Our top 9 social media trend predictions for 2022 and how you can incorporate these trends into your brand’s social media marketing strategy.
1. TikTok is everything now & the content trends begin there
The number of active users on TikTok will only continue to grow. The style of short-form video content created on the platform will dominate the social media space. We will continue to see this with more short form video being prioritized on other platforms. Examples include: Facebook Reels, Pinterest Story Pins, Spotify Feed, etc.
How you can adapt in 2022:
- Develop a marketing plan that places a heavy focus on short-form video content.
- Repurpose this content on all platforms. Try and automate as much of this process as you can!
- If you’re not comfortable filming video content yet, start by practicing filming daily video vlogs. Speak to your camera for 3-5 minutes daily – you don’t have to post these. This will help you show up confidently and be more comfortable on camera when producing content for your brand.
2. Decline of Organic Reach
Paid ads are taking over our feeds. This makes growing an account “organically” much harder than before, but never impossible. Brands still need to focus on having an organic growth strategy that will genuinely resonate with their audience on social media in 2022.
How you can adapt in 2022:
- Invest in social media management. This will ensure your brand has a strategy in place to increase conversions. In addition, your social media manager will implement platform best practices. Fill out our client application form here if you are interested.
- Increase the volume of content your brand is producing. The more valuable content you offer, the probability of your brand going viral increases. Examples include both Victoria Paris – @victoriaparis & Nadya Okamoto – @nadyaokamoto on TikTok.
3. Ads that don’t look like “ads”
Instead of marketing your business by only showing or talking about your specific product or service – get creative. The simple truth is that consumers don’t care about your products or services. They care about the transformation and what your products/services can do FOR THEM.
How you can adapt in 2022:
- Focus on helping your target audience learn more about the solutions your business can offer them.
- Highlight how you can help them overcome their challenges and problems.
- Interweave educational content about your industry.
- Peak your target audience’s interest by telling a story, etc.
4. Rise of Influencers & Content Creators
Influencer marketing has been on the rise and will continue to grow on social media in 2022. Gone are the days of only seeing fashion or lifestyle influencers (although these are still popular categories). Influencers are seen in every category – from financial influencers educating their audiences to pet influencers.
Creator funds are emerging on every social media platform. For example, YouTube has a $100 million creator fund for Shorts, Pinterest launched a $500,000 creator fund, and Instagram is paying creators bonuses for Reel performance.
In addition, large companies and brands are seeing immense success by having individual content creators become the “face” of their company – in the form of a person representing their brand – Dave from the Washington Post or in the form of a brand character – Duo from Duolingo.
If you’re a brand looking for a content creator to fill this type of role for your brand – fill out our client application form here.
How you can adapt in 2022:
- Brands that prioritize the role of content creators by giving them a significant presence as the “face(s)” of their accounts will continue to see incredible ROI.
- If you have an interest or passion, start sharing about it online. You never know, it could become your full time career! There are companies looking to sponsor influencers in every category nowadays.
5. Platforms being held accountable for their impact on mental health
There is a new awareness of the link between social media use and mental health. Social media platforms are finally being called out for their negative impacts and are having to adjust. While many are slow to respond, there is also talk of Congress stepping in and forcing different changes.
For example, Instagram came out with a new “take a break” feature which allows you to set daily usage limits and get reminded after a set time period. Similarly, TikTok has their own videos that show up in your FYP that say, “you’ve been scrolling for way too long!”
Further, consider how Instagram and Facebook allows users to “hide” likes and Youtube has removed the number next to their “dislike” button.
Consumers are becoming more aware of the affects of spending too much time on social media and also of the role that social media plays in our society.
How you can adapt in 2022:
- As always, your brand’s marketing and messaging should be grounded in the best, ethical practices. Social Bean Media is committed to ethical marketing as a core business principle when managing our client’s accounts.
- For your personal wellbeing, don’t rely on apps to remind you to stop scrolling. Instead, schedule time blocks in your day where you are intentionally on social media for business or personal use.
6. Integrated SEO
Instagram’s keyword search update at the end of 2020 highlighted the importance of integrating SEO keywords into your content.
With talk of TikTok and Instagram being indexed on Google, it is even more important to be mindful of the keywords and phrases you include in captions, hashtags, and within your content. Ranking on Google with your social media platforms and posts will be more dependent on the SEO that you integrate within your brand’s social media profiles and content.
How you can adapt your social media in 2022:
- Do your research! Use websites like Answer The Public or research keywords on Pinterest to inform your marketing strategy. This will help you better understand your audience as well.
- Make sure to write descriptive and relevant captions on all pieces of content for best results.
7. Brands genuinely caring about & engaging with their audience
This should be a given. However, consumers are pushing all brands to interacting genuinely with their audiences. Consumers can easily tell if there is a consistent and authentic importance placed on the relationship.
You’ll notice this trend in various forms, one being when large brands comment on small creator accounts or other small businesses. For example, many videos on TikTok are replying to comments made by large brands “omg Shopify commented on my video! Hi Shopify!”
If you own a brand and are reading this, think about where you would be without your customers and clients? How do you treat them on social media? Remember, that if you don’t interact with your audience, they have no reason to interact with YOU. Your audience and their needs should always be your #1 priority.
Community-first brands will become the leaders.
How you can adapt in 2022:
- Give interacting and responding to your audience the value and the time it deserves. If you don’t have time to develop meaningful relationships with your audience, consider hiring a social media manager. Click here for our client application form.
- Outbound engagement is key. Go out of your way to interact with your audience on their accounts too!
8. “Stories” to Connect with Audience
Look at the data: posting up to 5 Instagram stories per day ensures a retention rate of over 70%. To be competitive on social media in 2022, your brand needs to be prioritizing Instagram Story content. This is the easiest way to connect with your audience. They are looking at stories, so it makes sense to prioritize this format.
Further, a new Instagram Story feature allows users to create 60 second videos, instead of the current 15 seconds.
TikTok is also beta testing stories on their platform, which will only further increase the attraction to the app.
Take note that short-form video continues to grow in importance on various social media platforms!
How you can adapt in 2022:
- With Instagram Stories, try and have an active story on your profile at all times. You can pre-schedule stories with the scheduling platform Later. (We love using this platform at Social Bean Media and with all of our clients!)
- Stories are a terrific and easy way to regularly communicate with your audience – from sharing BTS content, to getting feedback through market research.
9. Ecommerce Boom with Social Media Shopping
If you are selling products, social media is the most effective way to market your brand. The market is completely shifting in this direction. Consider how significant TikTok’s new expanded partnership with Shopify will be for brands and consumers, as well as Amazon Live shopping, which is often used by popular influencers.
Other social media shopping statistics:
- 44% of people surveyed use Instagram to shop weekly
- 87% of Pinterest users made a purchase from a product found on the platform and 93% of Pinterest users plan future purchases on the platform.
How you can adapt on social media in 2022:
- Set up live-shopping on all platforms to take advantage of these new sales features.
- Don’t forget to tag your products on all of your content formats.
2022 Social Media Trend Predictions Recap
Top 9 Social Media Trend Predictions for 2022:
- TikTok is everything now & the content trends begin there
- Decline of organic reach
- Ads that don’t look like “ads”
- Rise of influencers & content creators
- Platforms being held accountable for their impact on mental health
- Integrated SEO
- Brands genuinely caring about & engaging with their audience
- “Stories” to connect with audience
- Ecommerce boom with social media shopping
Hope you found this blog post helpful in guiding your social media marketing and focus in 2022. If you’re ready to invest in your brand’s social media presence, fill out our client application form here to schedule a free discovery call.
