Social Media Marketing Trends to Grow Your Brand in 2022

Over the years, we’ve seen a shift in the way brands and businesses promote their products and services on social media.  

From producing highly polished ads, companies are now more focused on featuring behind-the-scenes clips and raw footage to humanize their brands. Some have stopped hiring celebrities to advertise their products. Instead, they’re tapping into influencers to make their business feel more relatable.  

Many small enterprises have been leveraging social media contests and giveaways to help them gain traction.  

This 2022, as social media popularity keeps growing, brands are wondering which trends they should follow and use in their social content strategy to continue engaging their audiences and remain competitive as the new year rolls in.  

As your go-to SEO services provider in Florida, we’re going to share with you the top social media marketing trends you need to consider incorporating into your social media marketing strategy for 2022.  

Without any more delays, let’s get started.  

Social Media Marketing Trends of 2022

Shift Towards Smaller Channels

According to Google Search Trends, there's been an increasing search demand for ads on smaller networks over the last two years.  

A study by Kantar, commissioned by TikTok, also discovered that consumers find advertisements on TikTok to be more engaging and inspiring compared to ads on other social networks.  

A Nielson study commissioned by Snapchat showed that ads on Snapchat tend to have a wider reach compared to TV ads, which results in greater awareness and purchase intent.  

Pinterest also found that ads on the platform generate higher ROI and cheaper conversion rates than ads on other social platforms.  

Given these data, we can conclude that that in 2022, consumers are more likely to be receptive to ads published on smaller channels, like TikTok and Pinterest, compared to bigger social platforms.  

It’s probably because smaller channels are less saturated with ads compared to Facebook and Instagram. They also tend to feel more organic and less disruptive because smaller platforms encourage advertisers to make their ads “fit in” with the rest of the content that is already being posted or shared by regular users.  

As a result, the ads tend to feel more engaging and users experience fewer ads fatigue, which in turn, can increase your conversions and boost how people feel about your brand.  

How can you use this in your social media marketing strategy for 2022?

• Assess your engagement across all platforms. Make sure you’re giving as much attention to your Pinterest, TikTok, and Snapchat audience as you would to your Facebook and Instagram audience.  
• Study what kinds of content your audience post on smaller social networks. Take a look at the overall theme and apply it to your own content strategy. You want your content to have a tone and vibe that match your audience's energy on each of these platforms.  
• Spy on your competitors. See what they’ve been doing on smaller channels. Gather ideas and use them as inspiration for what you should be publishing.  

• Don't be afraid to experiment. Create ads and test them to see which of them resonates most with your audience.  

Social Shopping Will Be a Major Thing

81% of shoppers admit to using social media to find new brands and research products even before the pandemic.  

As people continue to spend most of their time shopping online and browsing through social media post-pandemic, it just makes sense to let users check out in the same app they're using to do window shopping.  

This is why social channels, such as Instagram and Facebook, have released shopping features that allow people to easily shop for your products or services on their platforms.  

Without a doubt, social shopping is going to be a major thing in the following years. In fact, eMarketer predicts that social commerce will explode into an $80 billion industry by 2025.

This could be a potential solution for reducing cart abandonment rates on mobile. After all, going to a website just to checkout is an extra step for users and could be a potential leak in your conversion funnel.  

By giving your visitors the chance to browse and buy your products on social media without ever leaving the app, you can increase your conversion rate and boost your sales!

How can you redefine your retail experience through social shopping? As a company that provides Florida SEO services, we suggest you do the following:

• If your business involves selling products to people, consider setting up an Instagram or Facebook Shop, as well as Product Pins on Pinterest.  

• There are various shopping features you can use, including live videos, shoppable content, collections, product detail pages, product tags in your stories, and more. Don’t hesitate to use them and try to get your audience to buy your products right when they want them.  
• Focus on curating them items you think your followers will love. Don’t feel pressured to get your entire collection up.  
• Invest in shoppable ads so prospects can see your products in context and buy them in just a few taps.  

There Will Be an Explosion of Creators Next Year

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Did you know that 50 million people consider themselves content creators on social media? Businesses are predicted to spend around $15 billion on influencer marketing by next year.

We now live in an era where it’s considered common for average Joe’s to create a second income stream or find freelance work by showcasing their hobbies or talents on social media.  

Hence, the term “Creator” was born.  

A creator can be anyone who writes, edits, designs, films, or produces content in any way or form on social media with entrepreneurial intent. The term basically encompasses both professional influencers and amateur content creators.  

How can you tap into creators to help your business gain traction?

Whatever niche you belong to, there is already a creator out there with an established fan base who is willing to partner with you. All you have to do is to find the best one for your business.  

As an SEO services provider in Florida, we believe it’s important that you outsource some of your content from content creators this 2022. Tapping into them helps you extend your reach, and build stronger and more genuine connections with your target audience.  

TikTok Will Soon Become the Most Sought-After Social Network for Marketing

TikTok now holds the #1 spot in most social marketers’ hearts.  

Why might that be?  

Well, TikTok quickly became one of the most popular social networks in the world, even bagged the title of being the 4th most popular social media platform after Instagram.  

Although it ranks below Instagram, Google Search Trends reveals that TikTok completely overshadows Instagram’s short-form video content. Search demand for the platform also grew by 173%, while search demand for Instagram reels only grew by 22%.  

Additionally, TikTok had a global users base increase of 1,157% from 2018 to 2020. TikTok’s monthly active users grew at a rate of 45% in 2021. If you compare that to Instagram’s monthly active users’ growth rate of 6% in 2020, TikTok’s growth spurt is pretty impressive.  

Many social platforms, like YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit, are also following the footsteps of TikTok. They created new features where users can post short-form video content.  

Despite these stats, there are still businesses that remain hesitant to invest in the platform. But, if you're a small business looking to expand your audience and establish credibility, TikTok is the perfect platform for you to explore this 2022.  

How can you use TikTok to your advantage?

TikTok is a fantastic way to humanize and give personality to your brand. You can also use it to show people the work that goes into the production of your products or services, share expert tips and product hacks, and join challenges and trends to show the fun and goofy side of your business.  

The possibilities are endless on TikTok!

Follow These Top Social Media Trends This 2022!

Shift towards advertising on smaller social networks, increasing popularity of TikTok, social commerce boom, and rise in influencer marketing are the top social media trends for 2022. Use them to guide your social media marketing efforts and to inspire your content strategy for next year.  

With the help of these trends, we’re confident that you will continue to engage your audience on social media and stay ahead of the curve!

Digital Resource offers the best SEO services in Florida. We specialize in everything digital marketing, from SEO and digital ads to social media marketing.  

If you need help putting your business in front of your audience - whether it’s on social media or search - we’re here for you! Contact us today to get started.  

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