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The Latest Social Media Trends Predicted for 2022
Social media trends aside, the last two pandemic-filled years have caused disruption for businesses online and everyday life in general.
Social media trends aside, the last two pandemic-filled years have caused disruption for businesses online and everyday life in general.
Although we are hopefully now moving into a brighter and more positive 2022, we cannot ignore the implications that the past 24 months have had on the entirety of the economic landscape and more specifically, the digital marketing industry. Behaviours, perceptions and priorities have changed for both consumers and brands. E-commerce shot through the roof, video content became our new normal (here’s to many family Zoom calls!), and screen time for many will have peaked at an all-time high. As a result, social media platforms had to adapt to a new way of content consumption, and they had to do it quickly.
As we move into 2022, some habits have stuck with us, and some have been pushed aside. For example, working from home was once a necessity, whereas now only 33% of workers in the UK work from home. Many physical changes have been and gone, but many attitudes and behaviours have remained, particularly those around technological advancements and increased importance surrounding community and communication. So, what can social media platforms do to keep up with such demands? We run you through our predictions for the top social media trends for 2022, and explore the latest social media trends to look out for across Facebook and Instagram.
2022 Social Media Predictions
1. E-commerce is everything
It’s no real surprise that post-pandemic, many social media platforms are prioritising e-commerce. Given how important shopping online has been for us over the past 18 months, the latest social media trend is for social platforms to up their game in providing a better user experience for shoppers within their platforms. Facebook Shopping is set to expand its current e-commerce offering by introducing Facebook Pay (fancy paying by Diem anyone?), improving their product discovery, and even allowing you to set buying alerts, much like eBay!
2. Live Shopping
In the same vein, expanding e-commerce efforts to make transactions easier for consumers will include live shopping as a key focus for Facebook Shopping in 2022. Many markets have already adapted to this new feature, with China’s live-commerce marketing increasing 280% from 2017 to 2020. So whilst Westerners are slightly further right on the Overton window than China, expect to see your favourite brands offering live shopping experiences throughout 2022.
3. AR/VR development
Now owned by Meta, Facebook can expect to see advancements in tech-based customer software, such as AR technology. We’ve already seen Facebook AR glasses made in collaboration with Ray-Ban, allowing you to shoot video content directly from your lenses and upload it to Facebook. With Meta now shifting its focus to tech, the sky is the limit for what Facebook may offer regarding AR or VR in 2022.
4. Building digital identity
A social media trend in 2022 that will dominate focus will be the idea of building a digital identity. Dressed up as another way to improve your digital presence and improve your existing company branding, Facebook aims to help build a bridge between your Facebook profile and your Metaverse presence. Expect to see NFT avatars, NFT profile displays, 3D characters displays and avatar creation tools across the platform. Meta’s tech-push will govern and push app direction over 2022, hoping to lead advancements in social technology.
5. Facebook Live
It’s good news for those who want to experiment with Live Shopping but previously haven’t been able to! Social media 2022 advancements in Facebook include expanding Facebook Live to anyone who uses the platform. Previously, this feature was only available to verified brands; however, in an attempt to improve e-commerce offerings, the feature is now available to all. With Facebook Live engagement being 178% higher than average post engagement, this is an excellent marketing avenue for small businesses with tight budgets.
6. Video matters more
Video content is projected to account for 82% of all internet traffic in 2022. Due to this significant statistic, the popularity of video marketing on Facebook is predicted to increase dramatically in 2022. Facebook videos receive 135% more organic reach than images, which is most likely why social media marketers are considering using video content in their future marketing strategies moving forward. Of course, content is still king, and quality prevails above all; however, a high-quality, valuable video is set to perform dramatically better than its static image counterpart.
7. Chatbox takeover
Have you ever used an automated chatbox? Traditionally only used on websites, Facebook allows brands to use AI within chat boxes to offer personalised messages to shoppers needing a helping hand. Predominantly used for customer service, there are already 300,000 active bots on Facebook Messenger. Looking towards the future, Facebook is pushing for further personalisation of chatboxes, allowing them to sound even more realistic than they do currently. This automation advancement will help to improve customer satisfaction and allow brands to drive more sales effectively.
8. Boosted paid social spend
Facebook advertising is becoming even easier too, resulting in increased paid media spend on the platform. In fact, it’s been shown that 93% of social media advertisers are investing in Facebook ads. Facebook ad revenue amounted to $84 billion during 2020, with posts on average resulting in 74% effectivity. Whilst Facebook ads can be professionally tailored, thought-through and strategised by specialist paid media teams, Facebook’s recent addition to ‘Boost’ posts has made the prospect of paid media spend much more accessible to non-specialist individuals. We expect to see an increased use of re-targeting ads in 2022 for targeted, precise leads that convert easily.
14. Shopping influencers
Have you ever seen an item of clothing on an influencer and wondered where it was from? Nowadays, many influencers tag the item’s brand or have a LiketoKnowit profile; however, these practices aren’t used widely, leaving many followers frustrated that they cannot find the item they desire. Enter thousands of messages from avid fans asking the influencer where certain items are from, making it difficult for the influencer in question to keep up with such requests. Instagram has hinted at an easier solution: shoppable influencers. Currently only available to select influencers such as Kylie Jenner and Chiara Ferragni, Instagram is slowly allowing influencers to tag items within their images, much like an Instagram Shop. A study published in 2019 stated that 1/3 Instagram users had bought a product directly through an Instagram ad, so we’re predicting the native nature of shoppable influencers to yield even higher conversions.
If you made it to the end – we applaud you! These are just some of the trends we predict will dominate the industry landscape in 2022. As we learn more about different platforms, expect to see relevant updates added to this post regularly. Additionally, it’s still hard to predict where things may be heading due to the amount of industry disruption we’ve encountered over the past two years, so we suspect we may encounter some curveballs as we enter a period of rebuilding and reconstruction.
Despite our rightful hesitations, these are the key trends predicted for social media 2022. So, stay on top of the market and leverage these points to your advantage to stay competitive. Social media is quick and ever-changing, so act fast and stay dynamic in your approach moving forward. To read more industry news and articles, check out our blog. To chat with one of our specialists, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.
Photos sourced by Unsplash
