As we know, the world of marketing is ever-changing, and 2022 has seen countless shifting trends in everything from search engine optimisation to social media marketing.
Here’s a rundown of just some of the marketing news you might have missed this year.
2022 Google updates
Google has given us no less than 9 search updates in 2022.
Arguably the most significant changes came in the form of helpful content updates in August and December. This means that web pages considered to have been written for a human audience, that show a depth of knowledge and understanding and are deemed to be from trustworthy sources will potentially rank better in search results than those that don’t meet the same criteria. Following the initial roll-out in August, this month has seen an expansion to the update that includes all languages and offers an improvement to the new signals that the original update relied on. So if your site took a hit when the changes took place in the summer, and depending on what improvements you might have already worked on, you might see your rankings climb or dip again with this further expansion.
February saw the page experience update that came to mobile in 2021 rolled out on desktop as well. What this means is that your site’s ranking is now affected by the experience users have when they interact with it – including loading performance, visual stability and interactivity (as detailed in Core Web Vitals) and search signals including mobile-friendliness, HTTPS and intrusive interstitial guidelines.
Product review updates came out in March, July and September. If your site features product reviews, ensure they’re as high quality as possible and include plenty of expert research to stay on the good side of the algorithm.
October saw a spam update that improves the system that catches spam and prevents it from appearing in search results. Whilst most sites shouldn’t be affected by this, if you have noticed any unexpected changes in your rankings it could be worth checking Google’s spam policies to make sure you’re still in compliance with them.
There were also 2 core updates, in May and September.
2022 also saw Google make changes to their ad policy, where any ad linking to a website that has excessive or disruptive ads will be disapproved.
Finally, in Google updates, the search giant has announced their multi-search feature, which allows users to search using a combination of both images and text at once.
2022 Instagram updates
On Instagram, we saw a petition backed by Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner appeal to the platform to ‘make Instagram Instagram again’. Whilst the platform hasn’t completely changed its focus from video back to photos, it did see the reversal of the full-screen feed that had started to be rolled out. What that means for your advertising efforts is that Reels are still being favoured by the algorithm, so if you haven’t explored the short-video format yet, maybe 2023 will be the year that you make your directorial debut?
Elsewhere on Instagram, the new Maps feature could be a game-changer for local businesses. It allows you to select an area on the map and then see all of the posts that have been tagged with a specific location. Head here to search for user-generated content posted at your business – but remember to get permission from the original user before sharing anything.
More recently, Instagram has added the ability to include up to 90 seconds of music to in-feed photo posts, in the same way as you already could with Reels and Stories. This could be a good way of catching your audience’s attention as they scroll through their feed – just make sure you choose something appropriate and relevant as your soundtrack, rather than adding a trending song for the sake of it.
2022 Twitter updates
It would have been pretty difficult to miss one of the biggest stories of the year, which was Twitter being bought by Elon Musk.
One of the major changes to the platform is that account verification is now only accessible if you subscribe to Twitter Blue, the paid subscription service that gives users additional features – including the much-requested Edit button, fewer ads, the ability to post longer videos, and see their tweets amplified above others. A subscription costs $8 a month (or $11 for Apple users) and grants subscribers an automatic blue tick. Previously, verification cost nothing, and accounts could only be confirmed as genuinely belonging to a public figure or business by the platform themselves.
It’s not entirely clear what this will mean for advertisers on the platform yet, but it’s possible that those who don’t agree with any new policies that could be introduced will demonstrate their disdain by departing and spending their budgets elsewhere.
2022 TikTok updates
If the idea of trying to get your head around another social platform has left you avoiding any mention of TikTok up to now, it will come as good news that TikTok Academy launched in November. The aim is to help marketers learn how to make the most of the platform for the benefit of their business.
2022 Meta updates
In October, Apple released new guidelines that stated that boosted or promoted posts on social media would now be required to be treated as in-app purchases, meaning they’re entitled to 30% of the revenue generated from them.
Twitter and TikTok already consider promoted posts to be in-app purchases, so it seems likely these new guidelines were created with Meta in mind.
For advertisers, it’s possible this cost could end up being passed on as Meta won’t want to lose 30% of its revenue.
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