Every year we see new and surprising digital trends emerge, laying the groundwork for the future of marketing. Even in a year as challenging as 2021, we weren’t disappointed. What’s more, digital marketing trends in 2022 are expected to be some of the most revolutionary ever.
The year began with the continued ascent of TikTok, which has now surpassed all other platforms as the most popular social network among Generation Z users. The popularity of NFT and cryptocurrencies grew, fueling discussions about the future of finance. Google said that third-party cookies will be phased out by 2023, giving advertisers and digital marketers less than two years to find new ways to reach their target audiences. In a sign of the company’s commitment to embracing the meta universe, a three-dimensional virtual environment, Facebook recently changed its name to Meta.
Overall, there are several new and exciting advances in the digital world that will have an impact on how we engage with our audience. We’ve shared important digital marketing trends to be aware of in 2022 to help you digest and manage the year ahead.
In 2023, technology will continue to lead in everything from Blockchain/Crypto & AI to data privacy. This will be an important year for technological developments, marketing tools and forward-thinking methods, so if you set any goals for the new year, make them about your agility, flexibility and willingness to change with the times.
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Metaverse
The meta-universe is a permanent environment where people work, play, and communicate in a virtual world of augmented reality, virtual reality, three-dimensional holographic avatars, and videos – not just a one-time experience like games.
Part of the reason for this is that it can provide a whole new set of performance metrics.
Marketers will be able to test how long virtual objects persist, how much space they occupy in a user’s peripheral vision, and even where people look when they see ads. This data has the potential to radically change what you know about your audience and give you a crucial guide to action.
According to PWC, VR and AR are expected to increase global GDP by $1.5 trillion by 2030.
Data Source: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/technology/publications/assets/how-virtual-reality-and-augmented-reality.pdf
NFT
Brands will have to experiment more with blockchain technology to prepare for Web 3.0, the next generation of the Internet, which will be more decentralized, in addition to figuring out brands’ place in the meta-universe.
A popular component of blockchain is NFT. Because it has no equivalents, it is non-functional, which means that it cannot be exchanged for anything equivalent in value. Paper money, for example, is fungible. A banknote of 1,000 rubles can be exchanged for five banknotes of 200 rubles each. But you can’t exchange your grandmother’s engagement ring – irreplaceable – for something of equivalent value, because there’s an authenticity factor.
NFT is the digital version of non-exchangeable objects – uniquely created digital assets such as animations, graphic designs, GIFs, audio/video files or memes that exist on the blockchain.
Brands such as: Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Gucci, Ray-Ban, NFL, Barbie and Asics have already begun experimenting with NFT by selling exclusive products to their customers.
Deep Learning & Big Data
The big data business will continue to expand at a rapid pace. According to Statista, by 2025, the total amount of data used worldwide will increase to nearly 180 zettabytes (that’s one with 21 zeros!).
Image: https://www.statista.com/statistics/254266/global-big-data-market-forecast/
They also predicted that by 2027, the big data market will be worth $103 billion, accounting for 45 percent of the software industry:
User data privacy requirements are becoming more important as big data becomes more powerful (the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was a worldwide data privacy revolution, while the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) was more local).
As a result, big data is a double-edged sword that many digital marketers will find hard to resist in the near future.
Below are some examples of how marketers can leverage big data:
- Implementing low-cost KYC (Know Your Customer) procedures.
- Business intelligence and web analytics solutions are being deployed.
- New personalization and targeting strategies are being used to improve service and customer engagement.
- Data-driven attribution schemes (e.g., just introduced by Google) are used to combat third-party cookie loss.
Digital Marketing and Artificial Intelligence
Digital Marketing and Artificial Intelligence
Improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years have led to more intuitive reports, as well as the automation of typical marketing activities such as site traffic monitoring and search engine optimization to achieve organic reach. But instead of focusing on what we’ve already learned from AI, it’s time to consider how it will affect digital marketing in the future.
As AI technology improves, so does its ability to go beyond automated work and campaigns to predict what consumers will want in the future. AI is able to analyze more data at a faster rate than humans. As a result, it can assess purchase history and consumer behavior using the vast array of data available. Then you can recommend a particular product or promotion, or even a personalized ad.
You can target your customers for the product or service they want, exactly when they need it, using AI to predict their next actions. This type of targeting will ensure high conversion rates and give the impression that you are aware of your customers’ needs without being intrusive or overwhelming them with useless targeting.
Privacy, transparency and trust building
As a result of the overabundance of digital advertising, consumers are increasingly distrustful of the material they are targeting. As a result, digital marketers must plan for tighter privacy restrictions in 2022, which will change the way they monitor consumer activity.
Google has stated that third-party cookies will be phased out by the end of 2023. Because of this, many marketers and advertisers will have to rethink their strategies.
However, content and data-driven marketing are not dead. The end of personalized advertising isn’t here yet. Consider this: this is the beginning of a new era of trust and openness between company and consumer, if you’re looking for a positive spin on this upheaval of digital marketing monopolies as we know them. Inform consumers about what data you’re collecting and why you’re collecting it. Provide an easy and quick opt-out at any time. Also, collect only the information you need.
As mentioned earlier, consumers are more interested than ever in “keeping it real,” and adopting this new digital marketing approach is likely to bring great benefits to your customer interactions.
Visual Search
Visual search is a new practice where people can upload images to search. Although it is a relatively new practice, there are two companies that use visual search:
Pinterest has embarked on the path of visual search by launching Lens, a visual search tool that allows users to take a picture of an item to find out where to buy it online, find similar items or view pinboards of related items:
Image: https://about.pinterest.com/en/lens
Pinterest’s Lens
Pinterest’s Lens discovers 2.5 billion home and fashion products and has generated more than 600 million searches on the company’s mobile apps and browser extensions. Its usage has increased by 140 percent since Lens was introduced.
Pinterest functionality has been updated by adding the following features:
- Pincodes, which use QR codes to allow users to find inspiration while shopping or reading their favorite periodicals.
- Idea Pins, a multi-page video format for artists who want to share high-quality, timeless content directly on Pinterest, comparable to Snapchat or Instagram Stories. It’s currently only available to users in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
- AR Try is an augmented reality tool that lets you try new eyeshadows from leading brands such as Lancome, YSL, Urban Decay and NYX Cosmetics.
- With Google Lens, you can get more information or perform actions with images, items in your environment and image searches.
Google Lens
Image: https://lens.google
Google Lens is a visual search engine that uses the camera app to locate items and landmarks. If you take a photo of the following items, you can do the following:
Clothing and Home Furnishings:
- Search for comparable items and places to buy them.
- Barcodes: You can use a barcode to find information about an item, such as where to buy it.
- Save a phone number or address on a business card for contact.
- Book: Read reviews and get a synopsis.
- Add the event to your calendar with a flyer or event poster.
- Historical information, hours of operation and more about the attraction or facility.
- Painting in a Museum: Learn more about the artist by reading about him or her.
- Plant or animal: Learn more about the different species and breeds.
Video marketers will make content shorter
According to wyzowl.com, short-form content is the second most effective trend used by marketers today.
More than 31% of marketers worldwide are investing in short-form video content, with 46% believing this approach is beneficial in terms of effectiveness and engagement. By 2023, 89% of marketers worldwide plan to maintain or increase their investment in this type of content.
While long films can provide consumers with a lot of detail and information about a product, brand or service, both B2C and B2B marketers have found that short videos can be significantly more successful.
Not only do short videos require less bandwidth to produce, but they also fit in well with the rapidly changing attention span of internet users of all demographics. That’s likely why TikTok, Reels and, in years past, Snapchat have received rapid development and attention from marketing.
Still not sure if short films can help you market your business? Check out this fantastic TikTok video from Canva that shows how easy it is to create professional-looking images with a website.
Social Commerce
Social commerce has been around for a long time, but only recently has it gained momentum. Instagram and TikTok are two apps that have given new meaning to social commerce.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/
Instagram has more than a billion users, and 90% of them already follow active retailers, with many of them checking in on those pages regularly. Here’s a list of Instagram features you can use for sales:
- Live shopping: This is a kind of live streaming (more on trend #31) in action.
- In-store tab ads: Perfect for e-commerce companies that want their ads to appear on consumers’ in-store tabs.
- Ads: These are similar to Stories ads, only designed to be commercials.
- IGTV Ads: Similar to the previous option, but for IGTV.
- Instagram Checkout: A simple and safe method of selling your stuff on Instagram.
- TikTok isn’t far behind with 1 billion monthly active users. TikTok Shopping was released in 2022, allowing artists to add a shopping page to their TikTok profiles https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/enter-tiktok-world-and-meet-the-next-era-of-marketing
Chatbots
Chatbots allow businesses to communicate with consumers to improve customer relationships and increase revenue. When it comes to consumer products, businesses have seen the convenience and effectiveness of chatbots. In 2016, Oracle conducted a study on the future of customer service. https://go.oracle.com/LP=43079
“Customers and potential customers want to complete a purchase or resolve service issues without talking to a human if possible,” the study says.
As for chatbots, 80 percent of sales and marketing executives said they’ve either already implemented them or plan to do so by 2023.
According to a recent Harvard Business Review (HBR) study, 15 percent of organizations ahead of their competitors in technology and data analytics are growing faster and have better prospects for the future.
As for Generation Z, I believe chatbots and speech bots will be the future of business. This generation grew up on services like Taxi or Food delivery which have been optimized for business efficiency. As a result, we expect the same when shopping. What could be better than chatbots and speech bots and making purchases with them? It’s a complete game changer. It’s a completely different experience. It makes online shopping less tedious, engaging and enjoyable!
Conversational marketing
Let’s look at the impact of conversational commerce and how it affects our future. It allows you to have a conversation with the consumer.
Brands are increasingly listening to their customers’ problems and helping them solve them personally rather than just talking about themselves. This leads to a better consumer experience where every customer feels heard and smart technology responds to their specific problem.
Chatbots allow companies to communicate with more than one consumer at a time for a small fee. This helps companies connect with as many consumers as possible in a short period of time, speeding up the process of resolving difficulties. Customers are also encouraged to rate their encounters with the online assistant and leave comments if they wish.
The chat assistant needs to know when to switch the discussion to encourage the consumer to make a purchase, as the customer goes through a journey of learning what they need, what they want to buy, how they want to buy it, and then taking action.
Final thoughts on digital marketing trends
This concludes our in-depth list of 10 digital marketing trends that will be relevant in 2023
Change is an inevitable part of the job for anyone working in digital marketing. To gain an edge over your competitors, you must constantly look ahead and strive to adopt new technologies, techniques and methods.