By John Lincoln, MBA, co-founder and CEO of Ignite Visibility and one of the top digital marketing consultants in the industry.
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Marketing in 2022 will feel like a whole new world. From a lack of third-party cookies to the evolution of social media advertising, marketers know they need to stay on top of the updates. Of course, new trends mean new challenges.
Knowing the biggest marketing challenges will help you prepare for a successful future.
1. Proper Tracking Is A Noteworthy Marketing Challenge Heading Into 2022
Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) can help you measure your campaign's success. This means you can optimize real-time and future campaigns for better performance.
Here's how to overcome tracking difficulties in five steps:
1. Define your KPIs.
2. Get tools that measure those KPIs.
3. Define who is in charge of tracking from the marketing department.
4. Have this person communicate their findings with the team.
5. Marketing strategists can use this information to adjust campaigns as needed.
Recycle and repeat the five-step approach as many times as you need to get a good hold on tracking.
2. Which Network Should You Spend Money On?
Many marketing professionals say they have difficulty determining their budget for online advertising. Part of that comes from the plethora of platforms and networks available for brands to spend their marketing money on.
To figure out which of the many paid media platforms you should spend your money on, analyze their impact. To do so, develop two things:
1. A system to test your cost per acquisition (CPA)
2. Campaigns to improve your CPA (and scale accordingly)
Factors like your budget and site performance will affect your decision on which networks to prioritize. You'll also need to ensure your audience actually spends time on that platform to make it worth your while.
3. How Opt-In Rules, Privacy And Data Sharing Pose Some Of The Biggest Marketing Challenges
We're entering a cookieless world. What does that mean? Networks are growing more strict with rules around opt-ins, privacy, data sharing and third-party cookies.
Fortunately, most marketers aren't concerned. Despite the fact that about 80% of marketers say getting rid of cookies will have a mild to major impact on advertising strategy, according to my company's research (registration required), 29% are confident in the effectiveness of other methods and 58% say those alternatives will be just as helpful in targeting.
To help you transition to a cookieless world, you can try a few methods:
1. Prioritize first-party data by offering valuable resources in exchange for basic information.
2. Pay attention to the news surrounding cookies and targeting (including server-side tagging through Google Tag Manager and conversion measurement application programming interfaces).
3. Consider the development of Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC). This is a Google Ads privacy-first alternative to third-party cookies; my company's research found that 58% of marketers believe FLoC will be more effective than cookie-based targeting.
4. Creative Content And Branding Are Big Marketing Challenges
Creative content and branding help companies develop a recognizable voice. Consistency across all online platforms matters.
Develop a style guide and branding guidelines, and make sure creatives know they need to comply when creating brand assets. From brand colors to logo styles — from visual media to written specifications — lay it all out on the table.
The earlier you define your creative content and branding guidelines, the sooner you can develop a strategy.
Focus on a few key things to get a grip on creative content and branding:
• Break down your audience and their journey at an elemental level.
• Make sure your marketing team is aware of content strategies and branding adjustments.
• Don't be afraid to invest. According to my company's research, over the next two years, 69% of marketers plan to increase their budgets.
As businesses continue to emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), make sure your messaging is in sync with your actions as a brand. Consumers can tell when a brand takes a stance for attention.
5. Taking On Omnichannel Marketing In 2022
Through omnichannel marketing, your company can get a holistic view of how your ads are performing on the web.
To successfully undertake omnichannel marketing, you can:
• Use alternatives to third-party cookies to understand your audience. Then, use that data to create a clear picture of who you're targeting across channels.
• If you're a brick-and-mortar store looking to up your digital marketing game, consider increasing your tech integration for automated omnichannel marketing.
• Build your content strategy in a way that caters to many different channels.
• Always measure your omnichannel marketing results and adjust accordingly.
It's Time To Overcome The Biggest Marketing Challenges
Just because it's an obstacle doesn't mean you can't overtake it.
By defining the biggest marketing challenges for the year ahead, you'll be poised for success.
Most marketers (76.4% of them, to be exact, according to my company's research) have a stronghold on a target cost per acquisition, and professionals are getting the hang of all those other marketing challenges, too.
