BLOG | Social Media Management Top 9 Social Media Management Trends to Look Out for in 2022

Social media has managed to embed itself into our culture over the years. In fact, according to Statista, as of 2020, there are over 3.6 billion social media users worldwide. A number that is expected to grow to almost 4.4 billion in 2025.

This goes to show that having a solid social media presence is incredibly important for any business. However, creating a successful social media strategy is not always a piece of cake. You need to successfully predict social media trends and capitalize on them to stay ahead of the game.

Our team at Proweaver, Inc. shares 9 social media management trends to look out for in 2022. Here’s a quick summary:

• More Mobile Optimized Content
• An Increase in Social Selling
• Shorter Content for Short Attention Spans
• Increased Social Media Engagement
• Interactive Marketing Media
• The Rise of Micro-Influencers
• Live Streams for More Effective Customer Engagement
• Capitalizing User-Generated Content
• Escalation of Short-Form Video Content

Scroll on to learn more.

More Mobile Optimized Content

Gone are the days when phones were only used to make calls and send texts. With the continuous advancements these devices face, phones are now more powerful than ever — as powerful as a mini-computer!

You can do almost anything on your phone nowadays: from accessing documents, playing games, browsing data, and browsing social media. Studies show that 92% of internet users connect via mobile devices. Of which, 89% access social media apps.

Thus, it only makes sense for companies to optimize their social media marketing for mobile usage. Posts that are published for desktops are rarely compatible with smartphone screens.

Don’t let good social media content go to waste. Here are some ways you can optimize your social media content for mobile screens:

• Keep content copy brief and concise
• Use mobile-optimized photos and videos
• When linking to external pages, make sure content is also mobile-friendly
• Don’t forget the call to action (CTA)
• Use URL shorteners like Bitly, Rebrandly, or TinyURL
• Optimize your website for mobile

By following these simple strategies, you can ensure your audiences and customers will have a great time on your feed.

An Increase in Social Selling

Almost everyone has social media accounts, making it a prime spot for businesses to create leads and leverage sales. It’s no wonder that 90% of top sales representatives capitalize on social media marketing as part of their strategies.

Social media allows businesses to create more targeted content. No more cold calls, no more knocking on doors — this time, your clients come to you for your products.

Still, without the right tools and data, social selling can be a tricky endeavor.

As buyers become more informed than ever, traditional sales pitches and cookie-cutter sales messages might no longer make the cut.

It’s important for digital marketers to focus on creating relationships and experiences, with and for their clients.
After all:

• According to an OptinMonster survey (2021), 76% of customers are willing to have a social media conversion with a potential provider.
• Additionally, 53% of customer loyalty has been found to be significantly influenced by a marketer’s ability to offer valuable insights.
• Using the right sales tools will allow you to formulate better sales workflows that are in line with your social media efforts.

Shorter Content for Shorter Attention Spans

Consider this when you’re creating social media content for your feed:
A human’s attention span is now shorter than a goldfish’s.

According to a recent study, the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to eight seconds today.

That means marketers now have less time to capture their audience’s attention and less time to convince prospects to buy into their brand or product.
If your goal is to retain your social media followers’ attention, you must give them content that they would enjoy seeing.

A simple strategy that many digital marketers use nowadays is something that’s called the 5:3:2 rule. Essentially, what this means is that for every 8 to 10 posts you publish on your feed:

• 5 – should come from external sources (stories that your brand or business are interested in)
• 3 – should be official posts related to your brand or business
• 2 – should be more personal and entertaining for your audiences

This strategy can help ensure that you are curating a good balance of content that your audiences won’t grow tired of.

Understanding social media content preferences

For your social media marketing to be effective, your content should be appropriate for the platform you’re using. For example, if you’re using Instagram, you might want to focus on creating beautiful photos and carefully planning your feed.

On the flip side, if you’re using Facebook, you might want to aim for a multimedia approach. Utilize videos, gifs, and other creative media to capture your customer’s interest.

You might also want to consider collaborating with like-minded brands in your industry to expand your reach. This will give your viewers a clearer idea of the lifestyle or service that you’re trying to sell.

Increased Social Media Engagement

Social media was created with the purpose of giving people a platform to interact via the Internet. It’s where users can share their stories and experiences with friends and family members. It’s also where most brands can get more targeted and effective leads.

Despite this fact, organic reach has dropped on almost every social media platform over the last few years. This may be due to brands focusing more on advertising and less on building relationships with clients.

The secret to overcoming this hurdle: Social media engagement.

In a Facebook video titled “News Feed FYI: Bringing People Closer Together,” a Facebook representative explains how social media posts with more active and thoughtful interactions can get more reach.

News Feed FYI: Bringing People Closer Together — Facebook
Video source: https://www.facebook.com/facebook/videos/10156988765141729/
According to recent statistics, not answering a customer complaint posted via social media decreases customer advocacy by as much as 50%.

Customers expect brands to engage with them, particularly in areas where they require assistance. Social media has become the number one choice for customer care, with over 8 billion Facebook users and businesses exchanging messages daily.

As a result of this change in customer behavior, almost half (45%) of modern businesses worldwide now capitalize on instant messaging for their social media marketing.

If your company isn’t using this strategy yet, this is your signal to start.

Interactive Marketing Media

Adding interactive elements to your social media is a great way to capture and keep the interest of your audiences. Besides keeping them entertained, this strategy is also a great way to introduce your audience to your brand and story. Interactive marketing can come in a variety of forms.

The most common of which are:

• Questionnaires
• Games
• Interactive videos
• Contests
• Assessments/Surveys

The most successful way to approach interactive marketing is to adopt a completely customer-centric system of communication. Interactive marketing is rooted in customer behaviors and desires. Therefore, it’s a great tool to use to predict the way a customer might react to a new service or product.

When you say a company or organization is customer-centric, it simply means that they understand that not all customers yield profits. Instead, these companies use customer analytics to gain an overarching view of their customers to properly segment them.

To stay ahead of the race, go one step further and come up with new strategies to increase customer retention to your brand.

The Rise of Micro-Influencers

It’s no secret that opinions can generate higher degrees of credibility and confidence from prospective clients and followers. This very truth is what paved the way for influencer marketing to enter the scene.

Traditionally, brands turned to larger and more popular influencers to promote their products. Also called “macro-influencers,” these people have over 1 million followers across their social media accounts.

Despite their millions of followers, digital marketers found that working with macro-influencers wasn’t worth the investment. Their participation rates were just too low to make a sizeable ROI (return on investment).

Nowadays, working with micro-influencers seems to be the best route to go.

Micro-influencers provide brands with more loyal subscribers, higher engagement, and significantly larger returns. This may be because most micro-influencers are hyper-niched. Therefore, they mostly have followers who are more likely to buy into the product or lifestyle that they are advocating.

Live Streams for More Effective Customer Engagement

With governments banning almost every form of face-to-face interaction, video conferencing has become a popular way to connect via the Internet.

It’s also another reason why many businesses have started using live streaming to engage with existing and prospective customers.

Live streaming offers a fast and accessible way for customers to get information related to a business’s brand and message. Moreover, consumers prefer live videos over curated written content as this gives them an unfiltered view of a particular business in real-time.

It’s a lot like video-chatting with a friend or family member. It allows your followers to react and respond to the stories you share over your stream. It also fosters a more intimate relationship between your brand and your consumers.

Statistics show that 80% of shoppers prefer watching live videos as opposed to reading blogs and social media posts from the brands they like.

If you currently run a business, capitalizing on the social media trend can help you leverage your sales and deepen your relationships with your users.

Capitalizing on User-Generated Content (UGC)

Besides leveraging on influencer marketing, brands can also benefit from capitalizing on user-generated content.

There are plenty of consumers out there who are organically promoting products and brands that they trust. And just as consumers rely on influencers more than celebrities, there’s a significant likelihood that shoppers will listen to their fellow consumers more than they will to curated advertisements.

According to Stackla (2019), 79% of consumers say that user-generated content highly impacts their purchasing decisions. This may be because they trust other consumers will be truthful about their experience with a product.

One way you can capitalize on user-generated content is by asking existing customers to post reviews or feedback about your brand on their social media feed. This way, potential customers who visit your feed will see what others have to say about your brand and service.

Business Wire says 85% of consumers respond better to visual UGC compared to brand-provided photos and videos.

Asking customers to post about your brand will also expose you to their followers, expanding your reach even further.

Escalation of Short-Form Video Content

As we mentioned before, leveraging the power of short-form content will help you build and maintain audience engagement. The same can be said for short-form video content.

We all love videos.

In fact, a 2020 study by Wyzowl reported that people share videos at twice the rate of any other form of content. This report also cited that around 84% of people were convinced to buy a product or service based on a brand’s video content.

TikTok is a social media platform dedicated to short-form videos. It became a household name during the first half of 2020. According to statistics, the app has been downloaded 315 million times around the world.

To compete with TikTok, Instagram created “Reels” which allowed users to create and post 30-second videos on their feeds. YouTube and Twitter have come up with similar strategies as well.

As of now, brands have yet to figure out an effective way to advertise their products and services through a 30-second video.

If you haven’t incorporated this social media trend into your 2022 social media marketing strategy, now is the time to do so.

The Bottom Line

Keeping up with social media trends doesn’t have to be difficult. Making preparations and planning ahead of an issue can help digital marketers save both time and money.

Capitalize on the features and services social media platforms hand out to expand your reach. Furthermore, incorporate the 9 social media management trends we mentioned today. Hopefully, it will help you create a better, more structured plan for your business.
Don’t have the resources or tools to get yourself started on the right foot?

Proweaver, Inc. provides dependable and affordable custom web design, SEO, and SMM services that can help your brand reach success.

Get our services today by visiting our website or calling us at +1 (877) 300-6564.