It’s that time of year again when social media trends become a major concern for businesses to weave a handsome marketing strategy for good. Every social media team is constantly moving and protruding their heads out from under their screens to get a sense of the situation. We must be aware that top social media trends will change the game in 2022 because we’re planning strategies.

If you’re a frequent social media user, you’ll be aware of how quickly things change on major platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Live streams have become more common in 2021 and Augmented Reality (AR) has begun to appear in certain filters – including McDonald’s spice zapper, which allows users to virtually shoot lasers from their eyes. With the online world constantly evolving,

According to a study, time spent on social media has increased from 1.5 hours per day in 2012 to nearly 2.5 hours in 2021. It’s also where Millennials (aged 25-40) and Gen Z (aged 5-24) spend the majority of their online time. As you’re reading this, you’re probably aware that there have been some rapid changes in the social media sphere, such as the rise of new platforms like TikTok, new formats like Instagram Reels, new features like social commerce, and a slew of other developments to keep up with.

Fortunately, you’ve arrived at the right location!
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the emerging social media trends we see as a result of these developments and show you how to approach each one.

1. TikTok will rule over social media, leaving other platforms to adopt

TikTok will run over social media, forcing other platforms to adjust.
A look at TikTok’s rise and growing supremacy in the social media space.
Also, how are the other platforms adapting to remain in the race?

2. Social Media will emerge as cookies are jammed.

The cookie is going to die.
What impact will this have on the future of social advertising, and how will brands provide more personalized offers whilst trying to remain able to comply?

3. Social selling will make the customer journey easier.

As the pandemic forces more consumers to shop online, this trend will delve deeper into how social platforms are addressing social selling and how its demand will grow over time.

4. Post-pandemic content will be customized to consumer behaviour.

The pandemic produced a new generation of online entertainment consumers.
They have higher content expectations and preferences.
With an always-on, stackability-demanding audience, how will this shape content in the future?

5. Customer experience interaction will modify how consumers interact with social networks.

Buyers aren’t any longer dedicated to a specific brand/channel, resulting in content spreading across platforms faster than ever before.
However, this leads to more misinformation and makes it easier to spread ‘false propaganda.’

6. Sophisticated content marketing would then finally mature.

Content marketing has matured.
Most companies take them sincerely as restrictions and obligations are becoming more strict.
And, in the aftereffects of the pandemic, many have larger and more engaged audiences than ever before.
How will products put emphasis on such prospects?

7. Businesses would be at the core of contemporary media centralization.

Societies are important, and not just on social media sites.
To gain full control of their audiences, many brands are now creating their share in social networks, accomplishing with the in forums as well as features.

8. Metaverses will be the next point of contact for consumers.

What will the internet look like in the future?
The largest platforms are beginning to envision it now: an interactive community of users in terms of dealing in a wide variety of social activities online.
It’s time for brands to join in.

9. Marketing involvement will be extremely important.

CSR is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR was a big deal in 2020. Greater in 2021.
Brands will have to listen to and act on the social issues that are most important to their audiences in 2022.
Organisations will play a significant role in global change soon.

10. Societies will grow and take ownership.

Customers have a say.
It may well be pretty calm. Once those voices merge in large social societies, they seem to be powerful enough to influence the world.
Predict more consumer temper tantrums and more socially driven changes from communities, with brands responding quickly.

More personalized content is desired by consumers.

They prefer faster service.
They want to have a quality experience.
And they want it all right away.
To ensure the future of your brand, you should indeed listen to and respond to their requirements.

Consumers Shop on Social Media – this is known as Social Commerce.

H&M’s founder, Erling Persson, once stated that their stores should be located wherever the shopping bags are – in other words, on the streets where their target audience is walking. Today, these shopping bags have packed their belongings and left the high streets and city centres of yesteryear to be found on social media.
Fashion’s first point of contact is no longer the store window.
Instead, consumers use social media to discover, share, and shop trends on their smartphones or laptops.

It is critical that fashion brands adapt to changing consumer behaviour and focus on being visible where your customers spend their time and shop.

In 2022, your primary storefront must be on social media platforms.
It’s where brands grow their fan bases and raise their brand awareness, and it’s where consumers learn about and research the latest trends, products, and brands to support.
The Arrival of Video
Instagram’s shift to a video-first strategy caught us all off guard…or did it?
We’ve all seen a video on trend lists for a while now, but 2021 felt like the year it finally arrived for influencers and audiences.

Video will enter the mainstream for brands in 2022.

However, the question of why the video remains unanswered.
After a year of millions of real-world lives being put on hold, consumers’ appetite for entertaining, engaging content online has grown voracious.

Shut-in their homes and cut off from family and friends, internet users knew there was one place they could still turn for convivial fun: social media!
But it’s not just the quantity of content that has changed; it’s also the type of content that social media users have gravitated toward.

While videos of tropical vacations and private jets were unappealing, everyday, authentic content provided the relatability and humanity that everyone craved.
Video, which is rawer and at the moment than any feed flat lay, became the ideal vehicle for this new medium.

Consider live streaming as a perfect example. When physical events and real-life socializing became more limited, consumers began to seek out ways to replicate these experiences on social media.
What did they discover?
The real-time format! With built-in interactivity and a semblance of the community we were all missing, it’s no surprise that when we look at the numbers, we see that over the last three years, live streaming has experienced a CAGR growth rate of 25% compared to the 15% displayed by photo, video, and chat.

Live social media events are a concrete example of a format that has been amplified by the pandemic and will continue to grow in 2022.

There are numerous ways for brands to capitalize on the live video format. This is something you should be prepared to take advantage of, especially as more and more social platforms bet big on social commerce.

Check to see if you’re…

• Tagging products that appear in the live stream
• Hosting live streams with influencers to reach your target audience (i.e. the followers of the influencers)
• Allowing customers to purchase products directly from live streams
• Post live streams on IGTV afterwards to gain additional benefits, such as increased reach.
• With 32% of UK consumers wanting influencers banned from social media platforms for failing to comply with advertising necessities, there’s a lot at stake for brands that aren’t taking note of regulatory notifications and each influencer activation’s compliance with them.
• If that wasn’t enough to deal with, new laws governing filtering and editing in paid influencer content are expected to emerge in 2022 and beyond.
• Micro-influencers generally have followers from a particular niche, making them completely desirable for collaboration with appropriate businesses.
• In the upcoming days, more micro-influencers will be noticed, with agencies assisting them in connecting with popular firms and consumers.
  

  2022 is the year of the ‘now’ consumer for brands.

Conclusion

If you really want to prosper in 2022, you must influence consumers just at the core of every piece of information, strategic plan, or campaign.
Connection is the fundamental key to success, as evidenced by the ten trends identified in the study.
Customer expectations could be considerable. However, this merely means that the possibilities are more diverse.
Brand names that brought consumer intelligence to the frontline of their 2022 strategy will become the individuals to describe and capture the year ahead.