Watch Out For These Top Global Social Media Trends In 2022

Consumers have dominated the era of brands for some time now, but the pandemic accelerated the process. They have become firmly in charge of 2022, a time when the choices consumers make will determine the fate of your brand. With consumers driving brand strategy, 2022 is projected to be another challenging year for brands and marketers worldwide.?

Every social media manager in the world is peeking out from behind their screens to understand the landscape better. There are strategies to plan, and they need to know which social media trends will be game-changing for 2022? Our research reveals the global trends that will generate the most success for brands, so you can be better prepared to take on the new year. Read on.?

Social media marketing is predicted to be dominated by Tiktok?

For the past few years, Instagram has dominated the hearts of most social marketers. This was the fastest-growing, had the best returns on investment (depending on your industry), and (bonus) was fun to use. However, this trend is changing.

Recent reports from September 2021 show that Tiktok crossed 1 billion users, making it the 4th most popular social networking site if you exclude the messaging networks. But the twist lies here. In less than a year, Tiktok grew 45% compared to 689 million users in January 2021. Putting this into perspective, Instagram's monthly active users increased by 6% in 2020.?

Even more exciting is the 173% increase in search demand for TikTok. On the other hand, Instagram Reels experienced a 22% growth in search demand. For Stories, it has decreased by 33%. Is 2022 going to be the year of Tiktok? Only time will tell. However, social media marketers need to strategically plan their marketing policies without ignoring this platform.

TikTok, Snapchat to become more receptive for ads than the bigger channels?

According to new research, consumers are more likely to respond to advertising on Tiktok, Snapchat, or Pinterest than larger social media platforms. Researchers involved with the Nielson study found that Snapchat ads had higher reach and purchase intent than TV ads. Facebook and Instagram are likely more saturated with ads, and end-users may suffer from ad fatigue on these larger platforms.

Whatever may be the case, marketers must create more impact on their consumers through these smaller channels. It is noteworthy that both TikTok and Snapchat encourage their advertisers to integrate their ads into organic content that regular users post, helping to increase conversions.?

Cookie crunching will lead to developing social ads

From this year, Google plans to phase out third-party cookies, creating a golden age for digital marketers worldwide. By letting users decide what browsing data can be collected, by whom, and under what circumstances, the advertising industry is expected to change for the better.?

Consumers’ growing awareness of the value of their online data will help digital marketers rebuild relationships with users based on trust and value exchange. Before that, marketers need to find ways to entice these educated, empowered consumers to opt back in by offering more personalized services through social ads.?

Shoppers' journey will be simplified with direct selling from social media??

According to eMarketer, social commerce will be worth $80 billion by 2025. E-commerce is also experiencing record growth, with a jump of 18% in 2020 alone. Social media is no longer merely a flashy opportunity for innovative businesses, however, spending more time on social media and staying at home has led to the boom of social shopping. This trend is here to stay.?

Navigating a website will likely be an extra step that most consumers will skip in the future. Social media is already being used by 81% of shoppers to discover new brands and research products before the pandemic. Today, most social networks offer in-app shopping features, including live video, and are adding new features to meet the surging demand. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are running ahead in this race.?

Except on YouTube, long-form video is no longer encouraged

A couple of years ago, long-form video seemed like the future with the introduction of IGTV and Facebook Watch. Video content that surpassed the 10-minute mark was rewarded on YouTube, known for long-form educational videos. Facebook aimed to compete in this space as well. In the meantime, TikTok arrived in North America. Instagram responded by launching Reels in late 2020, and the rest is history.

Facebook Watch is no longer talked about. In addition, YouTube, the last hope of long-form video on social media, is now using a new format known as YouTube Shorts. According to Hootsuite's 2022 Social Media Trends survey, 40% of respondents say that they use short-form video. In contrast, the discontinuation of Fleet by Twitter and LinkedIn Stories by LinkedIn which were also used for short-form videos indicates that social media users don't seem to watch any short videos. The content must be engaging, entertaining, and informative at the same time.?

Organizations may have different social media policies depending on their products. Yet, we believe that some points should be relevant to your brands from the above list. As a social media marketer, if you overlooked something from this list in your 2022 strategy, it is high time to integrate these to stand out from the competition.??

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