If there’s one thing the past two years have taught us, it’s that the marketing world is moving even faster than it used to.
2021 has come with many changes. From IOs 14 with its privacy news to the way companies now relate to customers: more personal communication, products designed around people’s new pandemic needs, more and more authentic video content, etc.
At unosoft, we’re always in the middle of the action, so we put our heads together and wanted to tell you what we think will happen next year on almost every level of marketing.
Let’s get it on!
Thomas, Agency Owner
It seems that businesses will find it harder and harder to find human resources, especially for entry level and blue collar/lower paid jobs. The Internet, and especially working from home over the last year or so, has opened all of our eyes to opportunities to make money in ways other than traditional jobs.
We won’t laugh at kids who say they want to be YouTubers when they grow up. We’re going to want to be them.
I think all the craziness that’s going on is going to be like a Cambrian explosion and we’re going to see a lot of innovation on this side of work and how we define it.
I think that’s a good thing, we’re going to push these repetitive or low value-added tasks to robots and algorithms, and free up our time and our colleagues’ time for more creative and strategic tasks.
Ramo, SEO Specialist
In 2022 creating content that answers people’s needs and questions will matter a lot.
That’s why I think all content creators and SEO specialists should channel their attention towards creating near-perfect buyer and user journeys.
This includes website structure, carefully choosing the topics of interest people are looking for, forming topics from content pieces focused on the area of expertise.
All content offered online, regardless of the business, needs to fit for the different stages their visitors will be in.
So if you’re a marketer, try to give people as much detailed information as possible before they ask for it.
Be concise! Be unique and don’t copy what others think would be good. Build your own opinions and experiments that set you apart from the competition.
Always try to be one step ahead and make sure that all the content on your website answers all the questions people have, and that the information can be easily accessed by potential customers and clients.
Take care and go rank!
Ralu, Content & Community Manager
Next year brands will have to focus even more on authentic, personal, creative content. But most importantly, they will need to create valuable content that solves people’s problems and needs.
We’re talking about much more niche content than in previous years when you could write for multiple buyer personas and it would work.
Also, people are now mostly looking for and following brands that communicate information relevant to them. It’s important that they feel these brands speak directly to them.
And all of this translates into omnichannel presence and the use of all forms of content: written, audio and especially video. Gone are the days when video was optional. In 2022, if you don’t have video content, you won’t exist.
And I think it’s worth discussing the audio component as well. I think we should all start paying more attention to voice search and start creating content tailored to that as well.
Globally, 20% of users are already using it consistently, and the trend will be upwards. So we will need to start optimising content for voice search, and that means targeting longer phrases as well as queries.
Calta, Copywriter
Internet 2.0 (the one with social networks) has allowed everyone with a net connection to create content. Big media companies are steadily declining in ratings, because independent content creators have emerged in all niches – some who may be more appealing to their niches than the “generalists” in traditional media (TV, news networks, old newspapers or radio).
People can interact directly with brands, which they can elevate or sabotage through social media.
Because of these factors, copywriting and content writing will become increasingly informal. Friendly and honest dialogue will become the norm (it’s already the norm, but many companies don’t know how to change their etiquette yet).
In 2022 we will become more honest and friendly than we have been before, and we will try to bond even closer with our customers.
As in the past 2-3 years, brands would aim to communicate using the same “online language” (text, images, videos) as their target audience.
Alin, Growth Designer
2022 is the year of design
In recent years, the number of entrepreneurs launching their business online has increased.
Guess what?! We’ve also gone through a pandemic that has further accelerated digitization and migration to digital, and now everyone wants an online store.
For you as a designer, marketer or digital jungle man 😂 Providing services, the above news can only be good. More customers for services, more people interested and connected online than ever before.
I see more and more entrepreneurs around me who understand its importance and impact. Better designed logos, better designed visual identities and better integrated brands. The fact that the field of graphic design is growing at an accelerated rate and that there are more and more competitors, to you, the entrepreneur, means one thing:
Integrate design into your business before the competition does. Better Ads creative, a visual identity that is specifically addressed to your target audience, and a website that looks and functions correctly is going to generate a significant ROI for your business.
Stefan, Growth Hacker & Media Buyer
The general trend of automation in all areas of digital marketing will increasingly apply to Pay Per Click advertising as well.
In step with the evolution of machine learning is the search for standardization of practices and access to advertising that can be made easy for less experienced users.
One of the clearest evidence of this is the abolition of Expanded text ads from June 2022, with Responsive search ads becoming the standard.
Then, in practice, we see every day how AI is starting to do its job better and better. Initially, this idea was met with reluctance in the digital advertising world, but now, we are convinced that this is the future and we will have to learn to work with the algorithm to get the most satisfying results.
The big advantage of these changes is that they will allow users to spend more time in other areas such as Conversion rate optimization, focus on improving copy both in ads and on the platform, adjusting/testing offers to find the most compelling ones and the like.
Roberto, Growth Hacker & Media Buyer
In 2022 the market for nano and micro influencers (those up to 100K followers) will grow and they will play an important role in building trust through their recommendations.
This means we will need to combine everything we have at hand to have a successful business. Especially as the return on Facebook and Google ads will gradually decrease.
Facebook Ads and Google Ads won’t just work on their own anymore, you’ll have to think about a more defined funnel, where these tools are just pillars.
This funnel should also contain TikTok, Email Marketing, SEO (which a lot of people neglect), site optimization for conversion rate through product pages, product description etc.
The customer who is interested in the product or service you are offering needs to go through a unique and as compelling an experience as possible on the offering, as competition is very high in all areas.
The bottom line is that you need to differentiate yourself if you want to grow.
Vertical video content is on the rise, which means the platforms that will dominate in the next year will be TikTok and Instagram (reels).
TikTok Ads entered the UK market in 2021, so those who haven’t started expanding their ad portfolio can do so now. That’s where you’ll find all the young audiences, so it’s a must if you have products for this target.
You shouldn’t lose sight of the big companies’ focus on creating and enhancing virtual worlds (Metaverse) either, because that’s where we’ll be advertising in a few years on billboards and probably in newspapers, just like in the old days, only in the virtual world.
Andrei, Ecommerce & Growth Specialist
The days when anything you promoted through Google or Facebook Ads sold like hot cakes are long gone.
You can’t control the cost of ads, but you can control what happens when potential customers land on your site.
So online stores that want to thrive (not just survive) in 2022 will focus on:
1. Increasing conversion rates. This means more orders from the same promotion budget.
2. Increase in average basket value. That is, higher sales from the same number of orders.
3. Increasing long-term customer value through retention, loyalty or referral strategies. Higher retention means ‘lifetime’ customers and sustainable month-on-month growth.
These actions increase profitability, which means more resources to drive out less profitable competitors who can’t afford to keep up with rising promotional costs.
That’s why online stores that prioritize optimizing these three metrics will be unstoppable in 2022.
Dani, Inbound Sales
2022 is going to be an exciting year in terms of sales. The gap between high sellers and mid sellers will be even bigger, a real battle where the difference will be made by big budgets. Promotion costs will be even higher than in 2021. For those with low financial resources efficiency is the most important tool in countering this gap.
People will become increasingly cost-conscious and will need more and more time to think through a buying decision. Retailers’ patience will be tested especially as there are more and more options for customers to choose from.
2021 was a year when prices exploded due to the pandemic. Costs have also taken a turn for the worse, and many wanted to add on to recoup the losses caused by 2020 (the first year of the pandemic).
The margin cut could increasingly be taken into account to generate a lower price and facilitate quantitative sales growth.
I think important needs will come first, and personal comfort and habits will be weighed at least twice before the decision is made.
Beautifully presented stories I think will lose ground. People will become more pragmatic and more careful. The lowest price and how that product or service actually helps the customer will most likely be the deciding factor.
Tudor, Branding Manager
2022 may be the year that marks the shift from “brand communication” to “brand conversation”. Whether we like it or not, things have become much more personal. While we have increasingly sophisticated tools and processes for creating and defining brand identity, most brands still simply broadcast their own narrative. A narrative that has started to hit the wall of irrelevance more and more seriously.
