What’s new? What’s Hot? When you think about social media, these are two questions that seem to come to mind often.
Every year, it feels like we have a new and improved way of communicating through various platforms and functions on our smartphones and computers. The movement toward a more connected world has never been as close as it is today. Let’s take a look at some of the expected trends for social media this year.
A Booming Creator Economy
Are there specific people you like to follow in TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube? Are these people considered Creators? A Creator is a person that offers content regularly, engages with their audience, collaborates with brands, and is paid to do this. Many of these creators enjoy investments by new brands, top brands, and popular brands and all they have to do is share content around the products being offered while engaging with their audience. These experts know how to move the needle when it comes to content and has seen increased growth within the past two years.
Continued Domination of Video Content
The most engaging form of content will continue to grow through 2022. Social media is already full of videos of nearly everything you can think of, and it will continue to gain more videos over the next several months. Nearly 82 percent of all online content could be in video form, as predicted by a study performed by Cisco. Maybe that’s a bit of an aggressive number, but with most of the platforms we see relying on images and video for content and sharing, it’s not impossible to think about.
The Main Feed Enhancement Will Continue
Clickbait has come under scrutiny, and most users on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Pinterest have asked that these platforms update their algorithm to improve the main news feed that is seen when opening these apps. This means the platforms will need to cut out posts meant to simply grab attention and focus on posts that offer real information and a more personalized presentation to the account holder. By that same token, marketers will need to offer content that focuses on features and customer experiences rather than pushy ads that don’t present any real value.
TikTok Will Continue to Grow Rapidly
For the past few years, Instagram has been the marketing hub of social media, but a shift has been felt, and TikTok is on the move. During this year, it’s expected that TikTok will grow rapidly now that it has surpassed 1 billion users and fit into the seventh most popular slot of the platforms offered around the world. This increase represents a growth of 45 percent for this platform, and it certainly doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
More Baby Boomers Are Going Digital
Parents and grandparents alike are getting connected through digital media with the movement toward platforms that makes it much easier for everyone to connect. In-home assistants, such as Amazon Alexa, have grown in popularity and are being found in more homes of Boomers than ever before. This change, along with the movement away from cable television and toward streaming services, has more of this generation choosing digital media over traditional for their entertainment.
Social Commerce is Becoming More Streamlined
If you remember the earlier days of social media commerce, it was clunky, difficult to navigate, and had too many steps to the process. Today, your feed has products, services, and shopping right at your fingertip that could be completed with only a few clicks. The fact that social commerce is becoming more streamlined means that more small businesses will use it as a way to connect to a larger customer base.
Audio Content is On the Rise
If you love to listen to podcasts or follow the Live Audio Rooms on your favorite platforms, you’ll be glad to know this form of media is growing rapidly. You can enjoy audio presentations of nearly every subject that you can think of when you tune in and become a regular follower of the podcasts that you enjoy. More than 74 percent of businesses have indicated they plan to invest in audio-only content, according to Hootsuite, which makes this media one that is growing rapidly.
NicheSocial Media Platforms Are Growing
The widespread juggernauts of the social world are going to feel the heat more than ever before. Giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram may soon find they lose some of their luster with the growth of niche platforms. These newer, smaller platforms offer slimmed-down media models that have a direct focus among the audiences they serve. This means conversations and content shared on these platforms are linked to the subject matter instead of being offered to all audiences. One example of this is Spotify, which has live chat platforms that allow users to enjoy talking about music or podcasts they enjoy.
Messaging Will Grow; Phone Use Will Drop
Have you ever had a phone call that you later wish was recorded or that it was something put in an email form? Do you want to communicate with businesses on your time and terms? This is where messaging will come in and be a huge push in the social media world. We already see greater use of messaging in the marketplace, which will continue to grow as more users prefer not to answer their smartphones just because it starts to ring.
Continued Development of VR and AR Technology
We already have VR goggles that can simply use an app on your smartphone to put you into a virtual world of fun and adventure. How long do you think it will take for this technology to be integrated into social platforms? That seems like the logical next step for this technology. With the use of VR and AR, the way we interact with content will change in the future and become much more dynamic than what we currently experience. Which of these 2022 social media trends will be part of your world?
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