8 Social Media Trends to Watch in 2022
It’s no secret that social media trends are changing everyday. For example, just 3 years ago, most consumers would have never believed TikTok could compete with social media giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Fast forward to 2021 where TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform in the world, according to an eMarketer report.
This achievement is even more surprising when considering there are currently over 3.96 billion social media users across the globe, all taking part in the ongoing alteration of the social media landscape.
With all the changes happening (and that have happened so far this year) let’s take a look at some of the biggest social media trends that will lead the second half of 2022.
8 Social Media Strategy Trends for Small Businesses in 2022
1. Video Content is King
The easiest way to grab consumer attention is with quick, unique, and interactive video content. Think about your own social media journey–what content are you more likely to stop scrolling for? Consumers, especially those who utilize small or local businesses, want to see fresh and interactive content that’s produced similarly to the more national or global brands they also love. By developing engaging video content, you can generate more social media traffic and eventually more qualified leads to your website.
2. Finding New Audiences
While it’s always important to know your main target audience and to cater your content to them, it’s just as important to find new audiences that may also benefit from your business. Participate in market research, study industry trends, and get a feel for the varied personas that may utilize your services. Once you identify those audience segments, you can create more optimized social content (and targeted lists) that cater to those new audiences.
3. Importance of Paid Advertising
Organic content is great for branding your business, but it just doesn’t have the bandwidth to reach as many people as your business needs. This is especially true considering all the brands competing for your customers' attention. Paid advertising should continue to be a major area of focus. New to paid advertising? Try starting by boosting a few of your well-performing posts on social media to get an idea of how many more individuals you can reach based on different budgets.
4. Virtual Reality Will Expand
Given Meta’s recent push to enhance its platform toward a more digital universe, expect to see more and more companies dabbling in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). We know what you’re thinking: “how does this affect my small business?” The truth is, as more consumers begin to use VR and AR tools, they will begin to interact with your business in different ways and will come to expect more from the businesses they utilize.
5. Focus on DEI and Accessibility
From video and photo content to optimized copywriting, the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility will guide many organizations’ missions. When creating content, it’s incredibly important to ensure you’re catering to a diverse audience with a variety of abilities, demographics, and inclusive stories.
6. Community Management and Social Listening
In the next year, more businesses will explore community management and social listening options for their social media and online presence. By formalizing and prioritizing your community management on social media, you can help provide exceptional and prompt service your customers deserve. Then, with enhanced social listening techniques, you can always stay on top of what people are saying about your business, products, services, and even competitors. This can help drive the narrative of your content to quickly and efficiently cater to consumers’ needs.
7. More Authenticity
Engaging social media content has to be more than just a stock photo with a company logo. Consumers love authenticity because it helps them relate to you and your business which directly drives purchasing behavior. Expect more companies to share personalized stories of their team members, customer reviews, and user generated content to differentiate them from the competition and build trust.
8. Local Networking
In our current economic state, more consumers will want to “support local.” Businesses should lean into the power of local not only by utilizing local media and advertising, but by leveraging your position as a locally owned and operated business. Doing so will give you a competitive edge in a market where consumers are becoming more and more aware of the origins of the products and services they use.
Why you Should Be Up-To-Date on Social Media Trends
The Millennial and Gen-Z age groups are truly leading the narrative on social media. They create the trends and bring traffic to platforms in ways most of us never dreamed. This is so important because these segments of the population are now establishing their brand loyalties and buying habits. If a small business wants to develop a long-term and loyal customer base, they’ll have to start catering their social media content in a way that directly speaks to this growing and digital population.
Paving the Way
Because of the ever-changing nature of social media, digital marketing agencies need to be well-versed in mechanics and trends that drive success. Coleman Intellect is a leading digital marketing agency that specializes in content creation and social engagement.
We regularly study social media trends so we can stay one step ahead for our clients. If you’re looking to redesign the social media strategy for your small business, reach out to us today! We can set up a consultation to review your current social media efforts and develop a plan to optimize your content and increase traffic.
