Five Key Social Media Trends for 2022 by Hootsuite

Emerging?industry?behaviors,?breakthrough?platforms?and new?normals.?Hootsuite’s?Social Media?Trends?2022?Report?will?encourage?all?marketers?to?make?bold?choices?informed?by?important?data?with?five?key?socialmedia?trends?based?on?their?annual?survey?with?marketers,?industry?experts,?customers?and?partners.?

We?share?them?with?you:?

1.The?Brand?Strategy?Trend:?

Brand?finally?get?community?right?with?the?help?of?creators.

Instead?of?trying?to?build?a?community?from?the?ground?up,?the?smartest?brands?in 2022?will?tap?into?existing?creator?communities?to?learn?more?about?their?customers,?simplify?content?creation, and?build?brand?awareness?and?affinity.?

2. The?Social?Advertising?Trend:?

Marketers?get?creative as?consumers?wise?up?to?social?ads.?

Marketers?are?shifting?their?resources?to?where?they?can?make?the?most?impact—and,?increasingly,?that’s?on?networks?that?typically?haven’t?been?a?priority?in?the?social marketing?channel?mix.?

Brands?that?want?to?stand?out?will?have?to?work?harder?to?create?ads?that?mirror?and?enrich?the?distinct?experience?offered?by?each?social?network?

3.The?ROI?Trend:?

Social?quietly?matures?out?of?the?marketing?department.?

For?over?a?decade, marketing?leaders?have?struggled?to?quantitatively?link social media?to?business?outcomes.?After?being?forced?to?rely?on?social?significantly?more?during?the?pandemic,?it?seems?something?has?clicked.??

As?businesses?were?forced?to?depend?on?social?channels?to?keep?up?with?customers,?business?leaders?have?become?much?more?comfortable?measuring?social’s?impact.?Businesses?indicated?that?they?have?become?more?confident?in?quantifying?the?return?on?investment?(ROI)?of?their?social media?practices.?

4.The?Social Commerce?Trend:?

Social?becomes?the?heart?of?the?post-pandemic?shopping?experience.?

Lockdowns shot ecommerce forward a decade—in three months.?

Buyers?are?using?social media?to?search,?research, and?evaluate?the?brands?they?buy?from,?making?social?networks?the?second?most?important?channel?for?online?brand?research?after?search?engines.?

Businesses,will?work?to?extend?the?experience?customers?have?with?their?brands?across?social?storefronts?and real?life,?while?global?enterprises?test?the?limits?of?the?online shopping?experience.?

5.The?Customer?Care?Trend:?

Social?marketers?save?their?brands?from?the?customer?service?apocalypse.?

In 2022,?business?leaders?will?look?to?social?marketers?to?take?a?greater?role in?customer?care.?Pioneering?social?marketers?will?break?from?their?departmental?silos?to?build?deeper?inroads?with?customer?service?teams?and?take?more?agency?in?delivering?customer?care?

The distinction between digital ?and physical is blurring and young ?generations are leading the charge. ”??

Elena?Melnikova?–?Chief?Marketing?Officer,?Talkwalker.?