Digital Marketing Trends to Keep an Eye on in 2022

The year 2021 was pivotal for digital marketing, the constant looming threat of the pandemic incentivised a plethora of business owners to newly consider the potential of digital as a part of their wider marketing solution. 2021 is (fortunately) now over and as we slowly move towards the greener meadows of market and political stability, we can prepare ourselves for the modicum of normality that 2022 will hopefully bring. No doubt that just like last year, 2022 will bring with it its own assortment of trends, fads, and unexpected news headlines which will need to be closely monitored in order to reap the greatest benefits from digital marketing campaigns. Here are some of the digital marketing trends to keep an eye on in 2022. Search Intent Finding out why someone might search for the things that they do and in turn, exactly what they wish to find in doing so is generally referred to as user or search intent and is a field in which Google holds substantial vested interest. Have you ever found that after searching a specific term or query, Google has produced a completely irrelevant result? Google wants to know exactly what you were looking to find in searching thus alongside your reasoning for doing so in order to improve its overall user experience. The best example of search intent can be found when the terms “how-to” or “how do I” are used. Google takes these terms to mean that the consumer is trying to learn something and therefore prioritises rankings for guides and tutorials. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an instrumental part of digital marketing and looks to boost the rankings of a webpage through eclectic yet defined search terms. Meeting search intent has become key to delivering a comprehensive SEO solution and looks to become even more vital as Google looks to develop it further. At Odyssey New Media, we are specialists in providing comprehensive digital marketing solutions that encompass search engine optimisation as well as other areas such as website hosting and development, PPC, and social media management. Marketing Privacy March 2018 was a huge landmark for online privacy and data protection. Several news sources reported that Facebook was collecting private data from millions of people without requesting permission to do so before proceeding to sell it. This naturally led to major outrage from the public and a widely televised legal trial which ultimately led to increased awareness on data protection and privacy. Having been a relatively recent event (generally speaking) we don’t yet fully comprehend how much this changed the landscape of social media and digital marketing. Since 2018, many social media platforms and websites have had to implement changes to meet the far stricter data protection and privacy acts implemented by the EU and governments worldwide. Facebook themselves are currently implementing changes to their advertising options in order to make their platform more regulation compliant. Where there have previously been options for advertisers to select specific demographics as the primary audiences, some of the more sensitive selections are currently being removed to prevent harm or offence. The filters that are currently being removed are; Health-centric causes such as chemotherapy, cancer awareness and days dedicated to certain ailments. Information on sexual orientation and posts detailing subjects such as same-sex marriage and LGBT culture. Religious practices and affiliated groups alongside posts discussing subjects such as churches and ideologies. Political beliefs and social issues that may lead to the causing of harm or offence to other users. It’s fair to say that removal of these filters is only the start of seeing more advertising regulation imposed across Facebook and other websites, advertisers that market products or services specifically to one of these demographics will have to revamp their whole marketing strategy. There are bound to be more changes on the advertising filters in 2022 which may disrupt the overall functionality of many campaigns, this is definitely an area to keep an eye on. To find out more about the changes in Facebook ad targeting, check out our blog. Video Marketing The social media market has been shaken by a new arrival this year. The platform Tiktok has gained huge traction during the pandemic and has become a pillar of the industry. Tiktok is primarily a video-based app and just like Vine before it, it offers nicely packaged blocks of video content. This demonstrates the power of video marketing in captivating the attention of the consumer and keeping them engaged across several posts. There is also a psychological benefit to utilising video marketing with researchers noting that consumers build better associations between brands and products/services as well as making them infinitely more memorable. Video has become a popular advertising medium for marketers with Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat all offering stories alongside YouTube which almost entirely uses video. The use of video across social is mirrored across traditional websites and is used heavily to convey information or display the use of products and services. We are anticipating that video marketing will only grow in popularity with more digital marketers realising its value. This may lead to new compliance rules or changes within the medium. Change is inevitable when it comes to the world of digital marketing and as processes and platforms develop, so does the psychology of the consumer. When carrying out digital marketing of any form, knowledge about the latest developments is required in order to keep up with the competition and ensure compliance. If Google, Facebook, and other leading websites are pushing a medium or trend there will always be a reason behind it.

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