Things are constantly changing in the modern world. Nowhere is that more true than digital marketing. Unfortunately, companies that don’t keep up with that fast pace will be left using outdated techniques – and could lose out to their competitors.
Needless to say, we don’t want that to happen to your business! So, read on as we look at three digital marketing trends that are set to skyrocket in 2022.
Social media is one of the clearest examples of how fast digital marketing can move. While some businesses are still getting used to the ‘new-fangled’ world of Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, many consumers have already moved on. The number of people under 34 who use Facebook, for example, has fallen year on year.
Ask people from that age category what they waste their time on instead, and most will answer TikTok. The video-focussed app has become hugely popular amongst a predominantly young audience, with content in the form of short videos. With clips ranging from 15 seconds to three minutes, it takes advantage of consumers’ ever-decreasing attention spans.
The success of TikTok will no doubt lead to short-form videos being used more widely. If it works for online influencers, why can’t it work for you? We’ve previously discussed how video can make content more engaging and shareable. Those benefits could be amplified if you make an effort to keep videos short, snappy and super-easy to watch.
User-generated content (UGC) has been around for some time. But it’s only recently that it’s been recognised as such a powerful tool. For the uninitiated, UGC refers to any content that is created by users (consumers) rather than a brand – but then used by a brand on their social media or advertisements.
UGC includes everything from pictures and videos of customers using products to simple customer reviews. By using it (with permission, of course), brands can make a connection with their users and make them feel more valued.
But that’s not all. It also makes your ads more effective. Nine in ten consumers say they’d be more influenced by UGC compared to a brand’s own efforts like promotional emails and search engine results. We expect that to really take off in 2022.
Now for a digital marketing trend that is most useful in non-digital settings – the QR code. While these little black and white icons seemed to have risen and fallen already, they’ve made a pretty miraculous comeback in the past couple of years.
Why? It’s hard to see past the pandemic. QR codes made it easy for people to view digital menus, order food, make contactless payments and even return products at drop off points. In other words, they allowed us to complete basic tasks without interacting and touching things.
Simply point your camera at the QR code, and your mobile device will take you to a specific page. It’s like a clickable link for non-clickable settings. After their covid-related success in 2020 and 2021, we expect QR codes to become far more commonplace on a wide range of printed marketing materials – bridging the gap between offline and online marketing.
Whether you’re separating UGC depending on permission or revamping your print marketing materials to get QR codes front and centre, iBase’s digital asset management software makes it easier to organise, retrieve, edit and share your content.
If you’d like to find out more, feel free to arrange a one-to-one demo with our team.
