With 2020 and 2021 behind us, and January flying by, it’s time to look forward to what 2022 can bring!

Before we dive in, it’s important to consider how the social advertising and e-commerce landscape has changed. 

(And boy, has it changed recently!)

Prior to the pandemic, whilst customers were certainly used to researching and ordering products online - there was nowhere near the level of exposure to online advertising there is now. 

But since 2020, with lockdowns in place, print already in decline for a number of years, along with an entire user base essentially stuck at home with more time to spend browsing online and on mobile - businesses increasingly used online advertising as the core focus of their marketing strategies.

The result?

Innovation.

And not just from businesses, but from the social platforms too, with many launching in-platform Shops and continuing development on existing products such as Workplace to better enable remote working, giving businesses, even more, to consider, plan and control. 

With this in mind - here’s a quick rundown on just three key trends to watch out for in 2022 to help you plan and adapt your strategy.

AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) 

Around for a few years already, 2022 could see a larger uptake in augmented reality by e-commerce brands. 

AR can be an incredibly personal way of reaching your audience and achieving results. It enables an ‘overlay’ experience for consumers, allowing them to interact with and in some cases test products before purchase. 

An example of this could be an e-commerce company that produce office chairs developing an app to see how the item of furniture looked within their own home.

The AR content has the following benefits for businesses:

• Reduction of return rates - as we hinted above, it is a unique opportunity to try before you buy.
• Higher conversion rates - the technology adds another touchpoint, and as it can increase engagement between the consumer and a company can lead to higher conversion rates too
• Increased revenue - research by Deloitte has found that 40% of shoppers would pay more for a product if they could test it through AR first.
  

This could go even further in 2022 with brands also turning to virtual reality. 

VR provides an immersive experience by creating a digital environment capable of body and motion tracking and with both AR and VR offering not only options for marketing but applications across the whole organisation…

Who knows, we could see you in a meeting in the metaverse soon!‍

Tik Tok

Experiencing phenomenally fast growth (the first non-Facebook app to reach 3 million global downloads) in 2021 may cause you to think it’s a fad.

Truth is though, it’s likely here to stay and is set to be the world’s third-largest social network in 2022, with the ever-growing popularity of short-form as well as entertaining video content being the key to the platform’s success!

But timing played a key role as well, launching at a time when individuals were seeking an escape from everyday life. 

The key measure of TikTok’s success? Market-dominating competitors feeling pressured to launch new video features on their platforms!

(We see you, Instagram!)‍

It has a slightly more relaxed vibe than the other platforms. This enables brands to test content they wouldn’t necessarily push through other platforms and channels which gives further opportunity to gain insight into your customers and to potentially reach a new audience base.

Increase in Social commerce

A revolution has taken place and many of us haven’t even thought about it!

Once upon a time, if we wanted to buy something we would visit a shop. That quickly made way for e-commerce, now a well established market force that has made shopping easier than ever before for consumers all around the world.

But now, e-commerce is making way for a new phenomenon.

Social commerce.

Social commerce is essentially a segment of e-commerce, where the entire shopping process occurs on social media.‍

Everything from the initial product discovery, reviewing different brands and options right the way through to purchases and customer service. 

In 2022, we will see both an increase in consumer uptake of social commerce and a significant amount of innovation from the various social platforms as they aim to make their offering the best out there. 

If you missed some of the recent developments in social commerce, here’s a quick rundown:

• Pinterest ‘Shop’ tab - enabling users to shop via product pins on a specific tab (rather than mixed in with general pins.
• TikTok expanding their Shopify partnership to test TikTok Shopping
• Facebook and Instagram Shops and (in the US) their direct checkout process

So there you have it.

Our predictions for the top three digital marketing trends to keep an eye on in 2022!

How will these trends impact your business? WILL they impact your business?

In a rapidly changing marketplace, with new competition and new consumer trends emerging all the time, it’s vital to keep your finger on the pulse.

Could offering AR be the solution to increasing your ROAS over the coming year? Could launching on TikTok get you in front of a whole new customer base? Could setting up an Instagram shop make it easier than ever before for your customers to buy from you?

The truth is, only time will tell! (And that’s one of the things we find so exciting about digital marketing!)

We’ve covered just three things we think will be key this year but there are many more we’ll see in 2022, let us know what you think are the key trends to watch out for.