The paid media landscape continues to grow. By paying attention to the latest paid media trends, you can stay ahead with solid strategies.
In this article, I’ll cover three strategies critical to paid media in 2022.
There are three main paid media trends that you should keep in mind as you develop your strategies. You’ll equip your business for the future with the help of these trends.
3 Paid Media Trends for 2022
1. Measurement
Over time, the customer journey will become more complex. As a result, advertisers need to understand their marketing channels’ relative value. Without proper measurement, you won’t be able to calculate this relative value.
In 2022, cross-channel measurement, attribution, and allocation will be critical.
When structuring your paid media campaigns, be sure you know what to measure. Set clear goals and determine key performance indicators (KPIs) to track. The KPIs you follow should adhere to your goal. Measuring KPIs like cost-per-click (CPC) and others will show performance. Based on this performance, you can continue to optimize your strategy.
For example, your goal might be to expand your reach. Here, you would target KPIs such as followers, web traffic, impressions, and post reach. If you want to drive engagement, the best KPIs to track may include shares, likes, clicks, and mentions. For conversion campaigns, metrics worth tracking include conversion rate, bounce rate, and downloads.
With the help of the right analytical tools, you’ll get the most from measurement efforts.
2. Automation
Another crucial trend to follow is automation in paid media. The fact is that 93% of brands feel the need to focus on enabling automation.
More and more paid media will become automated. You must understand campaign measurement, analysis, and strategy. You also need to determine when it’s best to apply specific automation.
Many paid media tools can guide you with recommendations for automation. For example, Google, YouTube, and Facebook offer specific recommendations to follow. Based on your needs, you can follow certain suggestions.
Automation is invaluable, as it saves more time on manual tasks. These may include adding negative keywords, adjusting bids, or device type optimization. You can then reallocate that time to focus on growing your business.
Google Ads has led the way in paid media automation. The platform has been doing so by adding more automation options to the dashboard.
3. Display & Video
The use of display and video is also crucial in 2022. Display and video have been relevant for many years but will only become more important.
Modern technology has made it easier than ever to use these tools to their full effect. Because of this, 90% of brands place visual media as a top priority trend.
Businesses will start using video and display to develop more holistic marketing plans. They’ll integrate top-to-bottom, full-funnel, and multi-channel video and display. Also, they’ll use other content to supplement those efforts.
The opportunities to use video to carry people down the funnel are almost endless. From the start of the customer journey to building loyalty, video content is necessary.
Other Paid Media Trends to Watch for In 2022
The three main paid media trends above are crucial, but there are others worth following. If you want to find out which paid media trends in 2022 can help your campaigns, consider the following.
Enhanced Targeting and Bigger Social Media Budgets
A growing number of consumers are engaging in social shopping. As a result, platforms like Facebook and Instagram continue to see more use. In turn, more companies are increasing their social media budgets.
With growing social media budgets come improved targeting. Advertisers want to push more personalized ads to users. Consumers also respond better to these ads. With many brands vying for attention, the key is standing out. By hyper-targeting ads to ideal audiences, brands can do so.
One brand that’s dominated by personalization is Facebook. Over the last decade, the platform has worked toward perfecting targeting. Through Facebook, brands can customize ads based on user preferences. Optimize each element, from the image to the call to action for each audience segment.
Another development to keep in mind is Instagram Shopping. Using this platform, people can now shop online directly through Instagram.
Stories Ads
One recent development that’s connecting with users is Stories. First, Instagram started using Stories to engage audiences. Today, other platforms offer this feature as well.
Stories are short-format videos that can get people’s attention. They’re beneficial in connecting with mobile users. The full-screen nature of these ads further helps with engagement.
As time passes, Stories ads will replace news feed ads, another paid media trend to look out for.
User-Generated Content (UGC)
One way to generate more high-quality content quicker is through UGC or user-generated content. This content can include a mix of images and videos that customers create and share. This branded content may include product reviews, testimonials, demos, and more.
You can get audiences to create this content by taking various steps. For instance, you can launch a contest with a giveaway to users who post the best branded content. You may also give freebies or discounts to anyone who shares their unique content.
When encouraging this content, give clear instructions. UGC should align with your brand message, making it complementary to other content.
Through UGC, you can save more time and money on advertising. You encourage more people to engage with your brand. As more people create and post UGC, their friends and followers will learn about you. This makes UGC perfect for increasing brand awareness along with engagement.
The iOS Conversion API
The introduction of iOS 14 in 2021 brought Facebook Conversions API. This update was important amid the increased concerns over data collection and privacy.
To get the most from this API, you can use various tools. For example, you can use Facebook’s API when developing your pixel, or you can use third-party solutions. You’ll then be able to measure the results of your Facebook marketing efforts.
Increased Transparency
In recent years, there have been more and more scandals involving the transparency of ads. People want to know that the brands they see are ethical in their advertising.
To establish your brand as transparent, show what you do to maximize transparency. Adhere to local laws and disclose your ad practices to audiences. Taking these steps will increase trust among your customers. This could go a long way in driving higher conversion rates and loyalty.
Follow the Right Paid Media Trends to Fuel Your Success
To succeed in the long term with your paid media campaigns, keep up with the latest trends. Following the most important paid media trends in 2022 and beyond will enable you to excel. These strategies will help you supercharge your campaigns and maximize your return on ad spend (ROAS). You’ll then save more time, energy, and money on marketing as your business grows.
