2022 will be a challenge for all digital marketers. Many of our tools and techniques will need serious adjustment given the two big technical changes in the new year:

• Apple introduced their new iOS14 operating system which has already had a big impact on social media advertising

• Digital Cookies will be phased out toward the end of this calendar year, 2022

We've compiled a very short list of three things all digital marketers should complete to start off the new year and prepare for these two new ad-tech changes:

#1: Create a  Google Analytics 4 ("GA4") Property for Your Website

We expect Google's new Analytics 4 setup will be the platform for many new reports and tracking used by your website and Google-related advertising. While GA4 is still technically in "beta", look for more uses in the coming months. If you have not yet setup a Google Analytics 4 Property please follow these instructions from Google.

#2: Verify & Claim Your Website Domain with Facebook

Facebook is actively rolling out changes to comply with iOS14 and minimize the tracking damage. Most Facebook solutions will first require you to verify and claim your domain. Please see this article from Facebook on how to verify your domain

#3: Get Serious About Building Email Lists

The end of digital cookies and mobile phone tracking means your "first party data" will be more important than ever. The term "first-party data" is a geek-speak term for using information you know about customers and site visitors to build target markets for your advertising. And emails are the most important type of first-party data!

We like this blog article discussing some obvious and out-of-the box ideas to build out a powerful email list on your websites.