In our search for the relevant trends and topics for 2022, we act in the same way as our clients: Ambitious, solution-oriented and always pragmatic and realistic. It’s not about jumping on every new digital hype, but about making well-founded decisions in order to operate responsibly and sustainably. We have collected nine topics in four articles that meet this requirement and that you should be aware of in 2022. The final part 4 is about listening and being listened to. Here, too, we make an assessment: Is the topic already taking flight? Or is it just taking off?

Podcasts | Flies

Podcasts offer a now established media form or platform with which you can reach your target groups and goals even when other forms of communication are not possible. And this, via the most natural form of communication: language.

At the New York Times, they are now at the heart of the corporate strategy, and podcasts have also established themselves here in Germany. We expect the market to consolidate and grow up in 2022. For companies, there are two basic utilisation scenarios for podcast marketing.

Finding your own voice

On the one hand, through self-produced content. Corporate podcasts can help to reach target groups where no communication could previously take place and enable a human, emotional view of the company. Produced in a multimedia format, content can be used appropriately on various platforms. However, podcasts are less suitable for generating pure reach. Rather, they can help to delve deep into topics and engage intensively with them. This helps to showcase your own expertise and strengthen your personal connection to target groups. They can be used for a variety of purposes: Allianz and Audi have used the medium during the pandemic to keep in touch with their employees working from home. Daimler shows the diversity of jobs and people in the company in the HeadLights podcast and Hornbach takes a look at doers and their projects in the workshop talks.

The quality must be right

On the other hand, it is also possible to take measures in the context of third-party podcasts. If the added value is right, advertising in podcasts is not only recognised, but also explicitly accepted.
The following applies to both scenarios: the demands are high. In 2022, it will no longer be enough to have two people talking to each other in front of a microphone without a plan. In order to really be heard, creative ideas and approaches are needed that meet listeners’ growing demands for quality and content. For the year 2022, this means that companies must always keep their own goals and target groups in mind and examine how real added value can be created for target groups. Based on this fundamental review, the role of podcast marketing must be thought through holistically and consistently in terms of the customer journey.

Voice assistants | Takes off

For our customers, we currently see the greatest opportunities for the use of voice assistants in the area of SEO. After all, in B2B, we are always talking to people who are looking for a solution to a problem. And this search is now increasingly taking place via voice assistants.

Have you already spoken to Alexa or Siri today? For many Germans, the answer is now: Yes.

Voice assistants have established themselves in the mainstream. The study “The Age of Voice 3.0” assumes that around 60 per cent of digitally active Germans use voice assistants in smart speakers, smartphones or tablets at least once a week. Compared to 2019, this corresponds to an increase of 16 per cent. The push from the big players, Google, Apple and Amazon, is now clearly having an effect.
The topic will therefore also become increasingly relevant for companies in 2022. Also in B2B. This is because human behaviour does not differentiate between private individuals or their role in the company. Learned behaviour, such as how to proceed when searching for a solution, is usually applied in both environments. So if you are looking for a supplier, business partner or job, you will sometimes ask Siri on the motorway in the future.

It is therefore important for companies in 2022 to take a close look at the customer journey of relevant segments in order to identify the role that voice assistants play or could play in the lives of their target and stakeholder groups. The investment by the big tech companies alone means that the topic is here to stay.