Continued social change, the introduction of new technologies, and changing formats for "selling" and consuming content, are increasingly influencing the future of marketing.
Printed 2022-09-01
Welcome to the era of a post-consumer meta-universe with unique digital content.
The metaverse
We should start with the most progressive event of 2021, which outlined the future development - the announcement of meta universes. Although they are mostly associated with Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and even Disney have announced the development of their meta-universes. The fusion of the physical world, augmented and virtual, as recently described by sci-fi writers, is more relevant than ever. Especially in the era of remote communication amid the pandemic and the development of VR, AR technologies that bring the meta-universe closer, and technologies such as NFT expand the variations to sell in it.
Metaworlds are one of the most promising areas according to analysts, so attracting finance, users and brands to them will be extremely active.
For brands, it is already important to "digitalize" their product, make 3D models, product recognition in instagram, implementation of voice search, etc., to be ready to be the first to capture new worlds. After all, Instagram will soon become the AR portal for Facebook, being directly connected to glasses and augmented reality tools and openly used as a platform to showcase, interact and distribute NFT content.
AR and VR
Augmented and virtual reality technologies themselves are not new. Almost every brand has masks on instagram and, they have figured out how to use them effectively. However, amid the development of technology and the increase in interest in it (according to Social Media Today, the number of requests for the keyword "social media AR" has increased by 81% over the past 5 years), new trends are emerging.
So, there are rumors that in 2022 Apple will present its AR glasses, and Facebook will probably update the existing RayBan glasses with AR technology. In addition, Mark promises a wristband for interacting with AR and a next-generation Oculus VR helmet. Such gadgets, from such brands, will instantly popularize the technology and expand the possibilities of integrating brands into augmented reality. They can fundamentally change the usual ways of managing interfaces and interacting with content. It is important for brands to follow emerging technologies, test them and understand the processes of integration into the "digital world" in order to quickly calculate the economics of an active launch, if necessary.
Artificial Intelligence
A never-ending trend of recent years that is evolving at an ever-increasing rate and encompassing new areas. The emergence of GPT-3, neural networks for image selection and rendering, understanding the context of content, fast operation of big data, the ability to "communicate", etc. All these technologies are gradually introduced in marketing, allowing to test the effectiveness of their use to replace the classic human resources. The increasing availability of these technologies makes it easier for brands to use them.
In 2022 we should expect to see commercially successful, creative, festival projects created using these technologies and with minimal involvement of human workers in production. And then the approach will spread to the masses. Automation of advertising and analysis of behavioral activity will not go unnoticed. Also the preliminary estimation of content quality, which will correlate with actual - is also not far off. Text and voice chatbots will become even smarter, more useful for companies and less annoying for people. If you want to be among the first, you know what to do.
NFT and copyrights
The non-interchangeable token is a technology that burst into 2021, opening the door with a bang. Brands, celebrities, collectors and, of course, digital creators immediately appreciated all the possibilities that came before them. But, from a technical point of view, its application is still far from mass and final. New ways to integrate and use NFT will emerge fairly quickly. Snapchat and Twitter are already mastering it, introducing and encouraging collections and opportunities to design their accounts (digital images) into unique avatars or clothes. The same is happening in multiplayer games. Facebook plans to use this technology in its meta-universe, creating a digital identity and building a bridge between the Facebook profile and presence in virtual reality.
But the biggest shift, not just for social networks, but for the entire Internet will happen the moment NFT begins to be used to "tag" all new content. This will largely solve the issue of copyright and dealing with authors on behalf of social networks, which they have long been interested in.
For brands, it's worth thinking both about creating unique NFT merchandise and using the technology more deeply to protect their products and services in the future.
Social media - sales platforms
In 2022, the privacy concerns that heavily impacted tracking and targeting in 2021 will become more tangible and go far beyond iOS. Google, for example, has already announced that it will do away with cookies until year 23, which could have a negative impact on the effectiveness of its ads.
However, Facebook's advertising tools, which were hit first and foremost by the changes, are gradually recovering their effectiveness. The Facebook Pixel is once again showing potential. That said, developers will continue to create new solutions. There are already rumors of a big update to Facebook's attribution system. Additional tools and targeting options are likely to be released soon to help soften the blow of all these changes. In addition, Facebook may also look at getting data from offline, up to and including incentives to scan QR codes in-store to provide more transparent attribution.
Facebook is also developing predictive and machine learning systems. Not only do they work effectively, but they also keep advertisers encouraged to "trust the process," be patient and run longer campaigns with progressively greater results.
Either way, in 2022, social media will do everything it can to retain advertisers and prove the effectiveness of its tools.
Social media as a shopping platform
Statistics show that users are willing to shop on social media (87% of online shoppers say social networks help them make purchasing decisions; 76% of customers are willing to shop on social networks). And figures from China, where 70% of Gen Z shoppers do so, indicate that this future awaits Western social media.
Facebook has already made a big push into e-commerce since the pandemic began with the introduction of Facebook and Instagram. Today, selling on the platforms has become one of the key elements. In 2022, they will only evolve, simplifying payment processes (perhaps through the development of Facebook Pay and Diem's own platform). Ideally, Instagram wants all items in publications to be available for purchase, and it is working on object identification tools in images and videos to implement this.
Brands shouldn't delay in connecting their product catalogs and setting up the ability to sell on the platforms. The way consumers buy can change pretty quickly.
Short memory and fast content
As the amount of information increases, users' attention spans and memory durations shorten. A user can lose focus after 8 seconds, which, based on average ad video views, can still be considered pretty good. Nevertheless, brands are learning how to deliver information and hold subscribers' attention with fast content in the Stories, My Days, Reels, etc. format. Such content has already become popular, with the emergence of Tik Tok. It seems instagram may soon change its main feed to Reels, too. For brands, there are two reasons to use fast content: First, it manages to get the message across faster, keeping the user's attention until the end. At the same time, reinforcing brand recall through interactive interaction with additional functionality (polls, stickers the ability to add links, etc.).
Secondly, quick content has a positive impact on sales because of its ephemeral nature. For users, the fear of missing out on an offer is real. Ephemeral content encourages your subscribers to immediately check out what you post because it is only available for a short time. It can elicit an immediate reaction from users and increase conversion to action, because of the risk of missing an opportunity.
In 2022, if you want to be seen, you need to think shorter. You want short but informative and interactive videos that are easy to watch. And not just in organics, TikTok videos will do well in advertising, too.
User-generated content
Brands have already learned how to use macro- and micro-influencers in their promotion. Separate agencies and tools within the social networks themselves have emerged for such interactions. This advertising channel has shown to be effective. Social networks and brands will be thinking about how to expand it. Obviously, expansion is possible by moving to a "lower level" where regular users are present.
UGC has long been considered one of the most effective ways to promote advertising messages. 85% of consumers respond better to visual user-generated content compared to photos and videos of brands. And social media is likely to present tools to encourage regular users to create "promotional content" for brands. This could be special sections in Stories, paid reviews, etc. In addition, social networks will teach users to create good content by trying to introduce payment to authors.
Personalization of communication
In 2022, amid the general trend of personalized marketing, users will care more about personal communication than mass advertising. They will have an increasing desire for good personalized customer service.
This will manifest itself both in brand appreciation for the individuality of the advertising offer and in the speed and quality of response across all channels. Whether it's comments or personal messaging. For example, 69% of customers say that interacting with a company through personal messages makes them feel more comfortable with the brand
We should expect the implementation of similar CRM systems within social networks, allowing you to create personalized ads and view the entire history of communication with each user in a single window.
Offer exclusivity
Onlyfans on social media is what's in store for us. The appeal of exclusivity has a strong influence on consumers. People always want something unique and today's marketplace encourages that desire.
We're in for the emergence of "secret pages," content and offers only for certain subscribers. Whether it's those who have paid for access, scored certain social interactions, made a certain number of purchases, or selected by other criteria that are beneficial for brands.
Thus, brands can use this trend to collect and filter the most loyal customers, encouraging them to buy more, additional promotion of promotions and discounts, getting additional profits from the distribution of exclusive materials, etc. Closed Facebook groups or Instagram posts for close friends only will be "new" tools for brands, but there will also be really new tools for such interaction.
Social media Panels
SMM Panels are widely used for internet marketing purposes. These panels make it quick and easy to get subscribers, social media likes and site views. A typical example is N1Panel: https://n1panel.com/. It is a panel that provides the oldest and most reliable automated social media services. It is a fully automated system with a structure where you can get subscribers, likes, views and more without giving your password.
It is a marketing tool that provides social media services such as followers, views, likes, comments, posts and more. SMM translates as social media marketing.
Decentralization of social media
Against the background of the increasing complexity of the mechanics of advertising tools, scandals with information blocking and annoying dependence on social networks, large companies will have a desire to have a fallback ground.The solution will be "their own social networks". Of course, it won't be about competition with the big sites. But the functionality of branded applications will gradually expand in the direction of social communication between customers. Internal social networks with forums in applications and functions that allow to return control over their audience will give brands the opportunity to accumulate and retain the most loyal part of the audience in them.
Brands will strive by all means to decentralize social media because it benefits them.
