New Year, new buzzwords. The digital marketing world is making big moves in 2022. Staying on top of these changes early is key to your business’s success this year! We’ve put together the top buzzwords for 2022 and our best tips for how to take advantage of these growing trends.
Quick breakdown…
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Brand Purpose
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Digital Maturity
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Hyper-Personalization
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Social Proof
- First-Party data
Read on to learn what each buzzword means and what you can do to make the most of it.
1. Brand Purpose
Your business’s brand purpose is the “why” behind your company. Put another way, it’s an additional reason your business exists beyond making a profit. For example, RevLocal’s brand purpose is to empower small businesses to thrive so they can positively impact their communities.
Brand transparency is a frequent customer demand. Consumers want to know that their money is being put towards good use when they purchase your products or services. Having quality products and reasonable prices aren’t enough these days to win new customers. Having a defined and advertised brand purpose can give your business a competitive edge!
When creating a brand purpose, an easy and effective choice is to keep it related to your industry. If you’re in the landscaping or gardening industry, consider donating a portion of your profits to environmental conservation causes or hosting an annual tree-planting in your community. Your brand purpose would be something along the lines of: empowering individuals everywhere to keep our planet green and beautiful. If you’re in the wellness industry, you could create educational materials to empower individuals to take control of their health. The brand purpose could be: we exist to strengthen our community by helping individuals make informed choices for their health. The possibilities are endless!
When new faces interact with your brand, your purpose for doing business should be evident and not hidden away on an obscure page on your website. Shout it loud and clear on your social media pages and in your store! Remember, your brand purpose will only give your business that competitive edge if customers know about it. Don’t be shy! Give new customers a reason to feel great about doing business with you.
2. Digital Maturity
Digital maturity is a business’s ability to be flexible in the face of rapidly changing technologies and landscapes and expertly implementing the new tech into their industry. Essentially, it’s how well a company keeps up with new trends and available tech to remain relevant and competitive.
Digital maturity requires continuous self-education, an open mindset and the bravery to take big risks before the masses do. What it means to be digitally mature is different for every industry and every business. Small business owners have different choices and capabilities than large, established companies. What matters is wherever your business is in its growth-journey, that its leaders are fearlessly making advances instead of going along with the crowd.
Digital maturity takes time to build; We like to think of it as a habit. As you learn more about how to stand out in your market space and make changes to stay competitive, your digital maturity will grow!
3. Hyper-Personalization
It’s been said that experiences are the new social currency. The more personalized the experience, the more valuable to the consumer and ultimately your business.
Hyper-personalization can be as simple as using someone’s first name in an email blast or as complex as installing an augmented reality tool on your site where customers can “test out” your products in their home.
Whatever your business can do to create a hyper-personalized experience, your business should do. Consumers are more attracted to businesses that they feel known by than businesses who don’t hyper-personalize in their marketing. When your business is found online, help it be chosen by creating hyper-personalized experiences wherever you can along the customer journey.
4. Social Proof
Having a social proof business means that your marketing takes advantage of the previous positive experiences and reviews customers have left and showcases any achievements, awards or certifications your business might hold.
By advertising these highlights, your business is leveraging the psychological power of group-think. If a new customer sees a trail of positivity and credibility in your business’s wake, they will be more likely to interact with it than a business with a neutral air about it.
Social proofing can happen on your site with testimonials and reviews, on your social media page by highlighting success stories or collaborating with influencers, and in your store with fun-facts about your team or pictures of happy customers.
Social proofing is a worthwhile project and you’ll find that you get an energy boost too from looking through all the good and value your business has provided over the years.
5. First-Party Data
New online privacy laws and changes to third-party data sharing is making first-party data gathering more important than ever. First-party data means that your business personally and consensually collected a consumer’s information and now owns that information. Third and second-party data refer to information collected by a separate entity that is up for sale to other businesses who want to expand their audiences.
There are a variety of ways for your business to collect customer data without the use of third and second-party sources. Here are just a few:
- Asking for emails at the point of sale
- Creating a rewards program where customers enroll with their contact information
- Surveys & quizzes
- Asking customers to create an account on your site before they checkout
As it becomes more difficult to acquire third and second-party data, implementing a system to catch your customer’s data will be key to your advertising and research efforts.
Final thoughts…
These 2022 buzzwords are storming digital marketing and creating new opportunities for businesses everywhere. However you can, start implementing these new strategies today!
If you enjoyed this blog, check out others here. If you want to learn more about what it’s like to have RevLocal handle your digital marketing, contact us today for a free consultation with one of our experts.