Marketing Briefing: Here are the top trends, issues marketers had to navigate throughout 2022

This year hasn’t been an easy one, especially the second half.

Marketers navigated economic uncertainty as well as determine what channels will be popular, Twitter ups and downs and privacy changes that have made their jobs much harder.

Before we look ahead to 2023 (our next Marketing Briefing will be out Jan. 2), we wanted to look back on the big trends of 2022. Read on below:

Flexibility amid economic uncertainty

Over the last few years, the marketing community has been dealing with uncertainty — when will the pandemic truly end and things get back to normal (if ever), when will we return to offices and with that more normal consumer behavior, etc. Over the last six months or so, that uncertainty has been more focused on the economy. The ups and downs of the market, the expectation for a recession the conflicting reports making it more difficult for marketers to read where people’s heads will be at and what they should be doing with their advertising — it’s all been uncertain. With that being the case, much of the second half of this past year has been about flexibility and tighter deal windows. That push for flexibility has been commonplace over the last few years and it’ll likely continue next year.

Continued rise of TikTok

There’s no denying it — TikTok’s continued rise throughout 2022 made it the golden child of the platforms this year. Marketers moved the platform out of their experimental budgets to be a budget staple as they want to show up where consumers are spending more time, especially Gen Z consumers. That’s not to say that TikTok is without its problems — marketers have detailed issues with ad reps as well as complained about attribution issues. At the same time, lawmakers are considering banning the platform. Whether that comes to fruition, only time will tell, but TikTok is on marketers’ minds and informing how they are not only spending social media ad dollars but thinking about how they should make their ads.

Twitter insanity

TikTok wasn’t the only social platform to make waves in 2022. Marketers have had to keep a close eye on the behind-the-scenes (and no-so behind-the-scenes) drama of Twitter as Elon Musk took over the platform. It’s been a tumultuous few months, with advertisers pulling back spending out of brand safety concerns and a sense that Musk is using a trial by fire way of leadership with changes announced and reverted within a matter of days or even hours. It’s certainly been tricky for marketers and their social media managers) — some of whom have been called out by Musk — who are still spending on the platform.

Earned media

As part of the shift of focus to TikTok and the ever-changing social media advertising landscape, many marketers, especially those working on direct-to-consumer brands, have been beefing up their earned media strategies. Some marketers said they’ve done so as it’s been more difficult …read more

Source:: Digiday