Social media trends change constantly. In recent years, there has been a shift in how brands use social media to market their products and services. How can brands prepare for 2022? We’ve compiled a list of social media trends social marketers should be aware of in 2022.
1. Social media will be dominated by reels and apps like TikTok.
The growth of TikTok is undeniable. During the first few months of 2021, there was a 61% increase in mentions of TikTok. TikTok isn’t just a fad, which is easy to think, but it’s not. Brands can engage directly with consumers on TikTok.
The popularity of TikTok has inspired businesses to develop their own features. Instagram has a similar feature called Reels, similar to TikTok, and Facebook has a feature called Stories. As people scroll endlessly on their social media feeds, their attention spans have continued to shrink. Social media will likely be dominated by short videos like those on TikTok and Instagram Reels. It is easier to digest short, to-the-point videos than long, in-depth posts. Keep it relatable, though. It looks bad to jump on random trends without making that content fit with your marketing strategy.
2. The popularity of augmented reality will only increase in the future.
AR (augmented reality) has been around for a few years now, and it’s becoming more common for brands to use AR to facilitate the testing of their products.
AR has also been proved to be successful for businesses’ bottom lines. In fact, AR can increase click-through rates by as much as 33%.
In the years to come, augmented reality will probably become the preferred method of testing products. Snapchat is an excellent platform for experimenting with augmented reality for your brand.
3. There will be an increase in influencer marketing.
As a result of the pandemic, influencer content sped up, as people wanted to see everyday people and less scripted content. More than $13 billion will be spent on influencer marketing by the end of 2021. Choosing the right influencer for your brand is an absolutely vital consideration when considering influencer marketing. This limits your audience a bit but ensures the topics are relevant to your brand.
New types of influencers have emerged in recent months: the Creators. In contrast to traditional influencers, creators draw inspiration from the world around them and produce original materials using the tools available to them. Creators offer a way of demonstrating the use of your service or product so the average person can, too.
4. The marketing process becomes more strategic.
Digital marketers must become more strategic as automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning take over much of the grunt work. Digital marketing is evolving at a rapid pace. In order to grow a business, marketers need to think strategically about what really drives growth.
5. LinkedIn keeps growing.
In the digital space, LinkedIn remains a major player. Engagements and users of the company grow every quarter. Furthermore, they are consistently introducing new features to help businesses and pages achieve greater success. Take full advantage of LinkedIn. You might be surprised how many consumers are there.
As part of LinkedIn Creator Mode, LinkedIn is also expected to launch short video features similar to Instagram Reels and TikTok by 2022. LinkedIn’s new video feature can help companies promote their products and services with videos, resulting in more LinkedIn sessions and a more effective video marketing strategy.
6. Digital jobs continue to grow, but so will customer service.
The most in-demand skills are digital skills, according to LinkedIn. Despite this, there is an enormous gap between the number of businesses looking for these skills and the number of people with these skills. For marketers to stay relevant, they must constantly be learning, improving, and evolving. Managers need to plan how to develop digital skills for their staff as well.
Businesses need to adapt to the changing world of social commerce as it gains popularity. Using the Internet for purchasing has become commonplace, but now customers expect fast response times for customer service needs as well. To maximize the benefits of social media, marketers should refine their customer service.
7. There will be more slimmed-down media models in the future.
There has been an increase in the number of platforms offering a “slimmed down media model” to facilitate socializing among niche audiences. Not all of them are social media platforms. Businesses have been making connections person-to-person through platforms like Spotify and Clubhouse instead of relying on algorithms like most social media platforms.
8. There’s no stopping Facebook (or Meta.)
Despite its new name, Facebook will continue to be one of the biggest social media platforms in 2022. Ad experiences on Facebook have also become more effective than ever. Facebook is also excellent at offering a more intimate type of connected experience.
You should invest in Facebook Reels to increase organic reach and engagement. In the coming months, Facebook will continue rolling out and pushing this short-form video format. Stay true to yourself and your brand.
Tips for Using 2022 Social Media Marketing Trends
How can you make use of these up-and-coming social media marketing trends? Here are a few suggestions.
- Whenever possible, make use of video. Live video content is especially popular right now. You may want to check out live video channels such as IGTV or Facebook Live to test material.
- Make your content relatable. Don’t shy away from showing a different side of your brand. Tell us about a customer story, explain your company’s larger mission, or share a day in the life of one of your employees. Make your audience feel more connected.
- Write in a conversational tone. Caption social media posts as though you were speaking to someone you know. Tell stories or ask questions to increase engagement.
- Explore memes, GIFs, short videos, and more to learn how to capture and hold an audience’s attention even when they are scrolling quickly through their feeds.
- Focus on quality over quantity. You don’t have to post every day. Set up a social media calendar so you’re regularly posting content but not over-posting. Using analytics, find out what’s right for your brand.
- If you want to reach new audiences, make sure you are on LinkedIn and explore new or unexpected social media platforms.
As they roll out new platforms, try them out to see if they work (or don’t) for your brand.
Final Thoughts
We can’t predict everything, so don’t take this list as a firm rule. After all, nobody could’ve written an article in December 2019 and accurately described what 2020 would look like. The most critical thing about a digital marketing strategy is to always be open to learning, adapting, and changing. If you’re ready to get a comprehensive digital media strategy set up for your business, call us today at (314) 537-7974.
