Top digital marketing trends to look out for in 2022 Share via

2022 is still going to be a roller-coaster ride for digital marketers. Ravaged by the pandemic for almost a couple of years now, things were finally beginning to get on track. But then a new variant of the Covid-19 has stuck the world again. Marketers will be on their toes to devise strategies to keep the growth momentum going in the new year in the digital marketing space. Apart from the pandemic, a lot has also changed and evolved in the advertising and marketing space. For example, stricter data privacy laws, end of third-party cookies, evolution in influencer marketing, and new technology and innovations are coming to the fore that will hugely impact digital marketing. This blog will look at the top trends that will keep marketers interested in 2022.

Increased reliance on retail media

The alarming situation where marketers have limited access to third-party data has taken the marketing and advertising world by storm. That, in turn, has increased the marketer’s reliance on retail media networks to reach out to their customers efficiently. And going into 2022, retail media is slated to grow faster, and brands will look into this medium with more interest. So what makes retail media such a lucrative option for brands? Firstly, the fact that some big retailers are sitting on a humungous amount of first-party data generated through millions of users visiting their websites and mobile apps monthly and shopping on their platforms. Secondly, the retailers know the brand’s customers more than the brand themselves. They have access to data on the consumer’s interest, purchase behavior, and more. And lastly, retail media can serve the brand’s potential customers the same kind of personalized advertising as is possible by tracking the third-party cookie.

First-party cookies

When third-party cookie tracking ceases to exist in the advertising and marketing world, brands will have to depend a lot on the first-party data accumulated over the year to reach out to customers in the future. Unfortunately, as we stand today, most brands have not worked seriously to build this customer data set as they were too dependent on third-party cookie tracking. But as the clock is ticking and new data privacy and security regulations are coming to the fore, companies are scrambling to get their house in order and looking out for ways to strengthen their data. For brands, it will be crucial to work on enhancing their first-party data in 2022. And just building scalable first-party data is not the only concern for many organizations in the coming year, but how they do it sustainably is also what will keep them on their toes.

Rise of social commerce

Social commerce will see a considerable uptake in 2022 as brands and marketers have started to understand the value this medium provides. This channel has been seeing an upward growth trajectory as more and more brands are working towards leveraging social commerce to reach a wider audience and generate more sales. According to a report, China’s social commerce sale is expected to reach over $350 billion in 2021. The second biggest market for social commerce, the United States, will see the numbers touching around $36 billion during the same period. What will fuel the growth of this channel in the next year is its ability to reach a massive audience base; it provides frictionless shopping, allow brands to engage with the customers directly, and increase customer loyalty, among others.

Focus on data privacy and security

With so many new regulations coming to the fore on the data privacy and security front, in 2022, consumers’ expectations from the brand they entrust their data with will be sky high, while many companies will also understand the fine line between data privacy and customer loyalty. As a result, brands will have to figure out ways to collect data they need to better the customer experience and not whatever data they can lay their hands on, irrespective of whether they need that information or not. Also, with severe penalties already in place, with more regulations coming, organizations should understand the importance of being compliant at all times, else the impact on the business could be severe. In fact many organizations have started to hire chief privacy officers to make sure they do not breach the regulations laid down by various governments. So, a major trend that the digital marketing space will see in 2022 is that brands will jostle to prepare to handle customer data appropriately.

Influencer marketing will shine

Influencer marketing will only get bigger in 2022, and brands and marketers will be putting a lot of investment in this channel to reach wider audiences and grow their businesses exponentially. Brands and influencers will collaborate more in 2022 and produce content in newer formats to keep the audiences excited and engagement high. Experts believe that micro and nano influencers will be in the limelight in 2022 as they have generated a higher ROI for organizations and the decreasing engagement rate coming from mega influencers and celebrities. In the next 12 months, influencer marketing is expected to rake in $15 billion worldwide, giving a glimpse of what is in store.

There are, of course, other trends that will also play a tremendous role in shaping the digital marketing industry in the coming year, but the points mentioned above, in our opinion, are going to make a significant impact, and marketers should keenly observe them.