One of our favorite, albeit challenging, things about working in digital is keeping up with the pace of the changing landscape. From watching the meteoric rise of TikTok to implementing advanced functionality for websites to support a more remote world, 2021 was a wild ride. Businesses can expect to see these trends continue into 2022. Here are a few strategies you should keep your eye on in the new year.
Website Trends for 2022
When COVID hit in early 2020, businesses that had already begun to embrace the digital space quickly proved to be more resilient to the instant adjustment to a remote world. Those who were slower to the punch had to scramble to adapt. As a result, websites had to be beefed up across the board. We’ll see many of those changes become the standard in 2022.
Here are our top three recommendations to keep up with the rapid changes:
- Accessibility – Accessibility will continue to take center stage in 2022. Accessibility on the web is needed – both ethically and legally – for a more inclusive and welcoming experience for every person. Our team is actively seeking new ways to provide better digital spaces that are accessible, useable, and enable all communities to have equal opportunities to engage on the web. In addition, lawsuits against non-compliant sites are costly and becoming more common.
- Security – Your website is always on. Over the past two years, we saw a rise in malicious bots and hacking programs making attempts to gain access to companies’ websites. Your web and IT teams need to implement additional security to protect your business and your website visitors. Nobody wants to work with a business that has an untrustworthy website.
- Functionality – COVID skyrocketed the rate at which businesses needed to adapt and improve their functionality on the web. Businesses were forced to digitize customer interactions via their websites or mobile apps to stay in business. From appointment setting interfaces to chatbots, new tools had to be implemented to maintain a continuum of service. We expect to see businesses continuing to find creative ways to use digital as the “current climate” becomes the new norm.
Digital Marketing Trends for 2022
The digital marketing landscape is changing at lightning speed. Brand value has shifted from celebrity testimonials to influential creator endorsements. There seems to be a new social media platform released every month and companies are having to adapt quickly to the increasing variety of media formats.
Here are our top three strategies to consider:
- Vertical Video – We’ve been talking about the importance of video for years, but with the rapid growth of TikTok, social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are also making a move toward vertical, short-form video. It’s another layer of production you’ll need to add to your video strategy, but it’s not impossible to manage. Instead of trying to perform well on all platforms, choose one that will allow you to connect to your target audience and plan your content formats accordingly.
- Beyond Social – Facebook will always be a behemoth of a digital platform, but as users and customers become more and more disenchanted with large social media platforms, digital strategies need to adapt. While social media can be easy and relatively cheap to distribute your brand messaging, it shouldn’t be the only digital tool in your toolbelt. Make sure you’re thinking beyond social media to connect with your customers. Direct messaging tactics like email and text messages will save you from the distrust swarming the social media landscape.
- Pay to Play – Brands continue to see their organic reach and engagement decline on social media. Even if you don’t plan to have a full social media advertising strategy, we recommend saving a portion of your marketing budget to boost your most high-quality content to assure they reach your desired audience.
We hope these recommendations help light the path forward for your digital strategy in 2022. From all of the #FirefliNerds – have the happiest of holidays!