Social Media Trends in 2022

Hello 2022! What are you bringing us? 

 

The year 2021 witnessed changes, market disruptions, new technologies, and a pandemic we are still trying to recover from. All of that pushed brands to change their marketing and advertising strategies to accommodate the new normal; social media is no different. 

 

More than half the world now uses Social Media.

 

In 2021, there were 4.55 billion people actively using social media in the world (according to Datareportal); 400 million of these users are new, having joined social media during the last 12 months. 

 

 

This is yet another example of how social media continues to influence the way we use the internet and how marketers approach digital media.

 

We at GDR Media Group believe these figures demonstrate that social media will only continue to grow and new trends will emerge; we must adapt quickly.

 

What can you do to utilize social media to your advantage? 

 

Below, we have compiled some of the most incredible predictions, professional insights, and unique perspectives for social media in 2022. We also threw in a few of our own to help you prepare for the upcoming year. 

 

Here are 10 social media trends marketers should watch and leverage in 2022.

 

1. Instagram Reels are the real deal 

2. TikTok remains a fierce competitor  

3. Facebook is the land of the niche 

4. LinkedIn, a creator hub? 

5. Twitter Spaces: A force to be reckoned with

6. Forget YouTube Shorts; focus on storytelling

7. Augmented Reality: Try-on products and interact with customers 

8. The new face of influencer marketing

9. Social Media customer service is on demand 

10. Go beyond your products and services

 

1. Instagram Reels are the real deal 

 

The users' attention spans are getting shorter and shorter as they scroll endlessly on their phones, looking for more content to consume. Apps like TikTok and Instagram are becoming GenZ’s favorite platforms. 

 

Users have been looking for short, entertaining video content since the start of the pandemic - hence the launch of Reels on Instagram in 2020, where people can record and edit multi-clip videos with audio, effects, and new creative tools, much like TikTok.  

 

This week, we made some improvements to video on Instagram to make it easier to create and discover. We’ve combined IGTV and feed videos into one format - Instagram Video.

We’ve seen an explosion in video, and it’s a paradigm shift we’re embracing. More improvements to come! ✌️ pic.twitter.com/R3S3m9wW0n

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) October 8, 2021

 

This trend will continue to grow in 2022, and marketers should embrace this shift. Video advertising must now be an integral part of every marketing strategy. We’re not talking about 5-minute lengthy videos explaining your products or interviewing experts. Users are craving short snackable content they can consume quickly; they must be creative, innovative, and entertaining. 

 

2. TikTok remains a fierce competitor  

 

After the boom TikTok witnessed in the past two years, we have seen many companies join TikTok to increase their brand awareness and reach their audience in fresh and creative ways. This platform that embraces the idea of “trends” and short videos of creative creators is today’s most influential medium, especially for the younger generations. 

TikTok predicts it will reach 1.5 billion users by the spring of 2022, surpassing the number of users on Instagram. We will also see many other platforms introduce TikTok-like features to ensure they stay relevant, much like Instagram and the “Reels Video” feature. 

 

Ecommerce will also make its way into TikTok as we expect more features to be added to enable more commercial brands to advertise their businesses. 

 

In August 2021, TikTok announced a partnership with Shopify allowing users to promote products on TikTok. “By enabling new in-app shopping experiences and product discovery on TikTok for the first time, Shopify is powering the creator economy on one of the fastest-growing social and entertainment platforms in the world.” said Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify. (see the full announcement here)

 

3. Facebook is the land of the niche 

 

Facebook continues to lead the social space with almost 2.9 Billion users worldwide, despite the public criticism for its practices. Therefore, it’s far unlikely for any platform to outshine Facebook in the near future. 

 

That doesn’t mean that marketers should throw all their media budgets on the platform. Instead, they should tread wisely and target niche audiences using specific practices to their industry. 

 

What do we mean by that? 

 

Digital strategies should focus their efforts on targeting Facebook Groups specific to the brand’s audience and their interests and leverage the new features introduced by Facebook to make groups more appealing for admins and members. Among the several features, we have the ability to create free and paid subgroups, shops for selling merchandise, and many additional options for admins (unique greeting messages, font and color customization, new posting formats, and much more). 

 

Let’s not forget the great live-streaming format “Facebook Live” introduced long before being popular on TikTok. Marketers should consider this option to facilitate brand communication with consumers, create a connection, and increase brand loyalty.  

 

4. LinkedIn, a creator hub? 

 

LinkedIn has always been a professional platform for businesses and job seekers. But in 2021, something new entered the picture – the Creator Mode.

 

By launching the Creator Mode, LinkedIn encouraged professionals and businesses to post more genuine content. This new mode allows you to convert your profile into a Follow account, thus allowing you to be a creator followed by other accounts. This will open the doors for new influencers to join LinkedIn, use the platform to share brand messages, and interact with followers in a professional setup. 

 

 

Companies and brands should take advantage of this mode to increase their visibility on LinkedIn, connect with their target audience, and share their insights all the while gaining traction. 

 

5. Twitter Spaces: A force to be reckoned with

 

The short “snackable” content has also made its way to Twitter in 2021 with Twitter Spaces, where live and ephemeral audio conversations happen. 

 

In 2022, this feature SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED. Including Twitter audio content in your new year marketing plan will put your brand on the way to building deeper and more meaningful connections with your audience rather than relying on algorithms to do your bidding. In fact, 70% of marketing professionals plan to invest more heavily in Twitter in the upcoming year, according to HubSpot. 

 

 

It’s beneficial for any brand to build a community by hosting their own Spaces or even interacting with other users in their own rooms.  

 

6. Forget YouTube Shorts, focus on storytelling

 

After introducing YouTube Shorts, another feature inspired by TikTok, we believe that this option became another attempt for coping with TikTok competitors. Although it gained some momentum in 2021, YouTube has always been the holy-grail of long-form content, and steering away from that will be a mistake. 

 

Therefore, we don’t recommend focusing on the “shorts” trend on YouTube, instead draw on the original purpose of YouTube of creating long, inspirational, and motivating videos to tell your brand’s story and keep the shorts for TikTok and Instagram. 

 

Following this strategy will allow your community to enjoy your short content on TikTok and Instagram and seek out your brand’s insights and wisdom on YouTube, increasing conversion rate and allowing for more sustainable growth. 

 

7. Augmented Reality: Try-on products and interact with customers 

                                                                                                                     

In the wake of the Metaverse, Augmented Reality is increasing in popularity among social trends. While Facebook announced its rebranding the Meta to invest in Augmented Reality, Microsoft also launched Mesh for Teams to unify holographic virtual collaboration across multiple devices. 

 

According to a report published by The Drum, AR can keep the viewer interested for over 85 seconds, improve interaction by 20%, and increase click-through rates by 33%. 

 

We’ve seen it in 2021 with Snapchat opening AR holiday pop-up stores for Coca-Cola and Walmart.  

 

 

We’re also expecting to see much more of that in the new year. Therefore, marketers should experiment with VR and AR to allow customers to try out products before buying them, thus improving the customer experience. 

 

If you’re keen to do so, Snapchat is a good place to start, especially with the “Snapchat AR Bar” that has special Lenses and helps you scan the world for useful info – You can use Scan to find a song, shop, calculate a math problem, and more. For example, scan the label of a wine bottle to get facts about it, or try Scanning a dog to find out what breed it is. 

 

8. The new face of influencer marketing

 

People are still more relevant than brands. Whatever marketing skills you have, no matter how many marketing strategies you develop, one fact remains unchangeable in 2022: Consumers prefer to hear about your brand from influencers rather from you directly. 

 

The pandemic changed the face of influencer marketing through the emergence of raw, non-scripted content posted by micro-influencers and nano-influencers. Brands and marketers should partner with these influencers, particularly when trying to reach consumers on platforms like TikTok, where brands have a harder time establishing themselves.  

 

9. Social Media customer service is on demand 

 

As we mentioned earlier, social commerce will continue to evolve, giving the opportunity for businesses to conduct their daily transactions on social platforms. In the past two years, making purchases online has evolved to become a normal daily task for shoppers, from buying groceries to scheduling dentist appointments, which means the demand for quicker customer support online is increasing. 

 

Customer service via social media has existed ever since brands started using these platforms to advertise their products and services. But today’s shoppers have raised their expectations in this matter, where they demand quicker and more accurate responses to their inquiries. 

 

Simply put, customers are not looking “to be redirected to the appropriate department,” instead, they want their questions answered right now and then. 

 

When setting up your social media strategy for 2022, focus on training your social management team on servicing customers through social channels to avoid going back and forth with the customer service team and losing your client on the way. 

 

10. Go beyond your products and services  

 

Relatable content!!!! Relatable content is the key component for growth on social media. Brands should steer away from advertising products and services online and focus on creating content that resonates with consumers. Express your brand identity, highlight customer testimonials, discuss your mission and vision, give your followers a glimpse of your day-to-day activities. 

 

Don’t forget to use a conversational tone. People on social media are your friends, not just customers. Tell your story, ask questions, pick their brains, engage with them, educate them, share your insights, express your gratitude. 

 

In short, create a deeper connection with your audience that goes beyond the products and services you offer.