10 Social Media trends you should follow in 2022
As you’re probably aware, social media has become an integral part of our lives. What began as a means of communication with friends and family, is now a channel for brands and businesses to target their product to global audiences through a social media strategy.
We’ve compiled a list of social media trends from the back end of 2021 and 2022 so far, which businesses should take advantage of to ensure better engagement and improved online visibility.
1. Live Videos - they’re transforming the social media game!
It’s no surprise that live videos on social media have gained popularity last year because everyone’s using them. Surprisingly though, the popularity of live videos has surpassed the demand for video content too. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Tumblr are all broadcasting live because almost 82% of audiences said they preferred live videos on social media.
2. Ephemeral Content aka Stories
Ephemeral content may sound unfamiliar but we are talking about short-duration content that disappears within 24 hours of posting, aka Stories! Facebook, Instagram and now LinkedIn stories are fun, engaging, and give audiences a sneak peek into what their favourite brands are up to. Stories are also often informal and personal and can include interactive features such as polls and quizzes to keep audiences engaged.
3. Growing Demand for Social Media Chatbots
Many businesses don’t have the facilities to provide twenty-four-seven support to their customers. That’s where chatbots come in! Chatbots in 2022 are clever. They can precisely understand your queries and concerns and can offer the best solutions in seconds and are no longer here to waste customers time. These AI-powered chatbots can now be integrated into the social media pages of different brands, meaning your customer questions can be answered at any time of the day.
4. Adapting to AR and VR Technology
Brands are consistently trying to offer an exciting user experience for their customers. Therefore Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are currently trending in the social media game. E-commerce companies have now adapted to AR-powered shopping, allowing users to try on products before purchasing them and platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook continue to allow users to try on hundreds of different filters, which are proving popular.
5. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has dominated the social media world over the last few years. Although in the last year brands have been collaborating with influencers over a series of posts and not just for a single promotion post. Furthermore, bigger brands are now expected to collaborate with micro-influencers and niche bloggers to promote inclusivity and transparency in their marketing efforts. When it comes to creating adverts for brands, influencers can no longer just post a picture of themselves with the product. In 2022 there has been more focus on influencers using long-form content, how-to videos, demos, and photo stories when working with brands.
6. It’s all about Local Targeting
Local targeting has become more prevalent in 2022, especially for small businesses using social media marketing! Local brands are connecting with target customers by geo-tagging their posts and stories. If you are a small business, tagging your location is so useful as it can make you more discoverable and reaching out to local people could help build brand awareness.
7. Twitter to be trustworthy!
While other social media platforms are more tailored to entertainment, Twitter has always favoured more serious topics of interest and many people use Twitter to find their news. However, since the rise in fake news a couple of years ago, the authenticity of news stories found on Twitter have not been 100%. In 2022, Twitter intends to keep a stricter check on new stories circling on the platform and ensure they allow only those from reliable news sources.
8. RIP Instagram Likes
We all know by now that the constant fixation of social media validation and Instagram ‘likes’ harms our mental health and body image. 2022 may finally be the year when Instagram ‘liking’ feature disappears. Although it’s not been rolled out on an official update yet, Instagram has been experimenting with making the like counts private for several users in a test. The private like count test has seen positive results so it’s safe to say it may be rolled out sooner than we think.
9. User-generated Content is on the rise
Brands are taking advantage of user-generated content and using it on their social media as proof of the quality of their product and services. User-generated content or UGC is any form of content that is created by users on social media. Brands and businesses can reap the benefits. UGC doesn’t break the bank, as the users put in the hard work. Furthermore, UGC allows brands to bring customers to the forefront and in turn, audiences feel valued. Since 2021, UGC has been on the rise and it will continue to rise as brands will encourage their customers to submit UGC to boost their engagement rate further.
10. Video Content is king
Video content is the most engaging form of content out there right now. After the massive success of the video-based platform, TikTok, Instagram has since introduced ‘Reels’ and capitalised on the video content trend. This trend is especially engaging, it can quickly grab the attention of users and is so different from written content or images. Video content, especially in the short form, is here to stay and will continue to grow in popularity in the coming months.
As you can tell, 2021 and the start of 2022 has been a super eventful time for social media marketing so far. We hope you enjoyed this blog and learned something new about the most recent social media trends. If you haven’t already we encourage you to adapt to these new trends to stay ahead of the competition.
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