“Social media is not a media. The key is to listen, engage, and build relationships.” David Alston
Every day, over 240 million people spend an average of two hours and seven minutes on social media. In 2021, social media platforms had a busy year, and 2022 looks to be even bigger.
A well-thought-out social media strategy might be one of the most effective marketing tools available to a company or brand. Businesses must keep ahead of their competition by embracing current and emerging trends, which can be achieved with the help of a social media post design agency.
We’ve curated a list of both new and current social media trends to help you stay ahead. We all love a top 10 list, but we went one step further and came up with 11. Enjoy.
- Live Streaming: Almost 82% of audiences prefer live videos on social media. Live streaming keeps your social media channels active and interesting, which encourages people to follow you. There has been a surge in bringing celebrities and renowned personalities on live chat by various brands, too.
- Reels will Become More Popular: Reels videos will continue to shake up social media content this year. 15-60 second videos are becoming the most popular and widely used format for social media content. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are in Beta, and Facebook has announced the launch of Facebook Reels. Several adjustments are in the works to select content with greater personalization and privacy in mind. Twitter announced that its future product and feature plan will triple its income by 2023.
- Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence Rise: Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled his vision for an entirely new virtual world. The Metaverse will combine social media, gaming, entertainment, e-commerce, and work environments.
However, Facebook is not the first to employ AR and AI. Consider Ikea, which has employed augmented reality to allow customers to virtually arrange furniture in their own homes before purchasing. Maybelline employs a similar technology in their cosmetics studio, which allows customers to try on makeup before purchasing it.
If you want to know more about the Metaverse, hop over and read our new blog series on the topic.
- Chatbot Communication: In 2022, chatbots won’t be wasting people’s time, but instead will offer faster resolutions. Chatbots are becoming increasingly popular with both brands and consumers. Many businesses may not have the resources to give client service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. AI-powered chatbots incorporated into various businesses’ social networking accounts will aid in the improvement of brand-customer connections.
- Ecommerce Booms: Online shopping within social platforms has been around for a few years. When the epidemic initially started, Facebook was one of the first social media platforms to make a huge jump into the eCommerce industry. Facebook and Instagram have teamed up to create a new way for retailers to connect with customers. Their objective is to have shoppable postings, streamline payment processes, and provide live-stream shopping by 2022.
- Increasing Engagement with Ephemeral Content: Ephemeral content is short-lived and disappears within 24 hours. Snapchat pioneered ephemeral content, and while Instagram and Facebook just followed, the two quickly became the top platforms for ephemeral content. Facebook and Instagram have been experimenting with the “Story” feature. Stories are entertaining, engaging, and truly keep people on their toes. Brands can provide surveys, “behind the scenes” moments, impromptu banter, workplace tours, and a deluge of engaging information that will allow consumers to get to know a brand incredibly well.
- Influencer Marketing Continues to Grow: Influencer marketing is dominating in 2021, and it will continue to do so for the next few years. Brands will collaborate with influencers over a series of social media promotion posts. To increase inclusivity and openness in their marketing activities, larger firms are expected to cooperate with micro-influencers and niche bloggers. Many social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube have launched a paid subscription model for followers to get exclusive content from influencers.
- Social Media Community Expansion: The growth of social media communities is on the rise this year. Customers are being added to social groups where brands may communicate with them more closely. These forums are useful in getting customer feedback and suggestions, carrying out discussions, resolving grievances, and sharing personalized content that customers will love. In the future, brands may also use these exclusive online communities to get platforms to gather real-time customer feedback on their products and services.
- User-generated Content Will Gain Popularity: User-generated content (UGC) is any form of content generated by users on social media. Many brands have begun to use UGC as social evidence of the quality of their products or services. In the coming days, brands will encourage their customers for UGC to boost engagement rates further.
- Metaverses will be the Next Mode of Consumer Connection: The major platforms are starting to see it now: an engaging community of users who can participate in a wide range of social activities while online. It’s past time for businesses to join in.
- Social ads will Develop: Google plans to phase out cookie monitoring by 2023. There are other successful advertising choices available that do not rely on third-party cookies. This is an excellent time to create a data-driven plan based on analytics for better understanding your consumers’ interests and preferences, say experts.
Several social media trends will dominate in the year 2022. Soon, marketing on chat applications will also be a reality. Live video, augmented reality, and AI-powered chatbots are changing the face of social media marketing. Employee advocacy and influencer marketing can also assist you to strengthen your marketing approach.
Which trend are you most looking forward to in 2022?
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