5 social media trends to keep in mind in 2022

Social media has become the backbone of online marketing. Depending on the target audience and the goal that brands want to achieve, social media can be a core part of their strategy. As a result, we wanted to highlight the top 5 trends you should know to develop a successful social media strategy.

Here we go!

1. Short videos

With the rise in popularity of TikTok and Instagram’s Reels, short-form video has noticeably grown as a trend. Research showed that 93% of brands surveyed got a new customer thanks to their social media short video. This is because short videos are easy to consume and therefore more accessible for users to watch and for brands to create.

While in 2022 82% of content appeared to be video, it is important to keep in mind that these videos need to maintain a short format, as long videos result tedious to users and less engaging.?

2. Social commerce

When we say “social commerce,” we mean buying and selling goods and services on social media sites. Due to the pandemic the social platform commerce had ten years of growth in only three months. Most social media sites built their own shops, becoming social e-commerce sites. Sprout Social says that 73% of businesses are already doing business through social media.

For social networks to become full commerce platforms, they have to change all the time. On the other hand, more and more people are buying things on social media, which shows that they trust social shopping more because they recognize the platform logo.

3. Influencer marketing

Even though it’s not considered a trend, we couldn’t not mention influencer marketing. Why? Because brands successfully using social media to market their brands, always include influencers, making influencers a key factor for an effective social media strategy. While the number of social influencers is growing, also the marketing spend on it is increasing.?

Keep in mind that adopting an influencer marketing strategy does not necessarily mean spending the whole budget. In fact, most brands adopt a whole network of influencers which always are tailored to their niche audience and therefore smaller.?

4. TikTok

TikTok remains one of the best social media sites. Even though Instagram is still the company’s favorite, TikTok is still growing. To compete with the other platforms, TikTok also added useful features like ads and business profiles. This means that the social media site is no longer just a place to dance, but also a way for brands to reach millennials and gen Z, who use it the most.

One thing to keep in mind is that TikTok is a very specific type of platform and format, so the strategy you use for it needs to be made just for it. For example, Duolingo uses TikTok as a key part of its marketing strategy, but its profile here is very different from those on the other platforms. What they do is adopt trending sounds and shoot video with their mascot. This makes the video on top the trends, as it uses the popular sounds, and branded/self-advertorial thanks to the personalisation.

5. Customer service

While social media used to be a place where people could only connect with people in their own network, it is now a much larger resource. We’ve already discussed how social media is frequently used as an e-commerce platform, but we haven’t mentioned how it’s also becoming more popular as a customer service tool. The transition began when retailers noticed that customers were contacting them and asking questions via social media. The most likely reason is that users would prefer a quick method than emailing in order to receive a faster response.

In the last year, 59 percent of marketers agree that customer support via social media has increased the value of their organization. Being available to customers on social media makes a brand more accessible and improves the user experience, making users more likely to purchase from that brand again.

Are you already on top of these trends and looking for new tips for your growth? Check out our article about the?SEO trends for 2022.

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