The Top Four Hottest Social Media Trends for 2022
This past year, we have witnessed some pretty remarkable social media trends such as live streaming and interactive video content like never before. This year, in 2022, there are already predictions for social media trends that will only continue to exemplify interactive and targeted connection with your consumer, all through the click of a button. Did you know? In 2021, the Baby Boomer generation had a 70% increase in online shopping. As the number of social media users continues to grow, it’s vital to stay ahead of trends to keep up with the competition. In this blog we cover what we believe are the Top Four Hottest Social Media Trends to keep front of mind as we enter 2022.
1, Sophistication of Social Media Advertising
From the beginning of social media marketing a decade ago, leaders have found difficulty in quantitatively linking social media to business outcomes. However, over the past two years the pandemic forced many businesses to focus on social media as their main channel to connect with customers, make sales, and manage services. Due to the continued improvements in marketing attribution tools, researchers have determined that the level of confidence in quantifying the ROI of their social efforts has risen from 68% last year to 83%. Organizations are realizing that the once small sector social media had in a marketing department, should be held to its own department standards, or expand its impact in other departments of the company. In fact, 79% of people say that user-generated content on social media significantly impacts their purchasing decisions. It’s important now more than ever that organizational leaders recognize that focusing investment efforts into social media marketing will help limit organizational risk, protect the brand reputation, and create valuable experiences for their employees. You’ll see more companies hiring employees dedicated to social media rather than including them in a busy marketing team. A social media manager and social media hires will help organizations keep tabs on social analytics, be part of industry-specific conversations, and optimize platforms into revenue generators.
Not only will social media mature in a business organization, but marketing efforts for once smaller social media apps will be taken more seriously. Last year we were able to predict the spike in short-form video, and it became clear that apps like TikTok will help brands connect to a younger and more creative audience. It was assumed that the app’s fast growth would eventually become a passing fad, although this does not seem to be the case as it continues to capture a wide variety of audiences. In 2022, this entertainment platform will become the go-to way for brands to connect with their audiences and showcase their brand personality. Growing businesses, especially, will realize the value in creating content about their products or services for TIkTok after receiving immediate consumer feedback and reviews. Businesses will also occupy their marketing investment efforts towards creating viral video ad promotions that need to captivate a variety of consumers. Ad-weary consumers will challenge marketers to step up their game in receptive advertising.
2. Stop Interrupting, Start Inspiring
With e-commerce efforts progressing rapidly, businesses must be creative with their marketing methods to stand out among the competition. Social media networks like Instagram and Facebook have become saturated with brands and e-commerce marketing so much over time that organizations are getting creative in alternative channels to expand their e-commerce promotions. Companies are beginning to take advantage of smaller social media apps, such as Snapchat and Pinterest, that have stayed somewhat under the radar for business brand promotion opportunities. Rather than focusing on marketing your brand as a storefront across platforms, marketing leaders have shifted towards designing an inspiring and enticing user experience for a consumer. Networks encourage advertisers to make content that organically fits into the platforms. Snapchat short-form video advertisements are intriguing for consumers on the explore page specifically interested in learning new insight. Consumers love to check their Pinterest feeds to gain daily inspiration or even promote their own personal brand aesthetic. If brands post aesthetically pleasing content of their own or reach out to micro-influencers to post the brand’s products on their boards, these are the advertisements that consumers will trust and be interested to buy. Once the design of these ads appropriately fit with the app platform, marketers need to retain a frictionless shopping experience on their website.
3. Rise in Social Audio
If you and your business haven’t already stepped into the educational, conversational, and powerful world of social audio, it’s not too late to begin your journey. In a new era of social distancing and working remotely, social networks like Clubhouse have emerged to make universal topics and conversations available to anyone. Clubhouse was launched in 2020 to provide a space for live audio rooms. This method has advanced into the concept of sharing conversations with experts around the world, for a wide variety of audience members to listen in on, even inspiring Twitter to develop its own version known as Spaces. You or your business can start an industry-applicable conversation, and experts and consumers around the world can join in on the conversation or listen and learn about the topic itself. Hootsuite’s 2022 Social Media Trends survey indicated that more than 75% of businesses are planning to invest in audio-only content next year. Hosting audio live streams or making time to listen and be a part of trending topic conversations will become a new tactic of brand recognition, connecting with other brands, and it will be an important tool for organizations to learn through.
4. Augmented Reality Becoming the New Norm
Augmented Reality (AR) seems like a giant technological and futuristic leap from the normal social media marketing we’ve become accustomed to creating. However, these advancements are becoming more and more common for businesses to include in their advertising, websites, and social media platforms. AR allows consumers to test products before purchase and can improve CTR to purchase by upwards of 33%. Marketing leaders predict that AR will become consumers’ preferred option when trying out products in 2022. Many businesses are beginning to test these methods through snapchat where AR has proven to be an effective brand reach method for the younger generation. Adding AR features to Instagram posts to enhance e-commerce or making AR product promotions for your website will create an alluring user experience for the consumer, in turn, earning brand trust. Next year augmented reality will have a lot of potential social media applications for brands to take advantage of, and this technology is sure to grow in the next five years.
These are just four of the hottest social media trends we’re predicting for 2022! We’d love to hear from you. What do you predict the new year holds for social media?
Cheers to a new year of trends,
Bre