THE SCAPE OF DIGITAL MARKETING IN 2022
22 May, 2021
While digital marketing continues to stay the most loved form of marketing as we enter the year 2022, the ever-evolving world of technology has created a whole new marketing landscape that companies must adapt to in order to stand out from a general lot of service providers.
Digital marketing tools are crucial for any company wishing to meet this challenge, but what exactly are the new digital marketing tools that should be used? This article will bring you face to face with ten possible technologies and apps that might form part of your 2022 digital marketing toolkit.
The new normals-to-be for digital marketing in 2022 and further
While there is still a lot of old technologies that will continue to dominate the digital marketing scenario, the following new additions will take the game to a new high, with their sheer potential:
Artificial Intelligence
The first in this list is artificial intelligence (AI). Companies are now focusing their attention on marketing automation, an area in which AI is set to play a major role in the future. AI will enable marketers to make data-driven decisions about how to target customers. It can help them turn leads into sales by personalizing the customer experience, by sending them targeted adverts or messages.
It can even keep a tab on the customer experience once they have bought a product, to ensure that they are leaving positive reviews and receiving value from it.
Augmented Reality
The second possible tool is augmented reality (AR). Augmented reality is likely to revolutionize e-commerce over the next few years by putting 3D virtual versions of products right in customers’ pockets. AR apps will help customers visualize a product in their own space, which is likely to make them more certain about purchasing it.
This technology would be best suited for, but not at all limited to, fashion retailers, with virtual clothes appearing on a customer’s body as they hold up their phone, but expect many other companies to follow suit before too long.
ChatBots:
The third revolutionary technology is chatbots. These are essentially automated customer service apps that answer customers’ questions or take their orders without the need for human input; most people now seem to use them through instant messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger rather than websites.
Here is a video to help you understand how chatbots work!
Those with knowledge about digital marketing tools will be well aware of this trend, but what makes it so significant is its ability to scale.
Big Data Analytics:
The fifth technology in this list is big data analytics, which will allow marketers to target users based on their previous behavior, rather than only what they are doing at that moment. For example, if a user has clicked on an advert for a sports car and then visited the websites of car dealerships, it would allow them to be targeted by salespeople with details about other cars available.
Programmatic Marketing:
The sixth technology is programmatic marketing. Programmatic marketing will help marketers increase efficiency by automating some of their tasks. For example, programmatic ad buying allows advertisers to bid for the best slots on websites in an auction-style format, so they know how much their ad is likely to cost before committing to it.
Location-based Marketing:
The seventh possible technology is location-based marketing. Location-based marketing allows businesses to show advertisements to users based on their current whereabouts. Advertisers will be able to deliver more targeted messages as a result, increasing the likelihood of them being clicked on.
For example, a café looking to attract customers could send users coupons for coffee once they enter a certain area around their shop. This would only work with those using location-based apps, however, but it is likely that many people will have these installed on their phones by 2022.
This would be particularly useful for companies with shops in shopping malls. They could track users’ movements using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signals, and send them personalized deals while they are nearby.
Blockchain:
Blockchain is a digital ledger that records every transaction made under it, meaning that it is decentralized and cannot be changed by anybody once a transaction has been recorded.
Blockchain is what makes cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin possible, but its uses extend far beyond this. For example, an advertiser could record how much they spend on a certain marketing campaign and the results it produces, which would give other marketers a better idea of what to expect from their campaigns in the future.
Watch this YouTube video to get a fair idea of how Blockchain works:
It could also be used as a form of ID system for refugees, as they would only be able to come into the country once their name has been added to the blockchain and verified by certain authorities so that nobody can pretend to be them.
Smart Contracts:
The ninth possible technology or app is smart contracts. Smart contracts are pieces of software that live on a blockchain, which means that they cannot be altered in any way. Blockchain is essentially a database where all transactions are recorded in chronological order, meaning that it is impossible for any information to be added, changed, or deleted. Smart contracts are not exclusive to blockchain however; they can also live on traditional databases.
The main benefit of smart contracts is that they automatically enforce the obligations written within them, which means there is no need to trust a third party. For example, if somebody wanted to rent a house using a smart contract, they would automatically pay the owner when they move in and the owner would automatically give them a key. Any problems with this process would cause the contract to be terminated.
User Experience Analytics:
The final technology is user experience analytics. This will help marketers monitor how users are engaging with their websites, apps, and adverts to ensure that they are working as effectively as possible. By reviewing this data, teams will be able to identify usability issues or other problems that may be preventing customers from converting into sales.
Even though it may seem like there is very little chance of these technologies becoming mainstream in just four years’ time, it is possible that they will gradually become more popular as we move deeper into the 21st century.
It may be some time before we start to see these technologies and apps on our smartphones, but once they do appear it could change the way we use them forever.