Social media trends in 2022 are not hard to predict. We are picking right where we left off. The world of social media is ever changing and always evolving. We have seen the crazy shifts in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Out of those changes came a new approach to marketing and commerce. What does 2022 look like when it comes to social media? Both Hootsuite and Influencer MarketingHub (IMH) did extensive research to give some insight into the year ahead. I will couple some of their findings along with my own predictions based on trends observed.
As of July 2021, there were 4.48 billion active social media users across the globe. (IMH) That means over half of the world’s population is on social media. The previous year, there was a 13% jump in social media users. This was unquestionably due to the pandemic and the effects of COVID-19. Lockdowns, masks, and social distancing have aided tremendously to more individuals going online to communicate and shop, as well as businesses allowing their employees to work remotely.
According to Hootsuite, a key theme for 2022 is value expansion. Improving the overall experience and brand protection are both top goals for social media marketers. Due to the past two years, organizations are expecting more from social. There will be challenges. The two biggest hurdles marketers will need to overcome will be constantly creating creative social content, and increasing paid advertising budgets.
Most social is browsed via mobile or tablet devices. It is no surprise that Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon are among the top five ranking social apps. With WhatsApp and Messenger being integrated with Facebook, I feel those can all be coupled together into one rating (although separate in the graph). However, TikTok was the fastest growing app in the second quarter of 2021. It will join Instagram and Facebook in the top five in 2022.
Digital communities are now essential to consumers’ lives. Everything can be found on social media and businesses are having to work harder than ever to be noticed. Consumers are holding brands to a higher standard when it comes to ads and creativity. Marketers will be spending more on paid ads and will need to work diligently to “create ads that mirror and enrich the distinct experience that each social network has to offer.” (Hootsuite) People desire to relate to the ads they are seeing. A good and well placed ad doesn’t look like an ad at all.
Stories have been a major focus since 2020. Instagram launched them and Facebook has recently picked them up. People are innately very nosey and desire to know what everyone is doing. We want to peer into the lives of others and get a glimpse into what life could look like. The story platform is where more ads will be seen in 2022. TikTok will see a huge influx in paid advertising as products use social influencers to represent their products. Instagram and Facebook stories will grow as well. Even Snapchat ads will increase as that video platform grows. Bottom line, if you are only posting photos or graphics on social networks, you are not getting seen.
Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2022 Survey
Opportunities are growing by leaps and bounds for e-commerce. Small businesses will be beefing up their experiences on social storefronts. Large organizations will be testing the limits with new enhanced shopping platforms. With this surge, customer care is invaluable! Product demand has increased and so has staffing shortages. This combination equals an abundance in dissatisfied customers. Social media managers now find themselves in a unique position. They get to play the hero and navigate their organization through the turbulence of customer service. In the past year, 59% of surveyed businesses and organizations said that the value of social customer care has grown, according to Hootsuite.
So what does 2022 look like for the social media world? It looks very video based. TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (and Messenger) will reign supreme. Content will become less organic and more targeted. Advertising budgets will increase as ads become more creative and relatable. Stories will be where ads see the most ROI. E-commerce will continue to grow. Social media managers will also double as customer support as they put out fires lit by unsatisfied customers.
Sources
Hootsuite Social Trends 2022
Influencer Marketing Hub Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report 2022
Jeff Fyke 
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