With the 2021/22 financial year now behind us, it’s time to take a look forward and consider how Australian businesses plan to spend their dollars in the coming year.
We know the digital marketing landscape is in constant flux, but what does this mean for the leading marketers in the nation? Let’s examine the numbers and find out.
Aussie businesses are going more digital than ever
It should come as no surprise that most Australian businesses today are focusing on digital marketing efforts over more “traditional” (read: old school) tactics like television, radio, and physical ad spaces, especially following the outbreak of COVID-19 which caused many brands to move online.
Even so, the amount of total advertising budgets going to digital over other channels may surprise you. In 2021, the Australian digital advertising market reached $11.4bn, with all sectors of online advertising seeing double digit growth.
Australia’s digital ad spend doesn’t look like it has any plans of slowing down in 2022, with digital expected to make up a large portion of total ad spend again this year.
The takeaway? If you’re still using “old school” marketing tactics, you’re about to be left in the dust.
Brand loyalty, experience and personalisation
It’s no secret that customer expectations for hyper-personalisation continue to grow – and this has left brands rethinking their digital strategies to provide users with more tailored, unique shopping experiences.
Now more than ever, users seek customised shopping journeys that allow them to fully experience brands, helping them to build a genuine relationship and sense of loyalty towards the ones they buy from. Today, brands focus more on customer experience and personalisation so that they can garner key insights into their audience’s preferences and intent. This includes everything from personalised shopping feeds, targeted email marketing, localised content, loyalty programs and more.
In 2022, experts predict that digital marketers will lean on first-party data and analytics, as well as predictive AI technology to help cater to customers throughout the shopping journey.
Advertising in a cookieless world
First-party data is taking centre stage for most in the digital industry this year. Although Google has delayed the removal of cookies until 2023, marketers should start preparing for this change now.
Soon advertising strategies will have to rely solely on first-party data, which means putting a great deal of focus on its effective collection, measurement and storage in order to fully understand audiences.
From this major change, digital experts expect to see a significant focus on first-party data solutions to help marketers bridge key gaps within their digital strategy.
According to Adobe’s Future of Marketing report, only 37% of Australian brands stated that their business had a first-party data strategy – highlighting just how important it is for brands to prioritise this in 2022.
Invest in conversion rate optimisation (CRO)
It’s no surprise that CRO is a growing focus in 2022, as brands continue to make the shift towards digital. Your website or app will oftentimes be one of your main customer touch points, so, it’s important to ensure they are optimised to avoid losing out on opportunities to drive conversions, whether that’s sales, downloads, or business inquiries.
Effective website or app CRO includes:
- Localising your website with local currency, imagery, copy, etc.
- Ensuring that your site navigation makes sense for your users
- Delivering short page loading times
- Making sure your domain’s bounce rate is low
- And more.
One of the best techniques to boost your website’s CRO is A/B testing, which will allow you to test different variations of your website to determine what performs best. A/B testing combined with careful data analysis will help you successfully optimise your website in a highly saturated digital space.
Have you started planning out your 2022/2023 digital strategy? If you need guidance on the most effective way to use your spend, get in touch with Croud.
