Pandemic and Covid have been a turning point that in last two years has changed our consumer behaviour and triggered processes that in 2022 will keep growing. Out of necessity, many consumers have approached digital ecosystem, learned about online payment methods and how to move in this context.
Local merchants and restaurant owners have faced the need to find new ways to sell their products, sales or booking online services have grown, as well as delivery services. In tourism, decline in travel bookings to distant destinations has made us rediscover nearest villages. Online communications have become the new normal: think of teleworking or smart working, remote lessons or even interviews via Zoom or Meet.
Companies have faced the need to rethink processes and channels to communicate and intercept their audience. Those who have innovated are now in an advantageous position; others must run so as not to lose ground. 2022 will be an even more digital year. Technology, automation and artificial intelligence will increasingly enter every sector. Let’s see, specifically, what will be the 7 trends of digital marketing in 2022.
Customer experience
Last year we got to know Core Web Vitals:Google forced us to rethink our websites in terms of user experience. We had to build websites faster and easier to navigate in order to please both the search engine and the visitor. Thanks Google.
In 2022 this process towards a better web will continue. User doesn’t want websites too slow or with hard-to-find information. In these cases, it will close the page and go elsewhere: the alternatives are many. It will be our task, as a digital marketer, to improve user experience both from desktop and, above all, from mobile. Designers and developers will have to work more and more together with those involved in marketing to truly meet user’s needs.
Segmentation and customization
Once there was only the neighborhood store. Merchant knew us, called us by name and suggested that product that we had liked the previous time. Online we have to do the same. Running an e-commerce, we must know our customers so as to offer them the best products based on shopping habits and interests. But this also applies to other websites, for example those that provide information or offer online services.
Segmentation according to interests and conumer behaviour is the key that can allow us to always offer the best solution for everyone. Think, for example, of Amazon’s recommended products or the TV series chosen for you by Netflix.
Marketing automation
Marketing automation is the tool that allows us to move towards the personalization we were talking about before. This discipline collects different tools of e-mail marketing, analytics, CRM, lead generation and allows you to deliver the right message at the right time.
In 2022, with the growth of multi-channel, it will be increasingly necessary to put together the huge amount of data available and realize the perfect output. Companies will not be able to do without marketing professionals than can communicate with IT developers who, by their important work, realize the technical infrastructure of marketing automation.
Machine learning
Google Bert is the algorithm update that allows the search engine to understand natural language(NLP)through deep learning. At the base of everything there is therefore Artificial Intelligence. Similarly, Netflix observes us and learns our tastes through Artificial Intelligence.
This area of research will become crucial already in 2022 in many industries and in digital marketing it will allow us to go precisely towards the personalization that we have seen previously. Machines will become intelligent, they will be able to learn, but they will have to be educated in the right way. Artificial Intelligence will be one of the most exciting challenges of coming years.
Short videos
Instagram Reels and TikTok have accustomed us to short, emotional and impactful videos. Aattention of user, who is bombarded with many messages on different channels, is very volatile. We have to be able to hit him in a few seconds and then hold him back. Video is one of the best solutions, and synthesis is key.
You’re not Kubrick, so you can’t take the liberty to make a movie. Recap the message in a few concepts and strike. Precise, direct and fast. And if you are Kubrick, leave us the films at the cinemas but online do not dwell too long.
Once again Google shows us the way with updates of its algorithm. Medical Update and the concept of EAT content push us in the direction of quality: we must talk about things we know. Real experts will become increasingly important to those who make information, and specialized websites, that cater to specific niches, will grow.
Relevance will be increasingly crucial and we will have to focus on building thematic and semantic clusters for which we must become authoritative. Instead of talking roughly about everything, we will have to talk correctly about specific topics. And we will have to be original, starting from our perspective as experts.
Authentic brand values
In last year, various social issues have come to the fore, such as those related to environment or civil rights. We have seen the birth or growth of movements such as Friday for Future, Black Lives Matter, Me Too and different communities such as LGBT or anti-violence against women. People, often isolated on the physical stage due to pandemic, more and more are looking for contexts of belonging and where share experiences and values. Brands are also moving here.
Values are the real and strong connector between companies and consumers, and communication is the means to put these subjects in contact. Brands must have the courage to take a stand on social issues and must do so in a credible way: not only in words, but with concrete and real actions. It is a delicate context in which it is easy to make mistakes, but precisely here the strong bond, that will transform customers into brand ambassadors, can be created.
