The top social media trends coming our way this year!

In our latest blog, Sophie Wood, one of our awesome Account Managers, looks into some of the top social media trends that are coming our way in 2022!

With the continual development of technology and the evolution of digital marketing, businesses must keep up with trends to stay current and survive.

Most recently, businesses have found themselves in a scenario whereby their consumers are now in control of their brand. Consumers are chasing; personalised content, faster services, better experiences and expect everything to be available at the touch of their fingertips.

A few of the top social media trends forecast for 2022 that will satisfy consumers are:

• User Generated Content
• Influencer Marketing
• Snackable Content

The pandemic has fuelled the digital marketing industry, as people across the globe turned to their phones for digital content while being stuck in lockdown or isolation. The drive towards more digital content is responsible for shaping the social media trends in 2022.

User generated content has been used in the digital marketing space for a few years and continues to dominate successful marketing strategies. Businesses that continue to build their brand will always be creating new content to feed through to their consumers, so why not let consumers create their own content that can be used to strengthen your brand?

A survey conducted by Stackla indicated that only 19% of consumers found brand-created content authentic, whereas user generated content is considered more authentic. Millennials and Gen Z are the most influential when it comes to user generated content. They are less trusting of the average brand and will look to their peers before making a purchasing decision.

Image credit: Stakla – What is user generated content?

By engaging with their customers through user generated content, brands are building trust and developing authenticity, creating a better experience for the customer.

Since 2019, influencer marketing has been on the rise and gathering momentum making a significant impact in the retail space. In the past we’ve seen celebrities advocating for products they are sponsored by, now that has extended to your regular consumer who has a significant follower base.

Influencer marketing, like user generated content allows businesses to increase brand loyalty and trust with consumers. The unfiltered and unscripted content that is produced can capture consumers at both the top and bottom of the funnel depending on the influencer and their audience. Apps like TikTok and Instagram (reels) have increased the accessibility of Influencers and have created a sense of personalised content as consumes scroll through their personal feeds.

It is crucial for businesses that use influencers to choose carefully, taking into consideration the influencers audience and whether their values align with the brand.

Snackable content has been on the rise since the pandemic, with consumers spending more time at home and on their devices. This, coupled with the fact that since 2000, the human attention span had dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds putting more pressure on content creators to get their point across before the consumers attention has been lost.

Content like memes, images, short-form videos, and infographics are considered snackable due to the ease at which they’re consumed. By focusing on visuals and short-form content, consumers are tricked into believing that there is less text and information to consume.

Evidence to support the rise of snackable content is the 37% decline in engagement on YouTube since 2020 and the increase in average watch time of Tik-Tok and Annie that have recently overtaken YouTube in the US. By capitalising on a restricted video length, businesses are able to develop content that can be easily consumed by its customers as opposed to traditional long-form content.

Image credit: SixandFlow – Snackable Content

The exponential rate at which Tik-Tok has grown in popularity has resulted in other social media platforms branching out to house their own snackable content including Instagram reels, YouTube shorts and Snapchat spotlights.

So, as we dive further into the year, it is time for businesses to consider if they’ll be following the social media trends forecast for 2022.

C7EVEN are specialists in rural and regional marketing including social media management. So why not get in contact with us so that we can help you get the most out of your digital and social media marketing campaign!

Sophie Wood
Account Manager