We are well into 2022 and Q1 is almost over, but, everyone is trying to navigate what digital advertising is going to look like for the rest of 2022. The burning question: “What does the future hold for online advertising and business?” This is the most unique business situation of our lifetime, and the pandemic hasn’t deterred the creation of new businesses and iOS14 privacy changes have single handedly caused chaos and turmoil for many online advertisers, including Facebook itself. With all of that said, online advertising still generates great returns, if you stay updated and remain consistent.
Online advertising trends in 2022
There are a wide variety of online advertising platforms available for your use beyond Google and Facebook, which are worth exploring as they’ve skyrocketed to popularity since the late 2010s. And at this point, it’s obvious online advertising and digital marketing are worth it for businesses in both the B2B and B2C space, let’s get ready to explore the different trends we see coming out of 2022.
1. Stake your claim in the Metaverse
Everyone, and I mean everyone, is talking about the Metaverse. It’s not surprising to see that spaces are quickly getting claimed by companies with marketing initiatives for the future. This is a massive opportunity for businesses to create more immersive and relevant audience experiences that can amplify your brand’s presence and perception across the web(s). But, is it time to start advertising in the Metaverse, buying up virtual billboards and placements? The possibilities are truly endless and it’s the wild wild west (or wild wild Meta) out there, so keeping an eye on new placements, new opportunities in the metaverse might be a critical part of this strategy as the channel grows. First players always end up benefiting the most.
2. Snapchat: More than your average photo-sharing app
Snapchat is becoming the next hot advertising platform, especially given its prevalence among Gen-Z and millennial users. This core demographic spends an average of 30 minutes per day on the app…and given their daily user base of 498 million people, you have a massive potential market there that you can take advantage of with Snapchat ads. You can do this through their native app, putting together your first campaign in minutes: offering an easier process than Facebook for campaign execution and A/B split testing.
Platforms for e-commerce and B2C businesses thrive on photo-centric and experience-reliant platforms like Instagram and Snapchat and it is a very active customer base that you can tap into. The audience is there, the channel is there, and it’s time to utilize it.
3. Leverage micro influencers to take your brand to new heights
Relatability is becoming a massive theme in online advertising, which is where micro-influencers can be helpful. Gone are the days of perfectly manicured social media grids and flawless, perfect lifestyle images. People want the nitty-gritty realness of your product and user experiences, which you can leverage through industry-specific micro-influencers as spokespeople for your brand. You can use their testimonials in native video content, or to create short-form Facebook ads that convert.
The best part is that these types of partnerships can be extremely useful but very cost-effective, and help you to save big on your overall ad-spend. Micro-influencers will also generally share their partnerships and collaborations on their own profiles, getting you additional visibility at no extra cost. There are agencies and freelancers that you can connect within your space to help you amplify your online advertising presence and strategy.
4. Video is king…and so is all creative…across all platforms
While this may come as no surprise to anyone, the importance of immersive and gripping video hasn’t gone by the wayside in 2022. If anything, it’s back…and bigger than ever. Investing in professionally shot video ads and social media video content is going to be an asset that can elevate you in 2022, instantly. Video content is key to doing just that. Even if you don’t have a huge budget for professionally shot video content or even photography, leveraging social media content, ugc, content from influencers, etc. could be an alternative that works really well. Anything you can do to stand out and vary your creative on a consistent rolling basis. I would argue, now more than ever, creative is going to drive performance and building creative around demand generation and purchase funnels are going to be a necessity.
5. TikTok isn’t just a dancing app
TikTok has come a long way since its launch in 2016 and has a very active and extremely engaged audiences. It’s not just dancing and memes now, it’s truly become a powerful place for brands and advertisers to market their products. The TikTok Ads platform is powerful because you are able to get directly in front of your targeted consumer due to its extremely accurate algorithm and process, making paid ads and targeted content on this platform exponentially important to your digital marketing strategy. It reminds me of the power Facebook Ads had a few years ago for businesses just starting to grow and become popular. And, for E-commerce businesses selling products that aren’t a considered purchase, it’s a great discovery mechanism to drive people in your advertising funnel.
6. Privacy changes are coming to a platform near you
With talks of Web3, a blockchain-style, decentralized web format, and more FTC complaints on the rise, it is likely that we will see massive privacy changes coming in the future of online advertising. As of January 18th, new legislation was introduced regarding user privacy law amendments that would prohibit targeted ads from being run based on certain tracking data, characteristics, and demographics. Since this is a massive part of Facebook and Google ads, digital marketers around the world will be waiting to see what comes of these proposed changes.
These would be the first of many incoming large-scale changes as the notion of the internet continues to evolve. Presently, we can expect that several social and ad networks will continue to change and amend their policies to be more client-centric and protective over user data, which may limit or completely abolish the use of targeted ads and certain forms of data tracking in the future.
Ready to navigate the challenges that are here to stay with privacy and new platforms? Not sure where to start? Our data-driven digital marketing services really deliver on a holistic marketing funnel that will guide your company to success.
