Digital marketing has changed dramatically in the past few years. Consumer behaviour is constantly changing, and with it, the way we present our brands and businesses online. Digital marketing trends constantly evolve, and provide businesses with opportunities to reach their audience in a brand new fashion. However, it also means those who fail to reap the rewards early can fall behind their competition. Let’s take a look at some digital marketing trends in 2022 and beyond that you should be aware of.
The Shifting Privacy Trend
One of the most influential digital marketing evolutions in recent and coming years is the shift from third-party data, to first-party data. From 2023 onwards, Google announced it is phasing out third-party cookies. This is big news! Any business that uses Google will lose access to any third party tracking setup, and no longer be able to see what users are doing across the web.
Without third-party data many brands will struggle to maintain their targeted ads approach that has been successful over the past few years. The result of this will be a huge shift to first-party data. That is data that is tracked on your website, and your website alone.
This will really ramp up the importance of building loyalty and establishing trust with users upon the first interaction. As if it wasn’t important enough, it is even more so now! Not every brand runs campaigns based on third party data, so some businesses may not be affected to the same degree. However, it will really impact the effectiveness of retargeting campaigns and data collection, which will change the way we view and operate today.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is the process of automating every day tasks to streamline your repetitive marketing practices. Technology grows smarter by the day, and new software continues to pop up that helps to automate any and all marketing functions. There’s no doubt that most B2B businesses will be using some form of marketing automation already, even if as a business you’re in your infancy.
Email campaigns, client relationship management software, and lead generation campaigns all inhibit some form of marketing automation. Email campaigns for example can be automated and segmented such that certain site visitors receive certain emails based on which page they land on, or if certain links are clicked/shared, certain actions happen off the back of that.
The same applies for any lead generation strategy, or client management strategy. All these software processes which are almost a staple of most B2B businesses use marketing automation. These are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s plenty more marketing automation software available that exists to streamline any repetitive processes such that people can make smarter decisions, and spend time on the stuff that really counts.
Artificial Intelligence & Robotic Process Automation
The future of marketing, and indeed many sectors, is operating in tandem with the evolution of technology. AI, machine learning and RPA make up a huge volume of new digital marketing trends in the digital landscape. SEO for example, is a hugely streamlined channel when you implement different machine learning tools. Take predictive keyword analysis. It is hugely important when developing an SEO strategy that you analyse users past and present search query history, to predict what keywords can and will be most impactful for your audience in the future. There are many other use cases within SEO too, like helping to flag duplicate content, or self-optimising for mobile.
Chatbots too are another area where AI can help to streamline the buyer’s journey, by providing simple tech based solutions without human involvement.
Many big businesses use AI on a daily basis to customise your journey. Companies like Google use AI in their search algorithm to help predict queries based on your data profile, while businesses like Spotify, Netflix, and Youtube create catered recommendations based on predictive AI. That same AI exists all throughout the B2B and B2C universe. The future of AI aims to help businesses identify patterns of behaviour, and implement predictive analytics to help to streamline customer journeys with minimal human interaction.
Sustainability
We’ve already established that consumer behaviour is changing. One of the digital marketing trends at the forefront of this changing behaviour is a focus on sustainability. Incredibly, 51% of consumers said they’re more conscious of sustainability compared to how they were 12 months ago, whilst 49% of consumers have said they’ve paid more for a product/service based on the brand’s sustainability profile. These numbers suggest a huge shift in the way consumers choose their products and services.
There’s a significant impetus on brands to be responsible, and demonstrate their responsibility towards a sustainable future. Yes, sustainability is not an overly ‘new’ thing, but only in recent years has it encapsulated more than your everyday products. B2B businesses that are many steps removed from the end consumer, or in the middle of the supply chain, still need to share a passion for sustainability.
Final Thoughts
If you’d like to find out more about digital marketing trends, and the role they may play on your marketing strategy, contact us here for a free consultation!
