Social Media Marketing Trends for 2022

We are halfway through 2022, and if you are having trouble getting any significant results in your social media marketing, then it is likely because you have not been in touch with current trends. It does not matter whether you manage the social pages for a large Fortune 500 company or a small business owner - trends are worth keeping an eye on if only to know which areas are well worth spending your time and resources on.

In this post, we go into a couple of things that our social media consultants believe are emerging trends that you should expect in 2022 and what you can do about them.

Facebook Newsfeed algorithm

Massive change in Facebook Newsfeed algorithm that prioritizes personal connections.

Earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a change in the Newsfeed algorithm that will prioritize content from family and friends over publishers. Simply put, content that involves discussion among people from your personal social network tend to rank higher and will be more visible to users. Means businesses will need to find another way to engage fans and followers effectively.

One type of content that businesses should capitalize on is live video streaming which has been found to produce up to 6x more engagement than other types of content on the social network. If Facebook is where you spend a big chunk of your social media marketing budget, then you should start implementing ways to leverage the use of live videos. Alternatively, you can also shift your focus to other social networks where your target audience tends to spend a significant amount of time and seek engagement there.

Messaging Apps

Messaging apps are becoming a dominant method for communication. If you are still using text messages and phone calls as your primary means of communication, then there is research that proves you are leaving much money on the table. According to "Statista" - a statistics and studies portal with more than 22,500 sources, messaging apps have come to surpass traditional text messaging as a method of communication. With more than 4 billion users worldwide, these apps are too massive an opportunity to ignore.

According to the statistics mentioned above, WhatsApp is the leading messaging app with more than 1.5 billion users worldwide in April 2022 alone. Facebook Messenger is a close second at 1.3 billion users followed by Wechat with over a billion users.

Businesses would do well to leverage the use of any of the messaging apps mentioned above to engage customers on a more personal level. Such apps offer a quicker and more convenient way for people to get the help they need without having to wait on hold or wait for replies via email.

Doing the bulk of customer service via messaging apps is better for businesses as well because they are a lot more scalable using chatbots and provide a better experience for users. Companies are able to get in front of any problems and retain customers more effectively.

Voice Search and AI

Voice Search and AI set to revolutionize the way people find and engage with content online

Have you noticed that just about every internet-enabled device these days has voice-controlled personal assistants? What used to be a nifty feature just a few years ago is having now the potential to change the way people access and use information.

Take the example of autonomous self-driving vehicles that have seen massive progress over the years. It is only a matter of time that these vehicles will be fitted with voice-control features. After all, most vehicle manufacturers have already integrated that technology into their cars in one way or another.

At the same time, devices with voice-controlled personal assistants that respond to our commands and answer our queries are discovering more about us as well. They can recognize speech and even proactively recommend information that we might need - weather forecast, traffic conditions, nearest route and the like.

According to "think with Google," more than 72 percent of people that own devices with voice-activated personal assistants report that the feature has become an essential part of their daily lives. As the technology gets better at providing users with invaluable information, there will undoubtedly come a time when typing queries on a keyboard or keypad will become obsolete (think Star Trek).

As AI technology continues to advance and gain more traction with users, there is a golden opportunity for businesses to leverage the trend. For one thing, you can start brainstorming what kind of content you can offer the 72% of users that already make good use of a voice-controlled personal assistant. The goal is to come up with content or information that would make life easier for social media users adopting the technology.

Are you eager to take your social media marketing campaign to the next level but do not know where to start? If you do not know what you are doing, then you would do well to get help from a reputable online marketing agency in Sydney. Social media is an ever-changing landscape, and while we cannot predict what lies ahead, it helps to be on the lookout for the latest trends and get your business ahead of the curve.