Social media trends are always changing. Now that it’s 2022, it’s time to discover new trends that are popular and will continue to grow into this new year. Take advantage of the new social marketing changes and watch your marketing efforts excel through the year.

Consumer Connection

The essence of your brand can be identified by the way consumers relate to your brand’s purpose. A trend that will continue to grow is overall company consciousness. To build a solid and trusting relationship with your audience, your brand must be clear and bold about what its values are. Consumers, now more than ever, want to ensure that the brands they support are in touch with the reality of the world. Mental health, sustainability, and inclusivity are some themes that consumers feel passionate about going into 2022. Find ways to incorporate themes that support your company goals and relate to consumer values. Once you have established these values introduce them to your marketing efforts.

Consumer connection is extremely vital going forward into 2022.  Without consumers, marketers would have no purpose. The importance of your brand’s connection with the audience can make or break any marketing strategy. This connection must be clear and genuine, showing that brands are personal and stand equal to their audience. Consumer opinion is going to be trending into the new year as many brands will encourage opinions directly from customers. Not only will this help marketers find out what their customer’s pain points are but give consumers the power to make decisions about the products they purchase. Putting your customers first in terms of their wellbeing, social needs, and product opinions should be priorities in 2022.

Content Creation in 2022

Influencers

Influencers are a big part of what connecting to an audience means in today’s social media marketing world. Influencers are helping marketers open new doors to different markets, leading to more capital gain and overall company success. Connecting with other creators and networking with brands establishes credibility with your audience making them more likely to engage with your promotional efforts. Word of mouth at times can be much stronger than any ad. Working with high-status influencers or content creators on promotional efforts will ensure engagement overall. The engagement stems from the influencers and the brands’ loyal audience to start, then anyone who knows of the brand or influencer’s status overall. Knowing of an influencer is enough for consumers to at least be interested in the promotion and talk about it with others. These are the conversations marketers want their audience to participate in, hoping to bring the customer’s attention to the brand name.

Video

Videos are still trending in 2022, although we have seen higher engagement in videos and visuals already, going into the new year consider posting longer videos. Several platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram, Snapchat, and more, have extended their video capabilities allowing a longer duration for video content. This is done intentionally. Videos 30-60 seconds or longer are trending now, but this is also depended on the specific platform you’re using. Creating content that is optimal for a specific platform is also something driving into the new year. Intentional content is crucial in getting the most out of your marketing efforts. Make sure what your promoting, and the channel in which you choose to express information, best fits with the platform you’re using.

TikTok, as a social media platform, has had major success over the last few years and continues to gain popularity. Using videos and audio as the basis of their content, backed with a personalized algorithm, TikTok has maintained its popularity among all age groups. The algorithm works to promote videos that are watched fully by creators who post frequently. Another unique aspect of TikTok is the way audio is attached to a creator’s place in the algorithm.  To get your content to show up on consumers for your page, attaching trending audio will bring others who listen to that audio to your content. The audio works just like a hashtag and has been one of the reasons people have such a personalized and entertaining experience on TikTok.  As for Instagram, Reels are great source of video entertainment making Instagram much more than a static picture posting platform. Instagram now offers various channels of content creation such as Reels, IG Live, IGTV, Carousels, IG Stories, and static images. Utilizing various channels to push videos is a great move for Instagram and will help them stand out against giants like TikTok.

Social Selling

Social selling is taking off massively and will only grow through the years.  Online shopping was formerly something consumers could only do on an eCommerce website. Now you can shop and sell products straight from your entertainment platforms. This tactic is extremely efficient in grabbing customers’ attention and giving them the opportunity to act on the purchase immediately. We see this social selling on most platforms, from Facebook and Instagram to TikTok and even YouTube. As everyday consumers, we know there are a plethora of products we see daily that we are interested in, but sometimes don’t have the time or attention span to go through the purchasing process. The ability to see a product on Instagram, click on it, and an eCommerce shop opens for you to make a purchase immediately, making the customer purchasing processes easier.

Marketing trends continue to evolve to optimize the customer experience. Happy customers uphold successful business, creating a mutually beneficial relationship between the target market and brand. In general, socially conscious brands that are intentional and keep up with the changes on social media platforms will do great in 2022. Consider updating your marketing tactics for 2022 and see how your brand grows. If you are a brand or business owner looking to boost your marketing efforts, contact professionals at VUP Media today! Visit our website to learn more about our professional marketing services.