The pandemic has propelled businesses into the virtual world, forcing them to work remotely, then promoting and selling their products and services online. So, it’s no surprise to discover that “digital” marketing is such a big part of the 2022 trends. Let’s see what marketers have in store for the coming year.
1. The beginning of the end of “third-party cookies”
Google will begin testing its “no third-party” environment as of mid-2022. And, globally, web giants seem to want to be moving away from a business model that shamelessly exploits users’ personal information to resell products or services directly to them. Marketers are calling this transition to third-party cookie-free marketing “the cookie apocalypse”.
“In the coming year, it will be important to not only rely on algorithms to generate business opportunities, explains Marc-André Dulude, Strategic Director of the MXO agency. Marketing professionals will need to step back and review their digital strategies.”
Basically, marketers will need to pay more attention to their customer data internally.
Having a good Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) that tracks the sales profile of our customers and implementing a data collection strategy in the form of a survey or offering value-added products and services is already a good start”, says the Strategic Director.
There are several tools to gather information from digital advertising tools, and first-party data, he insists, recalling that prices are “MUCH LOWER” than just a few years ago.
2. Omnichannel
Omnichannel marketing has been a hot topic for the past few years, but it’s the pandemic that made that promise a reality.
Consumers have grown accustomed to the flexibility offered by omnichannel retail – the ability to search and buy online and in-store, and the combination of both”, explained in the report 2022 Media Trends – Reimagine Next – released by Dentsu international.
The report identifies omnichannel as one of three strong trends from 2022 (along with brand citizenship and identity), indicating that all business sectors will participate “by developing hybrid models that combine digital participation with in-person participation.” Examples: online or in-person medical consultation, theatrical or online film releases, etc.
3- A timid approach in the metaverse
When Marc Zuckerberg announced the arrival of the metaverse (as a company, but also as a new mode of social interaction), he was made fun of, in the same way that Google had seemed to announce a wonky future with its augmented reality glasses. However, we must recognize that the virtual world is becoming more and more dense every year. This is highlighted by Josianne Brousseau, co-founder of the Neomedias agency:
The expansion of cryptocurrencies and NFTs [non-fungible token] in the past year has attracted marketers who see it as a golden opportunity, whether it’s land, an establishment of a well-known brand in Decentraland or a collection of digital art in the form of NFT, such as l’Oréal Paris or even to authenticate objects as proposed by Nike and Burberry. In 2022, several companies will want to establish themselves in the metaverse, and the gateway is definitely NFTs.”
E-commerce could also be a gateway to more immersive experiences.
E-commerce is increasingly rooted in content, say the authors of Dentsu’s report, bringing the promise of social media shopping to life. Snapchat, TikTok and Facebook (including Instagram and WhatsApp) offer merchants and influencers new ways to sell on their platforms, as well as ways for users to configure payment and delivery details to make shopping more seamless.”
4. The video for all
Despite all the potential of the Web, it is surprising to see that its first function is mostly textual: we read our emails, posts on social networks, news, etc. We debate, we argue… in text. With the deployment of 5G, data rate should make it possible to give back video content a place of choice.
The video format is definitely a trend that is accelerating in digital marketing, Alexandre Turcotte, blogger, web manager and creator of TikTokQuébec newsletter. I’ve even seen video chatbots on websites.”
Video is a “multiplatform” trend, he says. Instagram clearly announced that they were going to put more Reels in the feed. We also see them appear in the Facebook news feed. And Google even indexes TikTok videos, he tells us.
“TikTok also allows companies to familiarize themselves with the format. For recruitment, it works very well on TikTok. Clan Panneton and Mondou each have a viral video on TikTok that was to recruit employees.”
5. Audio content (Podcast, Twitter and Clubhouse)
Audio content and discussions are also taking up more and more space on the Web, notes Josianne Brousseau. Whether it’s creating conference-type events or opening a discussion using Clubhouse or the new Twitter feature, Spaces, these are media that have grown enormously in popularity, as well as the podcast. These media allow to create a proximity with the listeners.”
The podcast continues to grow with the public. We can therefore expect brands to want to take advantage of this new space to deploy their brand identity.
Today, major brands have no choice but to create their own podcast, if only to occupy a space that was created and would remain empty if it did not, confided Stéphane Berthomet, founder of the new go-script media podcast production house earlier this year. If they do nothing, he said, they will step back from the competition.”
Companies will have the flexibility to explore this new medium in 2022!
