Predicting the future of content in 2022

As we are waving goodbye to 2021, and facing 2022 with a positive outlook, is no doubt that 2020 is still teaching us marketers more lessons to reach customers, as it marked a turning point with implications that will last for ages to come.?

People’s conscience was shifted, with a strong drive for inclusivity and equality, obligated brands to also increase their participation, and adopting a more purposeful communication that responded to customer’s demands in refreshing, interactive ways, and this is not going to stop, in fact, these changes are the seed for new experiences for 2022, and a vital part of marketing strategies across brands’ customer journey, because let’s not forget one important thing: You can use creativity for impact, but if this creativity isn’t helping reach branding and commercial goals, then it’s simply not working.?

So, what can brands do to be on-trend??

The days where brands were communicating passively are forgotten. Today, it’s about flexibility, inclusion, and evolving creativity in real-time. So brands cannot just rely on one strategy and stick without making changes, they have to always be in constant research, and continuously interacting with their customers, making sure they are not left behind and forgotten in a scroll, and if that means changing a touchpoint, or focus in a new one, then it must be done.?

Many of our clients at 121 shares this standard behavior: the breakdown of budget across paid, owned, and earned digital channels. There’s ongoing importance of a website, social media, Ecomm, and SEO and adoption of digital technologies based on these themes: Multichannel Marketing Hubs, Conversational marketing, Customer-centric, AI, and machine learning. And content, as the great Bill Gates said, content is still the king, as it is highly cost-effective, can be easily tested without losing a significant amount of budget, and enhances lead conversion, as it boosts brand awareness. This, and many more benefits respond to why?70% of brands are actively engaging in content marketing.?Even in 2020, which has been labeled as the year of adversities, more than 24% of companies plan on increasing their investment in content marketing.

Content is for all

?According to Facebook’s latest creative forecast for 2022, there are game-changers key points for brand communication and that I personally find of enormous value, as it moves with the same speed that culture moves, and it help brands stay out from the shadows. One of them is inclusivity. People always see social media as a place to be heard and recognized for who they are, and brands need to be there, opening their doors and creating content that welcomes everyone and sees everyone as equal. Take?Savage x Fenty Show?for example. Each year the marketing mogul, Rihanna, launches a live fashion show on Amazon Prime, and where she showcases all types of bodies, gender, and ethnic backgrounds, followed by curvy in-store mannequins, a makeup line that embraces all tones of skins along with content that celebrates the beauty of all shapes. Such strategic moves have been applauded by their users and have made the artist one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time.?

Before jumping out to the market, and talk about inclusivity, brand managers and their teams have to ask themselves how to represent in a truthful and authentic way your brand, and how can they build a more purposeful, deeper connection with their users? Is there a topic where they can make a positive change and become culture shifters? Remember that inclusivity is essential, as long as it’s real, and is applied across the whole business, not only for a campaign to gain some leads but inside the company practices as well.?

Don’t show an idea; sell it!?

One of the most exciting points that Facebook’s creative forecast points out is that selling relevant ideas for customers can truly boost awareness and revenue. People are constantly discovering online, looking for more disruptive initiatives, and taking action towards it. Brands have to stay relevant, not only by talking about an idea but applying it in their products.?Vanish, for example, in order to breathe life into clothes, and fight against clothing pollution, created a special treatment that brought back colors to garments and kept them looking as good as new, even after many wears. This is only one of many initiatives that brands are partaking to be part of the changing world and helping customers to reassess their habits for the better.?

Re-thinking products and designing experiences for users are crucial before developing a creative move. Ask yourself, can your brand differentiate itself from the bunch, and how can you use the different social media platforms to communicate it effectively??

Use platforms to your favor?

Please, learn to speak like the platforms! Take some time to see what makes each one attractive, how can they bring a more dynamic storytelling for your brand, and the special tricks to use it for your favor. If you find user-generated content to be essential for your campaign, then use it! Just like?Sweat?App. To show how effective their workout plans are, the app used their online workouts, and testimonies from their users in their content, creating a more authentic connection with new audiences.?

Find new ways to play with formats; you don’t need millions to create eye-catching content; it’s all in the power of the idea. So before setting out a social media plan, look at how can you enhance relatable storytelling that sells organically and exceeds your users’ expectations.

The social awakening still surprising us, and we as marketers are consistently seeing that digital strategies, as well as their creatives, are shaped by people and culture. We can’t leave aside the structured marketing plan that we all know about, but we have to let ourselves be more flexible. There’s no right answer for all, but trying new ideas, questioning what worked before and what didn’t, welcoming people to be part of our communication without telling them what to do, consistently researching, playing and testing platforms are the right actions to take for a successful 2022 to come.?

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