6 Hottest Social Media Trends in 2022
Social media has evolved and transformed the world of marketing. A lot has happened in the world of social media since the world’s first social media platform ‘Six Degrees’ hit the internet in 1997. The popularity of social media has increased significantly in the last decade driven by the dwindling cost of data and incredible internet penetration.
There are around 3.96 billion social media users around the world in 2022 [1]. In addition, the amount of time spent by adults on social media is higher than ever before. On average, today, adults invest around 95 minutes each day.
The plethora of social media platforms coupled with the different features of each platform has given us some exciting social media marketing trends over the past few years. Besides, we cannot forget the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the current social media trends, global markets, and industries. It has encouraged more people to use social media, which is why social media marketing has also seen a considerable change
Managing and running a brand account is no easy task. You need to keep your creative juices flowing and have foresight. Staying abreast of the current trends coupled with predicting the future trends in the social media world is one way to ensure you are always on the top of your social media game.
If you are a social media marketer, this article is exactly what you need to take your social media marketing game to the next level.
Without further ado, let’s explore a few trends in social media that you should know in 2022.
SEE ALSO: Top 4 Business Messaging Platforms for 2022
Social media trends in 2022
1. Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing has become immensely popular over the past two to three years. It is primarily a collaboration between social media influencers and brands who are looking to promote their products.
Besides, it is a marketing strategy that has reaped amazing results for companies from around the world. A large number of marketers are turning to influencer marketing to establish a solid brand presence. A recent survey showed that an impressive 93% of the marketers have used influencer marketing to good effect [2].
Besides, a lot of brands are expected to include micro-influencers in their marketing strategies as their audiences tend to have a higher engagement rate in comparison to the macro and mega-influencers.
2. Artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots
Another powerful trend that has emerged in the social media space is the increasing usage of chatbots. Chatbots make it extremely easy for customers to interact with their favorite brands via social media.
It is an excellent channel for brands to respond to any queries on social media as soon as possible. We all know the limitations of a human, which is why they are less likely to respond to customer chats in a timely manner.
Chatbots solve this problem by responding to customers within seconds. These chatbots are driven by artificial intelligence. A prime example of this is Meta’s Messenger, where brands use chatbots to promote their products and also address customer queries.
3. Increasing sales via social media
Typically, social media marketing has been used by brands to increase sales and engagement. This is an evergreen trend that we do not think is going anywhere anytime soon.
Every brand is given all the important tools they require to market their products on different social media platforms to increase sales. Besides, as tracking tools such as Facebook Pixel have come into the picture, it has become even easier for marketers to understand a buyer’s journey.
However, for that to happen, you should post content on social media regularly. This is why you should consider using social media publishing platforms such as HubSpot and Buffer which allow you to create and publish content on social media in a structured manner.
4. Short vertical videos will be popular
Short vertical videos have taken the world by storm-driven by the success of Instagram Reels and TikTok. Video content is one of the most engaging forms of storytelling and has proved extremely useful to boost sales.
Besides, Instagram reels and videos get more engagement than any other form [3]. In addition, Tweets with videos generate 10x more engagement than those without videos.
Over the past couple of years, the pandemic has also compelled companies and major brands to engage with their audience using short videos. This is why we believe that creating short vertical videos on social media will be a major trend in 2022.
5. Memes and more memes
The meme culture is well and truly here and there is no hiding from it. And let’s admit it. We all love a good meme.
In 2022, we will see a lot of memes in the form of GIFs or static images. A lot of niche meme accounts have surfaced on the internet, covering topics from social media management to astrology.
Besides, memes are a good way for creators and brands to engage with their customers and join trending threads on social media. In a nutshell, memes are not going anywhere.
6. Adoption of augmented reality (AR) will grow
Virtual reality and augmented reality (AR) have opened the doors to a sea of opportunities for brands. Brands can leverage the benefits of AR and VR to market their products and services like never before.
While AR is a hot commodity in the gaming industry, we are seeing a lot of brands and social media platforms turn to AR to provide an amazing experience to their customers.
Final words
Now that you have read about a few social media trends we are going to see in 2022, we hope you take these into consideration while creating your social media marketing strategy. A lot of brands are investing huge amounts of money in research to improve their social media marketing strategies.
If you are a social media marketer or an influencer, you should be aware of the latest social media trends to have a lasting impact and boost engagement. ToolsMetric helps readers understand the latest trends in the world of enterprise-grade technology. If you are lost and looking for solutions regarding your social media tactics, you can come to hop by our website.
SEE ALSO: 4 Easy Digital Marketing Tools for Small Businesses
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Sources:
[1] Barnhat.B (2022) “41 of the most important social media marketing statistics for 2022” SproutSocial [online] Available from: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-statistics/ [accessed April 2022]
[2] Schaffer. N (2022) “The Top 25 Influencer Marketing Statistics You Need to Know in 2022” Neal Schaffer [online] Available from: https://nealschaffer.com/influencer-marketing-statistics/ [accessed April 2022]
[3] Rene. C (2019) “Video Content Gets the Most Engagement on Instagram” Mention [online] Available from: https://mention.com/en/blog/video-engagement-instagram/ [accessed April 2022]
