If you have not gotten your audience hooked on to you on social media platforms, then you are missing out big time! Everything that is happening in the world is on social media. What catches more attention, goes trending. People engage in information that not only interests them but also entertains them.
What are social media trends?
Social Media trends refer to the content that is shared and engaged with extensively as it gains popularity for a specific period of time. These are more important for your small business than you know. When you plan, design and execute your brand’s marketing, sales, and advertising strategies aligning with the current trends, it can help you grow your business in no time!
But, why are social media trends important to follow?
You already know that establishing a strong presence on social media is one of the most important things you can do for your small business. And following the social media trends while doing the same is an added advantage. But, why? Let’s discuss this in detail.
To stay ahead of the competition in the market
Without a doubt, staying ahead of your competition even on social media is extremely vital for your brand performance. This is only possible when you post content that is trending and relevant to what your audience is consuming.
The more aware you are of the social media trends, the better you will be able to engage with your audience on a personalized level. This will not only help you compete but will also increase the brand awareness making your brand more visible and attractive.
To create content in the right direction
When you follow social media trends, your audiences are more likely to be interested in what your brand does. This happens because the content you put out is something that they find worth engaging with. Aligning the trends with your brand’s purpose will make it more visible in the market.
Content on social media is abundant. If you remain outdated, someone else might be giving your audience what they want. Therefore, being up to date is necessary to catch their attention and retain them.
To increase opportunities for your brand and attract more audience
Social media trends offer more opportunities for your brand by giving you the space to be more creative and interactive with your target audience. If you are up to date with the trends, you will always know what your brand needs to advertise. This will also help with attracting more audiences with new and updated content.
Social media trends to watch for in 2022
The thing about social media trends is that they are dynamic. They keep changing with time and your strategies must keep up with them to stay in the loop. However, some trends are here to stay longer in 2022 and they should be on your checklist.
Let’s understand what these social media trends are in detail and how they can help your brand!
Live streaming webinars and workshops
Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok – all these platforms are thriving with their live stream feature. Live streaming allows your brand to connect with the target audience on a global level. And in times when social distancing is still being taken seriously, live streaming offers the opportunity to continue brand interactions with the public.
Webinars and workshops conducted through live streaming provide a space to increase awareness about your brand’s products and services and how they can impact the potential buyer’s life. Product launches, FAQs, and tutorials are some of the ways that one can use the live streaming feature for.
Shifting focus on micro-influencers
It’s hard to ignore the impact of influencer marketing on the buying decisions of social media users. While it started as a way to introduce your products and services in a more personalized manner, it has gained more edge lately. Promotional activities with macro influencers are no longer cost-effective.
Therefore, the focus is being shifted towards micro-influencers. They are not only cost-effective, but they also offer a better way to reach your specific target audience. Their following may be limited, but it allows them to interact and promote the brand better, leading to a higher engagement rate.
Paid advertisements on social media
Every other social media platform has the feature of paid advertisements and promotions for business accounts. And these paid advertisements work greatly as they can be customized as per requirement and come with a lot of features from deciding the target audience based on certain demographics, to the timing of the ad. They can be static or videos and re-advertised time and again.
The importance of creativity in terms of curating these ads requires relevant market research to analyze what the audience engages in more. Even these ads can incorporate micro social media trends, from trending tweets to reel music to attract people.
Small and theme-specific communities
A large user base on a social media platform is not always an advantage as it can most likely create a barrier in terms of reaching the right audience. Therefore, platforms with smaller communities of like-minded people are a viable option to promote niche-specific products and services.
Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook offer the feature of creating groups and communities where interactions are based on a certain liking, need, topic, or issue. They pave the way toward an already niched-down audience for the brand to advertise amongst.
These communities can also help with providing reviews and feedback to improve brand performance. This will also make them feel like an important part of the decision-making process, improving customer relationships.
Speaking up about social issues
Nowadays, brands are also using their platform to speak up about social issues and associate with causes to showcase their social responsibility towards society. The younger generation seems to be interested in seeing brands get more involved in important and sensitive conversations to raise awareness and use their resources to help those in need.
This might be a bold marketing strategy, but it is highly trending on social media as it has also become a space for activism. Brands run campaigns based on a social issue to gather the support of their target audience, thus increasing their sales numbers. If the audience finds the cause appealing, their support for the brand is bound to increase.
Instagram reels and short videos
You cannot deny spending a few hours scrolling through Instagram, simply watching reels. Generation Z is more inclined toward creating and watching short ideas not only for entertainment but for information and promotion as well.
A new reel concept or song goes trending on Instagram every other day. Due to this, your team must keep their eyes glued to the screen to create content around the trend as soon as possible before it wears off people and its impact is lowered.
One of the reasons why short videos are becoming increasingly popular is the decrease in the attention span of the audience. Everyone wants to consume content that’s fast, quick, and creative. And creating such reels is what also makes influencer marketing a go-to strategy for many brands.
Shop setups on social media platforms
If your customer is browsing your Instagram more than your website, why not just set up a shop there for them? And that’s exactly what they came up with! The feature of online shopping on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook has changed the game to a great extent. It has made it easier for the user to not only weigh their options but also save time.
Convenience and accessibility play a huge role in terms of converting your potential customers into buyers. Therefore, this approach has the potential to make the most out of social media.
This social media trend is bound to grow further as various platforms start to offer similar features with different or updated tools for the brands to experiment with and increase their sales.
Augmented reality
Augmented reality is a software-based camera filter that people use while clicking pictures. These filters available on social media platforms have their own space in people’s virtual life. New filters are always coming up, keeping the trend on the go and engaging more and more people daily. To improve shopping experiences, Facebook introduced filters that can help users try on a product virtually to see how it looks and compare its variants.
The takeaway
Social Media trends are always changing and they will continue to do so. But the ones that stay on longer tend to evolve and get upgraded in terms of features and usage. What matters is how you leverage them and use them creatively and effectively.
Your social media presence impacts your brand’s image constantly. Therefore, following the trends is important to stay ahead in the race and increase your visibility in the market.