannot afford to not optimize their local SEO strategies in 2022. The number of digital consumers increased drastically in the past 18 months globally.
- In the US, Google facilitated 2+ billion connections between shoppers and local businesses. The term “connections” refers to reviews on Google and bookings made directly via a company’s Google business page. This trend will affect other countries as well in 2022.
- Google’s market share in the search engine industry is 92.4%. 83% of local shoppers prefer using Google Search to learn about local businesses. Most of these local shoppers make purchases within 7-8 days of their initial search.
Businesses can’t afford to miss out on these leads by not optimizing their Google business profiles. Here are some “local” search terms that increased drastically (in frequency) in 2021 –
- The search term “available near me” increased by 100%.
- The search term “now near me” increased by 200%.
- The search term “along my route” increased by a whopping 1000%.
Capturing even a tiny portion of these search terms can transform the fortunes of small-scale companies. Focus on local SEO and optimize your Google Business Profile to make it as accessible as possible to users.
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4. Omnichannel Marketing is Still Important
According to a McKinsey study, omnichannel marketing should be the standard for digital marketers. Ultimately, digital marketers are selling brands to humans, not robots. Humans appreciate companies that have multiple digital channels. Bear in mind - “omnichannel” doesn’t mean “every channel.”
Your company’s omnichannel digital marketing strategy should prioritize your customer needs. For example, if customers are happy with your eCommerce website’s experience, there’s no need to launch a mobile app. Instead, optimize the website with SEO, install tracking tools, and promote it on social media channels.
Start with channels that matter the most to your target customers. Establish dominance or expertise in those specific channels. Move on to other channels, like email or video marketing, only after success in your previous channels. But, don’t rule out the need for your digital marketing strategies to go “omnichannel” in 2022.
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5. Inventory Updates
If you sell products online, keeping your inventory-related details up to date on your Google Business Profile is highly advantageous. Searches including the phrase “in-stock” increased by 800% in 2021. That means consumers are using Google to check if the items they want are in stock before buying them.
Google’s Pointy integration feature is designed to help retailers have their product inventory-related details automatically added to Google.
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6. Brands will Start Using Predictive Analytics to Provide Personalized Recommendations
In 2021, Facebook released Rosetta – a project that utilizes AI to decipher texts in images and videos. Savvy digital marketers will use similar tools to improve the relevancy of the content their target users see. Predictive analytics tools use historical data and conduct millions of test runs to give personalized recommendations to users. Websites that feature these tools will retain more users.
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7. Digital Marketing Planning More Important Than Ever
According to a Boston Consulting Group study, 80% of companies use extremely basic customer insight tools. That means businesses with advanced customer insight tracking tools have a chance to outperform those who don’t. More importantly, the insights collected by the tracking tools need to be orchestrated into a cohesive plan.
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8. Video Marketing
Video marketing continues to improve customer experiences and increase conversion rates. Most social media users share brand videos with their friends/followers. In 2022, the number of mobile phone users will keep rising. Marketers that use professional-grade videos for marketing will attract more eyes.
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9. Segmented Campaigns
In 2021, digital marketers who launched segmented marketing campaigns recorded up to 760% increases in revenues. Your digital marketing campaign is more likely to be successful if you –
- Don’t bombard target consumers with promotional messages.
- Group potential leads on the basis of their demographic data, browsing activities, purchase history, etc.
- Cut through the noise and reach out to your specific target user groups via relevant content, ads, etc.
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10. Voice Search
The number of voice-activated assistants across households will only increase in 2022. That means digital marketers must do separate keyword research for this niche. Typically, people use long-tail keywords while voice searching on Google. To access this user base, incorporate popular long-tail keywords in the content you create for your target audiences.
Keep these digital marketing trends in mind heading into 2022. If you’re serious about understanding your customers and selling more, contact us for a free consultation. Our experts at Webtales IT Solutions can help create web, SaaS, and other digital products for your brand.