If you’re anything like us, you’re already planning your social media strategy for 2022.

Leveraging social media trends is a powerful way to connect with customers and generate sales. Companies can grow their brand and customer base by establishing a presence on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It’s important to be transparent and authentic with your customers and to provide value. That way, you’ll be able to establish trust and make a long-term connection. You should also have a specific goal in mind for your social media marketing strategy. For example, if you want to drive traffic to your website, then you might create a Facebook ad that directs people to your website. Or, if you want to generate leads, then you might create a LinkedIn post with a lead generation form. In this day and age, social media marketing is an essential part of any business’s marketing strategy. By gaining visibility on social media, you can promote your business to a much larger audience than ever before possible.

What are the social media trends that we can expect in 2022?

#1 SHOPPING WITH FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM

Social commerce and social media will continue to work in tandem.

In 2020, Instagram launched the Shopping tab as a way for its users to explore new products. Facebook pushes retailers to use its built-in storefront and has simplified the process for uploading products. Pinterest uses buyable pins to promote items for sale.

Faith in numbers: Over 90% of social media users access their favourite platforms using a mobile device and 54% use social media to research products.

Coming up: Live shopping could be a key commerce trend we’re expecting to see an increase in 2022 as Instagram and Facebook have their own live streaming features catering to both shoppers and retailers, allowing brands to link directly to the products they’re talking about.

Data Source: Global Social Media Statistics

#2 SHORT-FORM VIDEO CONTENT

Reels, TikTok, and the proliferation of short-form video content.

Remember when Trump attempted to ban TikTok back in 2020? So do we. TikTok has taken the last few years by storm with its short-form videos. Unlike its predecessor Vine (for those of you that remember Vine as a stand-alone platform, not a strangely named video compilation on YouTube) TikTok was downloaded 315 million times across the globe in its first 3 months. However, the platform shows no signs of slowing as studies show 82% of online content will consist of videos by 2022. To keep up with this trend Instagram also launched its answer to TikTok in the form of Reels. If you can’t beat them, take a slice of that digital pie.

Data Source: Global – 2022 Forecasts

#3 SAY IT IN LESS THAN 10 SECONDS

Shorter attention spans = RIP the 30-second video ad = Make more bite-sized content.

While people are spending more time on social media, they’re spending less time engaging with individual posts. The average attention span today is 8 seconds, if you’re reading this you have successfully beaten the trend! But seriously, social media sites are adjusting to the new 8-second rule by increasingly offering bite-size content options such as short-form videos and ephemeral (disappearing) content.

#4 INCREASING AUGMENTED REALITY OPTIONS 

Searches for “social media ar” are up 81% over the last 5 years. The Augmented Reality (AR) market may still be in its infancy, but by 2023 the AR market is set to generate $70-$75 billion in annual revenue. Take heed as Instagram has already dipped its toes in the AR game by allowing users to create their own filters.

Data Source: VXChnge – AR Forecast

#5 MAKE USE OF YOUR USER-GENERATED CONTENT

Businesses are increasingly adding user-generated content (UGC) to their social media marketing strategies. Brands that incorporate UGC have a 20% increase in return visitors and a 90% increase in the time that consumers spend on their websites, UGC images are also 81% more likely to convert. 

#6 META: FACEBOOK REMAINS ON TOP

It came as no surprise that the recent outage across Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram proved a need for greater decentralisation. Despite this, Facebook remains firmly on top of the social media hierarchy with over 2.9 billion active users. With a fresh name, Meta now plans to continue digital domination as it evolves into VR. But what does this mean for retailers, shoppers and marketing businesses like ours? Well, many can predict, but the answer firmly remains, to be seen. What we do know is that Facebook has no plans to slow its push into eCommerce with the introduction of Facebook & Instagram Shops, providing a seamless way for retailers to connect with their audiences.

With more and more social media apps, networks and avenues emerging every year, it’s now more important than ever to stay on top of trends to avoid standing still in your digital marketing game. One thing we are certain of at Make Agency is that change is the only constant. In an ever-evolving digital space, we are relentless in helping brands bend and adapt to emerging ways of inspiring and reaching new audiences, the sky really is the limit!