A worldwide pandemic, civil unrest due to a host of issues, inflation, and a general sense of uncertainty for the future have affected how consumers have interacted with brands over the last couple of years. With the “Great Reopening†potentially left hanging in stasis and Americans bracing themselves for yet another year of chaos, how can marketers make an indelible mark on their lives?Â
The task at hand is not a simple one, but the answers to brand loyalty lie within some key shifts in consumer behavior. As highlighted in Attest’s 2022 US Consumer Trends ReportOpens a new window , there are three trends for marketers to keep in mind as they build out their plans of action for the upcoming year.
See more: 8 B2B Marketing Trends to Watch for in 2022
1. Consumers Are Craving a Good Laugh and Actionable Solutions to Social Justice Issues
Perhaps due to a deluge of bad news and ever-looming social distancing mandates, consumers are ready to chuckle. When polled on the kind of messaging they would like to experience from their favorite brands, 57% shared that they would like to laugh and be entertained this year. This is closely followed by motivational messaging, clocking in at 47%.Â
At the same time, consumers expect that brands take a meaningful stand to alleviate issues of poverty and inequality, with a majority of 36% stating that these are the top causes they’d like to see them get behind. In contrast, nearly a quarter of consumers (24%) prefer that brands stay out of political matters altogether. With such a split, what are marketers to do?Â
Brands that can strike the delicate balance of infusing humor into their customer experience while also taking calculated steps towards fixing some of the world’s biggest issues will surely win the hearts and minds of the 2022 American consumer. Why? Consumers are showing signs of being fatigued by the world around them but not giving up on supporting measured efforts to return us to a sense of calm, normalcy, and fairness.Â
2. Consumers Don’t Want Brands Flooding Their Email Inboxes
As brands struggle to stay relevant through the pandemic, marketers have exhausted many mediums of communication to stay top of mind. Email has perhaps been one of the most overused and abused ways for them to get in front of the right eyes. But as we head into 2022, consumers are sounding the alarm on the full-court press on their inboxes. Across all age demographics, 32% are saying that they’re only comfortable with a brand reaching out to them once a week.Â
This disdain for email overload is led by the younger demographics, primarily those that fall into the Gen Z category. Nearly one-fifth of those aged 18-25 (18%) say that they don’t want to receive email marketing whatsoever. So, where would they prefer to engage? It might come as little surprise that 45% are hankering for brands to reach out to them on the increasingly popular short-form video platform TikTok.Â
For marketers living and dying by open rates and click-throughs, the time is nigh to think less about mere metrics and more about the volume of emails consumers have to sift through on a daily basis. With just one shot a week to make an impact, emails should be timely, informative, and worth an open. The rest of the marketing budget should be directed toward meeting consumers in the places they like to be, whether that’s TikTok, Instagram, or walking down the street.Â
3. Brand Interaction on Social Media Is on the up and Up
To put a little more context behind where consumers are keen to interact most, it’s important to note that social media engagement has taken a turn for the better throughout 2021. Compared to 2020, those who say they don’t interact with or follow brands on various platforms have dropped from 23% to 17%.Â
The platform that’s seen the most growth this year is TikTok, with brand interaction on the platform up from 15% to 25% across all age demographics. That said, the most popular platform overall remains Facebook, with 60% of consumers exploring new products and services on the channel. Following somewhat close behind is YouTube at 48%.Â
When it comes to platforms that have taken a hit in the last year, Instagram has seen a decline in brand engagement from 43% in 2020 to 38% in 2021. Twitter has also experienced a substantial drop of 29% to 21%.Â
The key takeaway for marketers? Consumers are continuing to favor interaction via short-form and long-form videos. While it’s easy to say this trend is attributed to waning attention spans or disdain for reading, marketers can choose to look at this behavior as a net positive. Video gives them a unique opportunity to breathe life into their offering and establish a more personal connection with those who hold their next waves of growth.Â
See more: Top 5 Mobile App Marketing Trends to Watch for 2022
Listening to the Consumer Is the Key to a Successful 2022
If we’ve learned one lesson from the last couple of tumultuous years we’ve navigated, it’s that consumer behavior has become more unpredictable than ever. For marketers who want to grab 2022 by the horns, it’s crucial that they keep an ongoing conversation with consumers alive to inform their boldest campaigns. While we just skimmed the surface of emerging behaviors to shape the next year, new ones will surely emerge by the second. The best way for brands to remain in the conversation? Listen to consumers and stay nimble in the face of change.Â
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