If you are keen to improve and maximize your social media engagement in 2022, you need to make sure you are aware of some of the major trends that are going to appear or become bigger in this coming year. In this article, we are going to take you through the most important and effective of these, so you are fully prepared to completely max out your engagement. Let’s take a look at what is going to make social media accounts really boom in 2022.
Even More TikTok
2020 was the best year so far for the social media giant that is TikTok, and while that kind of growth might not be repeated for a while - if ever - the platform is nonetheless in a good position to be able to help you boost your social media engagement. Any social media management plan is necessarily going to need to include TikTok as one of the major platforms to use.
For one thing, it’s just where the people are - you will certainly be wise to put more of your budget into TikTok than Facebook, for example. But it’s also something about the nature of the platform itself, its quick-bite style, that helps to really spread a branded message powerfully and quickly.
As of September ‘21, the platform has over one billion active users. That’s a lot of eyeballs in one place. There has also been more of an investment into its ad platform, so it’s a good time to get into it for that reason too. Plus, with 90% of those 1 billion people logging on every single day, it really is a hugely important and exciting marketplace to be a part of. And if that doesn’t convince you, how about the fact that 47% of users have bought something they have seen on TikTok. Clearly, it’s time to make yourself a part of that action.
A Booming Creator Economy
It’s a big time for the so-called creator economy, where users of a platform can upload their own content in order to make money. The good news for you when you are looking at your social media management is that this creator economy can be a highly and hugely effective launching pad for your social media campaigns, especially if you can get yourself partnered up with the right creators and influencers.
And it’s definitely a good time to do this, with 2022 looking to be the best year for many for thai kind of creator economy production. In short: it is booming, and as an industry it is now worth over $100 billion, with all the evidence suggesting that this is really only the very beginning of an exciting and powerful onward trend.
Some of the best platforms to look into for this, and which are going to be even more useful in the coming year, include TikTok, Instagram, and even LinkedIn. The ongoing collaboration with brands that this inspires is only going to get more and more, and you would do well to try and be a part of it as soon as possible. Many of these influencers have a million followers or more, so that is a pie that you definitely want to get a slice of.
More Investment In Social Commerce
As well as the creator economy, another massively important area of social media management that you need to be aware of for the coming year is known as social commerce. This refers to buying or selling products and services directly through a social media platform, and it’s something that is certainly on the rise at the moment. If you can get on board with this right now, you should be in good timing for it, and you might find that you can effectively boost your own marketing considerably, with an impact on direct sales being highly likely in most cases.
Why is it such a good time to look into social commerce? Quite simply, because every single major social media platform has been investing in it recently, and it looks unlikely that this is for no reason, or that it is simply going to stop abruptly. No, instead, it looks as if 2022 is going to be the year that really gets social commerce going in a huge way.
Some statistics even suggest that 73% of businesses are already using social commerce - so if you are not doing so, you are actually lagging behind. It is predicted that by the end of 2022, there will be 97.2 million social commerce buyers in the US, or 38% of internet users. That is definitely something you should be aiming to be a part of.
The Rise Of Short-Form Vertical Video
Video has long been a vital marketing tool, and that in itself is nothing new. But it is being applied to the world of social media in some fascinating and interesting ways in recent years, and one of the major forms that this is taking is in the rise of short-form vertical video. This is something that you have certainly seen if you have been paying attention to your social media management. What’s more, you are probably going to want to pay even more attention to it in 2022 if you want to keep ahead of the game.
The main reason behind this kind of video, of course, is TikTok - with Instagram’s Reels being a close second. All the evidence suggests that video content is one of the most enthralling and engaging modes of storytelling around, and that it can be a hugely powerful way to drive sales. Because of this, you will certainly find that it is beneficial to make good use of short-form vertical video as much as you can in the coming year.
Videos on Instagram get a lot more engagement than any other format, and on Twitter, tweets that contain video prove to get around 10x more engagement than those without. Clearly, video is a really important kind of content that you should be producing more of in this coming year and beyond.
Social Audio Strategy
But you might already have known all that about video - after all, it is hugely popular for a reason. Maybe you haven’t been thinking quite so much about your audio strategy, however. In truth, this is something that many brands have not put much thought into yet, and it is likely that you are going to find yourself in good company if you are only just thinking about it now. Audio is not anything new in the world of marketing, but on social media it is only just taking off - however, it is doing so in style, and at a pace that you might not have expected.
In truth, a good audio strategy should include everything from podcasts to radio, and even music playlists. But when it comes specifically to social audio, you’ll want to narrow down to those platforms that provide audio-online content as a possibility, and where it is especially popular. The leading social audio platform in 2021 was Clubhouse, but it has become less popular in recent months. However, the idea behind it remains popular.
Both Facebook and Twitter now have spaces for audio content, and it would be wise to start capitalizing on this if you haven’t already. It’s just another area where you need to show that you are present, and that your brand can be found there. This can be a low-cost way to expand your marketing channels, and for that reason it’s something to consider doing in 2022 as part of your social media management strategy.
Emphasizing Mental Health
We all need to look after our mental health, and this is something that is starting to become recognized by the big brands. It is always wise to keep up with these kinds of moral declarations, as it shows that you are capable of understanding what real people are going through, and that fosters a sense of connection between you and your potential customers and clients. In the world of social media, there has often been a gulf here, but in 2022 brands are starting to focus on emphasizing strong mental health when it comes to social media usage.
This is in part due to an awareness that these platforms can often be damaging to mental health, causing burnout and fatigue. According to a recent report, around 71% of creators have considered quitting social media altogether. All this means for you as a social media marketer is that you need to be aware of these issues, and understand that it is often better to tackle them head-on and directly, rather than pretending that these issues don’t exist. If you can do that, you will find that you are able to get many more people on your side as a brand, which is always important to be able to achieve.
On top of addressing it directly, you might also want to make sure you are combating burnout in your staff, by providing plenty of break opportunities, especially for your social media employees.
Livestream Shopping
It’s no secret to anyone paying attention that live streaming is one of the most powerful market forces out there right now in the online world. It makes perfect sense to try and make use of this as a brand, and that is something that you are going to want to do more and more, especially as we get into 2022. This year it looks as if livestreaming is going to be particularly popular, experiencing a growth it has not seen for years.
One element of this in particular is something that you might want to focus on: livestream shopping. In truth, this appears to be rapidly and radically transforming the world of ecommerce, and especially since the onset of the pandemic, with its attendant lockdowns around the world putting a halt to bricks and mortar shopping. It seems as though livestream shopping is generally very appealing to consumers, because it is personal-feeling and also allows them to shop from home. Once again it seems that convenience is something that people are always keen on having, in any form.
So make 2022 the year that you really dive deep into livestream shopping, especially in partnership with creators and influencers. You'll be amazed at how much this might improve your sales, and what kinds of results you can expect to see across the business as a result of that as well.
Focusing On Accountability & Diversity
This is in a similar vein to the issue raised above about burnout, and just like that, this too is something that you should probably show that you care deeply about. Essentially it comes down to the fact that more and more brands are openly speaking out against racism, and making promises to do better in future in all the ways that this might be relevant. If your brand is not yet doing this that much, you might want to make 2022 the year that you really start doing it in earnest. And as ever, social media platforms tend to be very effective places to make those kinds of pronouncements.
Next up, you might want to focus on diversion and inclusion when it comes to who you partner up with, whether it’s creators, influencers or even other brands. If you can do that, you are going to find that you are much more doing your part, and that’s something that people are going to notice, and appreciate greatly. Another area where you might need to focus is the pay gap that is apparent between influencers of different ethnicities - see this report for more on that. If you can be inclusive, you are going to be adding more positive to the world, rather than negative, and that is something that will benefit everyone on the whole.
Those are just some of the important, major trends to focus on in terms of your social media management in 2022.