What a year, right?
We are on the verge of 2023, and if there is anything we’ve learned is we should be cautious in our expectations. Because change comes fast, without warning, and from fronts we sometimes can’t imagine.
This is why at Content2Sell we want to summarize 2022 in 5 keys we believe will be determinant in 2023.
Ever heard of VUCA and BANI?
VUCA and BANI are two acronyms broadly used in trade and politics to describe the defining traits of a given context, and how they affect consumer behavior and strategic planning. Of course, the world is a complex place, and no acronym will accurately describe local realities in a global and rapidly changing world. Plus, the two are ideal types that do not exist in a pure state and have a strictly indicative role.
Since the late 1980s, VUCA has been a great acronym to describe the world as Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. Briefly speaking, this pointed to the difficulties of making good decisions in a context of frequent, often jarring, and confusing change. Especially before the internet, globalization, let alone the pandemic.
2022: a sample of the BANI reality
We are now on the threshold of a world ruled by unpredictability. BANI is the acronym for a new model adapted to the situation of global change and climate emergency, which reaches its peak in 2020. It stands for Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, and Incomprehensible, and is considered a good summary of the context the coming business generation faces.
- Volatility makes it hard for things to settle, making brittle realities.
- Uncertainty leads to anxiety about all that we can’t control.
- Complexity is increasingly harder to understand, as fragmentation and atomization make the world non-linear.
- Taken to the extreme, the ambiguity becomes incomprehensible to the patterns we have learned.
2022 in 5 keys
1. Sustainability
The growing concern about climate change has hit young generations as hard as transnational corporations. That has reshaped how the former makes their purchase considerations, forcing brands to change their vision, mission, and values.
The shift to sustainable and reusable products and packaging is notorious. Not only among brands who seek to retain Gen-Z as long-term customers, but also governors and institutions who see this as the conductor that will drive change and justify whatever economic measures are needed.
This explains the shift from unidirectional storytelling to collective storymaking.
2. Solid communities & subscription mode
The feeling of sharing a common cause is closely related to this narrative change. But the pandemic made retailers focus on online channels for as long as lockdowns lasted, and the slow return to physical reality wasn’t really it. Consumers got used to discovering, researching, and comparing products online. But we never forgot the importance of their real touch & feel, and we now have hybrid interactions with brands. Communities have consolidated Social Media as essential in ecommerce, which has pushed brands to new presentations and forms of communication.
This is the phygital world: a space where people expect seamless and personalized interactions regardless of the channel they choose, and where brands need to work in their omnichannel presence.
On top of that, we are about to see the end of an era marked by shady data traffic. Privacy and personal data are among the most significant concerns. In fact, many users take their time to reject all cookies or use ad and cookies blockers. And this makes personalization and cross-sales somewhat challenging, and lowering the revenue generated by ads.
More and more businesses are going digital, and more native digital brands appear every day. This growing competition has significantly increased the cost of ads, replacing the value of short-term sales with long-term customers. Again personalization and loyalty perks will be key to retaining them.
3. Social commerce and DTC
New ways to approach audiences have become essential for survival – especially after 2020.
Videos and live streams are now the preferred type of content, which has completed the reconfiguration of the entire panorama. Video provides tons of information in very little time, thus answering questions before they are even asked. Product explainer videos can save you and your customer support team lots of time.
Younger generations do not trust brands like we did before, and Social Media plays a key role here. User-generated content has become one of the most reliable ways for honest promotion – the dream of every brand is to turn its customers into active promoters. And that goes from short videos to product reviews and unboxing videos.
Users can now share their joy, anger, and frustration with such a potential reach that brands have learned to use Social Media in their favor. And by creating sales events or Q&A sessions, not only do brands expand their communities, but sell directly to users with much more control over their online reputation.
The exponential growth of Machine Learning has reached a public accessibility that can be no longer ignored. The use of voice assistants is now widespread thanks to the continuous improvement of NLP (Natural Language Processors). Assistants can now not only obey commands but also understand the way humans speak and adapt to it.
4. AI takes off in style
Machine Learning is exponential. Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) driven by AI are revolutionizing product rendering, by making instant calculations of textures and reflections, turning a single series of 2D images into 360º models.
We have also seen the magic of visual search with Google Lens, which is taking product discovery, research, and purchase to another dimension.
Computers and algorithms are fed with an enormous amount of data, images, and documents. And that has taken us to a point where computers teach other computers. We have recently seen its true potential: AI content generation tools, powerful machines that are able to create content, fix bugs and even write code from plain human commands.
And this is just the beginning.
5. The Metaverse is on hold.
We saw 2021 goodbye with Mark Zuckerberg’s great announcement: Facebook was being renamed to META in a subtle move to own the concept of the Metaverse. The Metaverse. A virtual space mixing Virtual and Augmented Reality, where all sorts of transactions and interactions could be made.
But as 2022 went by, the challenges to build one Metaverse started becoming evident, given the need for developments and integrations.
We’ve seen partnerships and hostile buyouts suggesting a full-on battle for the Metaverse in the short term.
Catching up with 2022
- Create a nice and consistent story that resonates with your target audience and makes them want to take part in it. Sustainability is a common challenge that works very well.
- Apply that consistency to your content design. From imagery to copy and packaging.
- Make sure you are where your audience is. The cost of reaching new customers is increasing, and it is much wiser to keep your old ones – and reward them for their referrals.
- Consider working with influencers or microinfluencers (trending talents, let’s say) to raise awareness of your brand.
Upgrade your product content to upgrade its performance: high-quality product photography, relatable product videos, and detailed 3D renders and animations.
