After 2020, it became apparent how much social media impacts our daily lives. During the worldwide pandemic, it became a leading source of entertainment, education, and shopping.
Businesses, in particular, had to learn how to shift entire strategies to the digital realm just to stay afloat.
So if you were ever one of those people who laughed at the idea of depending on social media for your business— boy, do we have bad news for you.
If you're still struggling to keep up with social media marketing trends, you're not alone. To make things easier for you, try implementing these three trends into your content marketing plan for 2022.
Trend #1: Video Content Everywhere
If it's been said once, it's been said a hundred times. There's no escaping video content in your social media marketing strategy.
A study conducted by Cisco determines that 82% of all online content will be video content by the end of 2022.
There are more than enough statistics on video marketing to convince you. Business owners hesitate to start producing videos because they don't know where to start.
The good news is that there are so many options for video content. Let's simplify this even further so you can use this social media marketing trend in your content strategy:
Long-Form Video Content
Youtube videos between 5-15 minutes that provide educational or entertaining concepts can help bring in new customers.
Not only is this type of content valuable and easily digestible, but it's also searchable. YouTube works alongside Google to help users find your content through keywords (more on that in a minute).
Short-Form Video Content
On Tik Tok, videos under 15 seconds tend to perform the best. Think of these videos as an introduction or a pre-cursor to your long-form marketing content (blogs, YouTube videos, or podcasts).
These short videos need to jump right to the point. For example, we could create an Instagram Reels video with the title "3 Social Media Marketing Trends You'll Definitely See in 2022."
Then we would list out the three trends we have in the blog:
1. Video Content Will Be Everywhere
2. Social Search Engines
3. Personal Brands
We would end the video with a call-to-action to read this guide.
Do you see how this short video is an excellent way to drive traffic to your website (where you sell your product or service)?
Trend #2: Social Search Engines
SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. The search engine is something like Google or YouTube; the optimization is the keywords you put into your content that helps people find you in search engines.
Every social media channel has its own search bar, but that's very different from a search engine. When you type keywords in a search bar on social media, it can only help users find some content within their app.
Until now.
Google recently piloted a search feature that aggregates short-form videos from TikTok and Instagram.
Before this, only your blogs, website pages, or YouTube videos could be discovered through Google search. Now, if you optimize your Tik Tok and Reels content with SEO keywords, you're doubling —tripling— your company's discoverability.
SEO helps your business connect with new audiences outside of your social media following. Combining social media with SEO capabilities will open up a new wave of digital marketing strategies.
Trend #3: Personal Brands
Whether your company wants to utilize influencer marketing or you simply want to promote your corporate "family," personal branding is the way to do it.
People buy from other people, which means hiding behind a logo is no longer a strong marketing tactic.
In fact, the primary social media marketing trend we'll see in 2022 is the personalization of companies, from Fortune 500s to small business Etsy sellers.
So how can you hop in on the action? Start using digital creators to promote your product or service. They don't have to be influencers; they just need to be creators with a decent content portfolio (preferably video).
Another way to improve your company's personal touch is through your employees. However, this goes further than the typical "Employee of the Month" spotlight post on LinkedIn.
Instead, try to get to know your employees and their marketable skills.
For example, do you have an office jokester on your team who likes to be on camera? Do any of your team members have their own blog filled with excellent tips for your target audience? Maybe someone in your company already has a big following on LinkedIn or TikTok.
Don't let your team's personality go to waste! Share their personal content (with permission, of course) to help liven up your company culture.
2022 Social Media Marketing Trends in Business
How can small businesses keep up with these social media marketing trends? It helps to have a handful of ideas to eliminate the guesswork.
Check out this guide on Ideas For Small Business Marketing (don't worry, it doesn't include dance videos).
Nervous about getting started? We'll walk you through it during your FREE social media evaluation.
Tom Lewis, Partner | Creative Director
With over 20 plus years of award-winning advertising and design experience, Tom has spent much of his career working with a variety of companies throughout the southeast. His client list has included: UNC Lenoir Health Care, Hutchens Law Firm, Equifax, Georgia Pacific, Primerica Financial Services, Weyerhaeuser, The Atlanta Hawks, Randstad Staffing, Craven County Tourism, America Knits, Guardian Repellent, and The Shizzle Jerk Marinade.