2022 Social Media Marketing Trend Predictions
Coming into 2022, we’re seeing some new trends with how businesses are using social media. It can be overwhelming to keep up with all the changes, so we’ve created a short list for you of things to keep an eye on and new marketing tactics to try.
New Ways to Use Social Media
Engage with Customers
Businesses are talking! If you’ve spent any amount of time on TikTok in the last few months, you’ve likely seen a video or two of consumers trying to get brands to engage with them. And engage, they do. Brands are commenting on consumers’ content, and not just content relevant to their industry.
One of our favorite examples is the Detroit Lions. While they may not have the best record in the NFL, they certainly have one of the best social media presences. The Lions engage with a huge variety of content – from commenting on posts from fellow Michiganders, to working with Emily Zugay on a hilarious brand refresh, the Detriot Lines (if you know, you know) have found a great new way to connect with people on social.
Duolingo, a language education app, has also made a splash using social media. Growing their following to over 2 million on TikTok and 516k on Instagram, the Duolingo bird has become well known social media. This brand uses humor, sarcasm, and trending content to stay active and engaged. Consumers have grown more and more fond of the brand, and the bird.
Micro-Video Content
It’s no surprise that Instagram Reels and TikTok videos are high on our list. The best part? This content is designed to be unpolished, real, and short. The key to success with these types of content is finding a niche and sticking to it.
If you are a cookie decorator, you can create cookie decorating videos in hyper speed that shows your process. You can create simple how-to videos for consumers to try to create for themselves (they may ultimately fail and end up paying you to make their cookies for them anyway #nailedit). You can also create short recipe videos for people to save. Keeping your content consistent and engaging will draw an audience.
If you work in a less visually appealing field, let’s say healthcare, you can still find success using micro-videos. Creating helpful content that educates and empowers viewers may be the best route for you. For the sake of this example, you’re a pediatrician. Your content could include tips for getting kids to eat a balanced diet, information about milestones and when parents should contact their doctor if their child isn’t hitting those milestones, ways to talk to kids about their bodies, or information about specific conditions/diseases/disabilities/etc. that you are passionate about working with. While you might not have bright colored frosting and sprinkles to work with, you DO have a wealth of knowledge that people would love to have access to.
Local Connection
This one is particularly applicable to you as a local business owner! Brands are using their local communities more and more. This includes joining community groups to promote awareness of events, specials, and other happenings. This includes working with local influencers and local “celebrities” (think of local people who are well known, in the media, or are well-loved by their community) to spread awareness about your business. This includes giving back to the communities you serve and inviting others to join in on your cause.
If you have a local storefront, consider hosting special events that will draw a crowd to your store. Share these events in community groups. List them in local directories (if you’re in the Lansing area, we love 517living). Invite your favorite locals to come and encourage them to post stories and to their profiles while they’re in attendance.
Instagram Collaborations
Recently released, the new Instagram Collab feature allows you to tag collaborators in posts. What does this do? It shares the content that you’ve created on your collaborators’ feeds too (once approved by them). Why is this good? You get to leverage your collaborator’s audience too! What do you need to keep in mind? When you’re collaborating, the content will also show up in your grid. If you create the collaboration post, you can control how it looks in your grid. If others create it, they control how it looks. If you’re working within a particular grid aesthetic, keep in mind how the collaboration posts will fit.
Instagram Story Links
Can you hear us cheering? Because we’re cheering! In late 2021, Instagram released a Link sticker option for stories. This is huge. You no longer need 10,000 followers to use links in stories. If you have ecommerce, you should absolutely be taking advantage of this feature. If you book appointments online, you should be using this feature. If you have an event landing page, you should be using this feature. If you have a contact form, you should be using this feature. If you have a social-exclusive offer, you should be using this feature. The possibilities are endless, and we are feeling incredibly hyped about it.
Changes to Be Aware of in 2022
Facebook Became Meta
As many of you may know, Facebook changed their parent company name to Meta in late 2021. While this may be confusing right now, it should allow for additional clarity moving forward. In short, Meta is a big company. Meta has a variety of products, services, and platforms that it creates. These include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Oculus, Portal, and others. Think of this like how Google has a variety of products, services, and platforms like Gmail, YouTube, Google devices like Home, Nest, and Fitbit.
Why does this matter, and how will it affect you as a business?
Well, we aren’t sure exactly how this will affect you yet. What we do know is that some names will be changing sooner rather than later. Facebook Ads will become Meta Ads (or something of the like), which is more accurate as we can use ad placements on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Apps and other external sites. However, this name change currently is not expected to change the functionality of the ads manager. That being said, Meta has already rolled out several changes across their platforms. So we would not be surprised if more changes are coming to ads manager in 2022.
How to Stay in the Loop
With Meta’s updates and changes, they have a page set up with lots of helpful information. You can access it here. We’ll also share important updates on our social channels and here on our blog too. If staying up to date with all of these changes overwhelms you, it might be worth exploring outsourcing your social media. We know a great company 😉