As a continuation to
last year’s list of trends, this year Antonio Ivoš, Head of Digital at Ascanius Media Croatia gathered the most important digital trends, which will shape the regional markets. Online advertising is the most rapidly growing segment, with many interesting facets: metaverse marketing on the rise, video ruling out static creatives and live chats enabling more active brand interactions. Here are the most significant digital trends in 2022.
- Metaverse marketing
Essentially, the metaverse is a parallel virtual world, and what we need to understand is that metaverse is not just a catchy a buzzword: it seems like it is here to stay and is making its way to be the next big thing, reshaping marketing for the years to come. Although there’s a visible divide in European internet bandwidth causing concerns about the practical use, but soon enough we will be buying advertising space in virtual world, so keep eye on that.
- Data & Privacy
First-party data will become the foundation of all marketing initiatives. We have learned in last few years that we can't rely on platforms as Facebook and Google after ruling out their third-party data. It’s considered the most valuable, though might lack scale, and many organizations, who have not been prepared to work with it, will have hard time to stay competitive.
- Video, video & even more video
Video is slowly replacing static creatives and it’s becoming the cornerstone of all marketing campaigns as we can see that social media and streaming TV platforms are introducing new advertising products that emphasize the video format. Buyers are receptive to video advertising more than ever, its reach and engagement rates are undoubtable, which metrics also contribute to higher Google ranking.
- Everything is algorithm-driven
Every part of digital marketing is becoming algorithm-driven, and this development takes away a lot of the grunt work. Marketers now have the opportunity, but also the need to become more strategic and spend more time on how to successfully communicate with consumers. Further tailoring your message for different target groups is essential.
- Conversational marketing
Live chats allow customers to interact with brands at their own convenience and on the platform of their choice, such as WhatsApp for Business or Facebook Messenger. Apart from helping existing customers thus building active relationships, chatbots are also effective lead generation tools. Brands need to be prepared to use this automation to their marketing toolkit in 2022, as chatbots are no longer just a 'nice-to-have' feature, but a fundamental part of online marketing.
- Influencers continue to grow
You thought we couldn’t have more of the influencers? Well, the growth of this segment in digital marketing is unstoppable, but now marketers are in need a more targeted use of influencers. We see the rise of micro-influencers because they are not only much more cost-effective, but their engagement levels are typically also very high. Beside that, we also see long-term relationships with influencers and always-on strategies as a defining trend.
- Less is more
Every year we are getting more options and platforms to use when it comes to advertising, and it’s a huge mistake to spread too thin across too many options. We have to stop for the moment, find what really works for your client. You don't have to follow every trend if it doesn’t fit your expectations and plans. We should focus on fewer things that works best and become better at those.
Antonio Ivoš, Head of Digital at Ascanius Media Croatia
