Marketing has changed significantly over the past few years. There are so many options for consumers to choose from when they need something. This means they can be picky and run the show. This day in age, the “show” is online. People are on digital media platforms constantly and it has become a huge entertainment and marketing center. It’s important to stay on top of social media trends so that you can understand how they apply to and affect your business.

Engaging with trends that you can apply to your offering are a great way to connect with your audience, be unique, and build sales. We’ve listed 4 social media trends we see rising in 2022.

Video Content Is Dominating

Since the introduction of TikTok and Reels, video media has exploded. We’ve already seen it begin to dominate regular posts and blogs in 2021. Consumers love watching short, creative, and humorous videos. Remember that society has an incredibly short attention span and they crave instant gratification. This means your content needs to be quick, new, and interesting.

Businesses need to take advantage of this fun way to attract their audience’s attention. By creating videos with your brand personality and offering, you can stand out and be unique. It’s a great way to spread brand awareness and grow your audience.

The Professional Landscape Is Changing

Consumers crave connection and honesty. They don’t want to see perfect, lifeless content. They want to see personality, humor, imagination, and real-life experiences. This change is caused by several things, but I particularly see a connection between the rise of people showcasing their lives online and Covid isolation helping this to evolve.

Millennials entering the workplace also contributed to this change. They didn’t want to wear the suits and cover-persona’s that their parents wore to work. Millennials wanted to dress casually, have fun at the office, be themselves, and take life a little less seriously. This is not to say that companies shouldn’t maintain professional communication and professional vibes at work. However, they are able to let traditional standards relax a bit and redefine the meaning of professionalism. People want to engage on a more personal level, regardless of business status.

Content Creators are Redefining Traditional Career Paths

The content creator economy is worth over $100 billion. These are people who create and post creative, digital content to social media, also called influencer marketers. They can sell products/services, create sponsored ads, and more. The more engaged their audience is, the more successful they become. With companies doing as much as they can to be seen, this economy is only going to grow.

Ambassador programs are great ways for companies to increase brand awareness and sales. The relationships that get built between businesses and ambassadors, as well as ambassadors and their followers become communities that build loyalty. This helps companies raise recurring sales.

Consumers trust creators whom they have followed for a while that show themselves to be honest and real. If an ambassador recommends a product, a consumer is more likely to purchase it than if they found the business on their own. It’s scary to buy a product without any prior knowledge of the company’s quality. Businesses can be creative when they are putting together ambassador programs. It benefits the brand, the ambassador, and the consumers.

Direct Social Media Purchasing

Like we’ve discussed, people are on social media all the time. When someone comes across a product they love, it’s so much easier for them to buy the product right there, instead of leaving Instagram, looking the company up on Google, finding the product, and then checking out. Instagram’s shopping feature can help the partnering companies make more sales. People discover so many more companies through social media, so it’s a great way for small businesses to get recognized.

In Summary

Exploring changes in marketing and advertising over the years keeps marketers on their toes! It’s important to understand how the professional landscape is modernizing to allow companies to connect with their audiences in a personal way that builds loyal relationships. With social media exploding, businesses are learning to reach their audience with video content and by collaborating with content creators.

Making products/services as easy to access for customers should be a primary focus for companies. Creating and applying strategies for these trends that relate to your company’s offering will give your business a kickstart in 2022!