Everything is evolving, so are social media and social media trends. And it’s not surprising – everyone uses social media basically nonstop and, as a result, these channels influence the lives of thousands of millions of people every day.
Simply put, social media is a huge part of our daily routine and we are becoming more and more dependent on it, especially the younger generations.
But, from a business owner’s perspective, keeping up with new social media trends is essential, as they help you boost your SEO and digital marketing efforts, attract new users and keep your existing ones happy and engaged.
So, what should you expect from the social media field in the coming year? Read on to find out. In this article, we will go through the top 10 trends to look out for.
Enjoy!
Top 10 Social Media trends of 2022
9. Pinterest is going live
Pinterest has always been the domain for DIYs, chefs, artists, crafters and basically anyone who has a pinboard or a mood board to share. It’s easy to see why the platform is so popular, especially for small businesses and innovative products.
Well, Pinterest is about to become even better, as in the upcoming year we can expect to see a new videos feature and live streams, where you will see full tutorials.
Even more exciting, along with live streams and videos, Pinterest also announced the release of in-app purchases, allowing users to buy products without the hindrance of redirects and slow lading times.
8. Live-shopping on social media is real
Selling your products or services on social media is still one of the most popular channels today. Whether you share your own advertisements or promote someone else’s goods, selling things has never been easier.
That’s why Facebook is about to release a new way of internet selling by adding live selling streams. In fact, this has already been experimented with and it seems quite successful.
Now the question is – at the rate social media trends tend to spread, how fast and can we expect this feature on other platforms such as TikTok or Pinterest? Pretty soon, we bet.
7. Customer service going viral
As an entrepreneur, you already know that customer service is essential in order to build a good relationship with your customers.
And although every business has a customer service phone line ready for their users, their availability may vary. For example, some businesses have a 24/7 support system. But others are available only a few days or even a few hours a week.
Point is – it is confusing for your user. But, reaching out to the business from your favourite social media channel, now that’s a different story.
Source: Freshdesk
Having customer service on social media is super easy and fast, which is why most customers prefer it over waiting for your opening hours, trying to reach you over the phone and waiting in line for hours.
And, as with traditional chat systems, businesses have a choice between choosing a human or an AI when adding an online support system. However, in customer service, human presence is recommended in order to create an honest relationship with your customers.
6. Let influencers do the promoting
Marketing on social media is nothing new, snd nor is influencer marketing. Cooperation between businesses and influencers is quite common nowadays, and a smart and effective way to boost your business. And it’s easy to see why – who knows social media trends better than influencers?
But you might think – what if influencers create an advertised post or a video that seems boring and even annoying for viewers?
Source: freepik
People tend to believe honest and personal recommendations of a product or app, especially if they feel the influencer use it themselves. So, the key is, if influencers believe in what you do, their followers probably will, too.
Therefore, it is crucial to create a good relationship between influencers and your product if you hope at enhancing the traffic leading to your app or product.
5. Snapchat scanning
Scanning in Snapchat is a huge feature. You can scan anything from the music playing in your room to a dog’s breed. You surely see where this is going – somewhere between this span, there is a possibility of scanning products.
The idea behind this is that users can scan a product and see where they can buy it, special offers, etc. So far, Snapchat is cooperating only with a few companies, but we can expect this number to grow in the near future.
4. Make YouTube your tool
YouTube is one of the leading social media platforms for video sharing and streaming. For years, content creators have used this platform to share their work. yet marketers have only recently started to pay attention to it outside of running ads.
Source: freepik
But the reality is that YouTube is the second most popular search engine after Google and the second most popular streaming app on Smart TVs after Netflix. Its popularity is undeniable.
So if you haven’t considered this channel before, maybe it’s worth looking into it. Chances are, investing time in improving your YouTube marketing might just be the thing you’re strategy was missing.
3. Creating new virtual avatars
Virtual avatars, as you may know from gaming or Snapchat, are animated or digitalized versions of yourself that you use in your profile instead of a picture. And there are a number of reasons why you would use an avatar instead of a picture, from privacy to simply the fact that they look fun.
But what if we pair an emerging trend – avatars – with another already incredibly popular trend – NFTs?
That’s basically what both Twitter and Facebook thought! So, the two social giants are not racing to take the avatar concept on the blockchain using NTFS or non-fungible tokens. And If you don’t know anything about NFTS, they are basically smart contracts or blockchain contracts that prove ownership over a digital asset.
This means that you can either buy an avatar or create a unique one, and even if someone tries to steal your avatar, you can prove ownership over it. So, not only that
2. Glasses for everyone, and every day
Since Facebook leans to the AR/VR environment, they will need to spend more time to implement into this environment Instagram as well. One of the products dedicated to the Meta-verse from Facebook will be AR glasses.
With Instagram having a straight link on these, you can take pictures or videos with them, or you can just look at what are your friends up to by checking their stories. Right in front of your eyes!
Source: freepik
1. The new world is about to come
Remember “Read player one“, that futuristic movie where everyone had a second life in a virtual reality universe? We might not be that far away from that reality.
Source: freepik
As you know, Facebook recently rebranded itself to Meta and they started work on a huge project, called the Metaverse. If successful, we will only see this project in quite the distant future, but the idea behind Metaverse is to create a virtual reality universe where everyone is connected.
Simply put, instead of having isolated platforms like SteamVR, Vive or Oculus, VR content will be accessible through one platform only, This can have an incredible impact especially on industries such as the gaming industry, but businesses throughout can take advantage of this opportunity.
Imagine a channel where you can access any VR user, regardless of their device or location, with one piece of content. If it sounds familiar, it’s because that is the virtual reality equivalent of Google. Not to mention all of the possibilities around communities that meet and collaborate in VR.
Will the Metaverse be the new most popular search engine, social media platform, lounge, gaming platform and everything in between? We can only wait and see.
Summing up this year’s social media trends
No doubt about it, the new year is going to be exciting for social media. As technology progresses, we see more and more channels becoming mainstream tools for marketers, such as Snapchat and YouTube.
Above all, a keyword that clearly stands out is “live” – live customer support, live online shopping. This could be an incredible opportunity for businesses looking to improve their social media marketing strategies and better connect with their users.
Exploring new channels is also a good idea to take into consideration, like creating YouTube videos around your product and services, or using influencers to promote your business.
What is important to keep in mind is that taking these trends into account, you or your businesses will be able to adapt to this new, interesting digital era. And although this is just a beginning, it surely will be a wild ride. So stay tuned!