Social Media Marketing Trends for 2022: Predictions From the Pros

#10: Ecommerce Grows on TikTok, Trend Lifespan Shortens

TikTok has solidified its place in social media and entertainment as a cultural phenomenon and will continue to dominate short-form video in 2022. TikTok already has over 1 billion users and is expected to reach 1.5 billion users by the spring of 2022.

For marketers, there are four key areas to watch for in 2022 that will provide more opportunities to monetize.

First is the rapid growth of livestreaming. Already very popular with regular users, TikTok will continue to increase livestreaming features to influence and encourage more users to adopt it as a growth and nurture strategy (most recently seen with the live spotlight charts and rankings). Most notable is the move toward livestream commerce. Already available in the UK, the power of clickable links and the ability to directly sell products from a livestream will no doubt prove powerful for businesses and brands to increase revenue.

Second, TikTok is proving to be a viable competitor in the social commerce space. More in-app shopping features are expected. Considering the recent partnership with Shopify and the ability for business accounts to tag products, TikTok shops are a highly anticipated feature set to arrive in 2022. Already launched in Douyin, the Chinese version of the app, TikTok shops allow brands and business owners to create an online store, providing even more opportunities to increase sales.

Next, authenticity, personality and relatability will continue to be key factors for success in video performance and community building for small businesses. Humanizing your brand will help set you up for success. Gen Z continues to dictate organic trends based on pop culture and newsworthy events, and expect to see more of these trends spread across various social media platforms.

The length of trend relevancy will shorten. Users consume trends at a rapid pace and it’s likely that more tools will arrive to predict trends earlier. The challenges for brands to adapt to the trending and fast-paced culture of TikTok will continue. Educational tools have recently been developed, with the launch of the Creative Center to help brands create campaigns that are intuitive to the platform. Expect to see more resources and tools become available to attract brands to the platform.

Lastly, there will be more demand for user-generated content as more brands gravitate to the app. TikTok will continue to support brands with tools and programs that are designed to help them partner with content creators who can provide user-generated content that feels dynamic and native to the platform. The TikTok Creator Marketplace and Spark Ads are already in place, and with the recent launch of the Creative Exchange Platform, it's expected that this type of brand and creator collaboration will expand to help brands find relevant content creators who understand TikTok.

Wave Wyld is a TikTok marketing expert who specializes in helping brands and business owners market their products and services. Her course is Beat the TikTok Algorithm.

#11: Overall Customer Connection Is Vital

In 2022 and beyond, marketers will be challenged in an era of unintended consequences. Let me explain what I mean. Going into the pandemic, we guessed wrong about everything. Who could have predicted we would have shortages of lumber, electronics, and housing amid a global crisis? Similarly, we will be challenged to “guess right” coming out of the pandemic because a complex cocktail of new consumer behaviors will dramatically impact how we use the web and social media.

Here are a few examples. In many families, web-savvy teens took over the purchasing function for a family. Nearly 60% of web purchases are now impulse buys. Live commerce, which combines influencers, livestreaming video, and eCommerce exploded in China and is moving fast in the U.S.

Those are just three changes among millions of big and small consumer shifts that will result in new trends we cannot begin to grasp. It may take a decade to see the full impact of the pandemic on marketing. For this reason, it is a time to reconnect with customers, question all assumptions we had about what works, and be humble in the face of changes we are just beginning to understand.

Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, keynote speaker, and author of Marketing Rebellion.

#12: Twitter Doubles Down on Spaces

When it comes to Twitter, Spaces should definitely be part of your marketing plan for 2022. Audio content continues to grow in popularity and it really is the place to be at the moment. It's become such a powerful way for marketers to build connections online and serve their communities through valuable content and conversations. Plus, you really don't need anything to get started except for your phone. And you don't have to worry about being camera-ready either!

Join me and @DhariLo tomorrow (Saturday) for my weekly room in Twitter Spaces where we review Twitter profiles. It's fun and informative. Starts at 1pm ET and runs for about an hour. See you there!

Get reminders here:https://t.co/M9M0xkZ3Aw#TwitterAudits #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/Ee0iGzk7IY

— Madalyn Sklar 🗣️ 22/100 #Voice100 (@MadalynSklar) November 27, 2021

Twitter is working behind the scenes to roll out new features including the ability to record spaces and new ways to discover spaces to join and participate in. And for those who already have an audience on the platform, it makes sense to show up and regularly speak in people's rooms and even consider hosting one of your own.

Madalyn Sklar, a Twitter marketing expert, has spent the last 25 years in digital marketing. She is the host of the #TwitterSmarter chat.

#13: Facebook Ads Attribution Expands

I don’t have any big and bold predictions for 2022, but rather a safe one based on where we’ve been heading. In 2022, the privacy restrictions that impacted tracking and targeting in 2021 will become more enhanced and will expand well beyond iOS.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as we’ll need to come to grips with this new world and stop expecting things to be the way they were in the past. It’s not coming back.

Developers will continue to create solutions, and I think Facebook will create solutions as well. There have been rumblings about a new Facebook attribution system for a while now; I anticipate additional tools will be released by Facebook to help soften the blow of all of these changes. Additionally, I think Facebook can, should, and will finally create more targeting options that leverage activity on Facebook, lessening the impact to cross-app targeting.

Jon Loomer is an advanced Facebook marketing strategist and coach.

#14: LinkedIn Leans Into Video

In 2021, LinkedIn came of age, turning 18. Traditionally seen as more of a professional networking platform, 2021 is the year that the focus turned toward creators.

LinkedIn introduced Creator Mode for personal profiles, recognizing the contribution that content creators make to the platform. People who start conversations and discussions bring an extra dimension to a platform traditionally seen as a place for job seekers to go.

With Creator Mode, more members have been given access to LinkedIn Live and the ability to publish their own newsletter (using the articles feature). This swing toward building subscribers and a base of followers leads to suggestions of future monetization on the platform.

Toward the end of 2021, LinkedIn launched its own initial Creator Accelerator–funded program (with $15,000 per person) aimed at giving 100 people (only in the US for now) the tools and training to build community and create content that starts conversations on LinkedIn. The initial cohort of creators who were accepted into the accelerator will be given a Creator Manager.

In 2022, expect to see more features and visibility of this new Creator Mode.

Two features I predict to appear in 2022 are video shorts and audio. In 2021, LinkedIn acquired a short-form tutorial company called Jumprope. Creators could begin to create and share short tutorial videos in a style similar to YouTube Shorts, which will fit in with LinkedIn's goal of increasing skills development training and the expansion of the LinkedIn Learning platform. There are also rumors of a new Clubhouse-style audio feature for LinkedIn.

The focus of both of these tools would fit in well with the Creator focus. Marketers should keep an eye on creators who are building a following in a niche that aligns with their brand. Influencer marketing is coming to LinkedIn.

LinkedIn remains a place for job seekers and employers to find their next best hire. With the ‘great reshuffle or resignation’ taking place, the platform has grown to 800 million members (up from around 690 million in 2020).

Microsoft, which owns LinkedIn, can leverage its own products to improve LinkedIn. For example, members can now create native video one-to-one messaging directly on the platform. A person who connects with you can set up an instant video meeting inside direct messaging. You can also schedule future planned appointments. The software behind this comes from MS Teams.

For company pages, look forward to seeing more visibility and features being added in 2022. Companies were given access to publish articles on their pages directly in 2021. Having the ability to publish articles means more SEO for businesses and the ability to dive deeper into how they can serve their customers. Marketers could create articles putting a spotlight on their team—giving team members an opportunity to write about issues or areas they're interested in and bringing the human aspect to the business.

Another company page tool to look at is LinkedIn Events, which lets you deliver webinars or fireside chats with your employees.

Louise Brogan hosts the Linking In with Louise podcast. She helps small businesses and entrepreneurs raise their profile online.

#15: TikTok Fuels Forward-Looking Content Marketing

Many businesses view TikTok only as a place for kids and dancing. That's short-sighted. Recently, all social media platforms have added short-form video: Facebook Reels, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest Idea Pins… even LinkedIn is rumored to be adding short-form video to its platform.

Ask yourself, where is the spark for all this innovation coming from? It's being led by the TikTok platform.

If you're using video in your social media marketing, learn how to use TikTok to market your business now.

You'll have a head start on the competition, and you can use the creative content ideas there across your other social media channels.

Keenya Kelly is a branding and video marketing expert who helps entrepreneurs grow their businesses online.

#16: YouTube Offers More Ads Placements

I'm not going to say, “Video is going to be important in 2022.” You already know that. I will, however, say that the amount of options we'll get is increasing. If you are already investing in video, you can start preparing to use it in new ways.

Video Action Campaign Changes in YouTube: In October 2021, Google announced that video action campaigns will automatically include YouTube-connected TV placements.

This is another way for brands to expand their reach. I personally love these campaigns because they can drive users to your website as well as collect lead forms on Android mobile devices. But the value of YouTube has always been getting in front of a relevant audience. Expanding to more placements on YouTube is always a good thing in my opinion.

Joe Martinez is an international PPC speaker, writer, and one half of the Paid Media Pros YouTube Channel.

#17: Paid Social Is Indispensable

November can only mean two things: far too early holiday decorations and prediction posts for 2022. Welcome to the latter.

The funny thing about prediction posts is that no one really knows what the next 13-14 months will bring. Think about 2019 for a moment. Who predicted we’d all be desperately hoping we held on to our health, let alone our jobs? In hindsight, we all might have guessed Facebook would do something weird in 2021, but no one would have anticipated it would become a Terry Pratchett novel.

Still, pundits and pontificators arise from their midyear slumber just in time for those awkward meetings when the boss says, “What’s our plan for next year?” We take our guesses and hope luck smiles on one or two of them so we look smart. Fortunately, I’ve been doing this for more than a decade and a half, so I know two things: My predictions are just as good as yours and guessing small improves your chances of being right.

With that, here’s what I think marketers need to be thinking about for some practical social media planning for 2022.

Purpose Comes to TikTok: Those of us over 30 have been waiting and the time is likely upon us—TikTok is about to find more purpose in most people’s planning. Until now, it’s been a frolicky fun playground full of lip syncs and dance challenges. While most brands are copy-pasting their boring YouTube pre-roll ads there in a desperate attempt to look dumb, some are putting more meaning and usefulness into their content on the platform.

Wal-Mart is encouraging employees to post while on the job, which helps paint a different HR and recruiting picture for the retail giant. It’s also tapping into usefulness for fans like easy-to-make recipes from items you can obviously buy at the store. A Sherwin-Williams employee’s video of mixing blueberries into paint for a neat color as of this writing sits at 1.3 million views.

My personal favorite TikTok example of usefulness at work is my Cornett co-worker Matthew Hudgins (@himynameismatthew). He stumbled upon a few million views just showing fellow developers neat hacks he’s learned with JavaScript and other languages.

When this whole social media thing started, industry experts told brands that to be successful here, you needed to be useful. As flashy and entertainment driven as TikTok is, that mantra holds true. And brands are figuring that out.

Podcasting Becomes More Relevant: It’s hard to think that podcasting has room to grow. Of all the content creation mechanisms, audio podcasts—and corresponding video versions and livestreams—have exploded in popularity. Edison Research says 116 million Americans 12 and older now listen to podcasts monthly. That’s 41% of the population, a number that has doubled in the last five years. It took eight years for the number to double previously. That means we’re likely in the middle of the hockey stick.

The number of people who listen to podcasts weekly? Just 80 million. The average annual year-over-year growth of weekly podcast listeners since 2018 is 17%.

The powerful opportunity for businesses here comes in the form of relevance. A larger number of podcasts means more and more granular topics. From shows like the History of the English Podcast (highly recommended for you writery types), to the Hats We All Know podcast, there’s a hyper-targeted audience to be found for advertisers.

Brands can now avoid spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on large ad network media buys to reach a bazillion people, only a fraction of whom are actually relevant. More niche ad networks will emerge that help brands spend tens of thousands of dollars reaching a higher percentage of the right audience.

I’m gambling on this being true in the marketing industry to the tune of starting my own podcast network for marketers.

People Still Trump Brands: Put all the resources you want into your social media planning for 2022 and one fact will still remain: Consumers would rather hear from an influential person about you than from you directly.

Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin’s Chatter Matters research shows that when considering input for a significant purchase, people trust their own experience first, recommendations and referrals from friends, family, and experts (i.e. those who are influential) next. Posts by brands rate less than advertising on that scale. It’s not that they won’t listen to what you have to say or will ignore your social media content. But their attention gets richer when that information is coming from a trusted third party.

Notice I didn’t specifically say “influencer” above. Yes, people with large online social media followings are part of this conversation, but if we think about influence in terms of “influencers,” we’re looking at the opportunity with blinders on.

Take the “R” off the word and focus on influence marketing. Who is a person of influence for the audience you’re trying to reach? If you run The Parent Teacher Store in your community, the local PTA president might be your most important influencer even if she only has 12 followers on Instagram. That concept is the premise of my book on influence marketing, Winfluence.

Paid Spend Becomes More Important: With all the content we’ve been creating since the advent of social networks, blogs, and such, we’ve also created a problem: signal-to-noise ratio. It's no longer feasible for brands beyond the Fortune 15 simply to create content and have the lion’s share of people they wish to reach see it.

Remember that the person writing the following sentence built his professional reputation preaching the purist's gospel of social media to organically connect with consumers: You have to amplify your content with paid advertising or it simply won’t reach your audience.

While there certainly are exceptions to the rule, they are as rare as that elusive “viral video” we’ve all been hoping for. That’s because the Zuckerbergs of the world have made it so. They make more money when they engineer the algorithms to force us to spend it.

But even if it weren’t code inspired by quarterly shareholder reports, we would still be the victims of our own mess. Too much content means the good stuff can’t even surface to the top efficiently. We have to support our best stuff with paid spend. Fortunately, social media click-through rates and costs per click are significantly better than some other paid media channels, depending on your industry.

So for 2022, your content strategy should include a weekly or monthly budget to promote your posts. Do it wisely by targeting paid exposure to the most likely audience to respond, convert, or purchase, but do it. Or get lost in the shuffle.

Posting Frequency Gets a Makeover: When you look at the signal-to-noise ratio issue, you also start to see efficiencies emerge. You can break through the clutter with frequency and hammer your audience with three posts per day. Or, you can take the cost of time in doing most of that, and translate it to paid support of one good post every couple of days.

Doing this forces you to focus on creating better content, but less content overall—and more content you can supplement with paid amplification. The end result is that more of the right people see your best content. This can only lead to a more efficient spend and better overall results.

Think about how often you post on each channel: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, a blog, a podcast, etc. Consider spending more time creating less, but better. I mean, do you want to hear from even your favorite brands every day? I don’t.

Pursue What’s Right for Your Brand: If you haven’t been already, you’re about to be hit over the head with trends and tips for 2022 posts. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The experts and pundits typically insert healthy reminders in there. But you have to take those posts, which includes this article, with a grain of salt.

Remember that the people who pen these are generalists who aren’t looking at the problems your brand faces, with the budget your brand has to face them with. You’ll have to do what’s right for you, regardless of what anyone tells you is the most important thing to do in the next year.

Hopefully, these ideas are helpful for you. Here’s to a great 2022 whether my thoughts are spot-on or just spotty.

Jason Falls, international speaker and influencer marketing expert, has worked with brands like GM, Valvoline, and Jim Beam to develop both structure and content that ignites conversations. He is the author of Winfluence.

#18: Stories Video Is Central to Meaningful Instagram Engagement

Short-form video is hot this year and it presents marketers with an opportunity.

People don't want to be talked to, they want to be spoken with. Combining Stories video with a partner approved Instagram API automation, like ManyChat, is a perfect way to engage curiosity and answer frequently asked questions. For example, “If you want to know more, send me #PODCAST, and I'll send you more information from my latest episode.”

This delivers a two-fold benefit to marketers. First, it lets small businesses and big brands alike open a dialogue that builds trust and relationships with leads. Second, when someone engages with your account in this manner, it sends a signal to Facebook that there is a genuine relationship between the two of you.

Chalene Johnson is an Instagram expert who specializes in helping easily distracted entrepreneurs grow their businesses. She’s the host of the Build Your Tribe podcast.

#19: TikTok Success Hinges on Trends and Relatability

In many ways, TikTok still seems like the wild, wild west. Do we understand why it blew up? Barely. Is the potential for business owners massive? Oh, yes. Getting the hang of it boils down to two key things: TikTok’s sounds and your brand’s relatability.

Sounds are the heart of TikTok trends about 99% of the time.

To catch a trend at its peak, you’ll want to keep an eye out for sounds that repeat three or more times during this scroll. Make sure you’re on the For You Page tab, which is TikTok’s main tab for consumers. If the sound is repeating, go ahead and tap on the disc icon in the lower right of the screen. Boom, you’re now on the sound’s homepage where the top videos from other creators are assembled.

Verify it once more by checking out the dates of those top videos. If several have been posted within the last week, you’ve got a winner!

Now, it’s time to act fast, which brings us to the second part of this TikTok equation: your (brand’s) relatability.

Truth be told, a sound is not enough. Yeah, it might be if you’re looking for some viral video bragging rights…but that’s not you. You’re here to build a community, business, or legacy. It’s vital that you tap into your creativity and find a way to create a video that relates to your brand’s story or overarching niche.

Let’s say the trend is to showcase some images from throughout your life. Don’t just talk about your personal story. Be a bit more specific. If you’re a mom and pop shop, for example, you might showcase your journey throughout the years—maybe Grandma inspired it? Or, if you’re an online entrepreneur, take viewers through the highs (and lows) of your solo journey.

Traditional pain point–based marketing tactics don’t do that well on this app. Instead, vulnerable and aspirational creators are stepping into the limelight. This is a gift. It means meeting yourself where you’re at, wherever you are. And owning your journey as it is. Simple is better. This isn’t YouTube! Keep it uncomplicated. Think of each video as a bite of the slice of your brand's pie. You’ve got this!

Jackson Zaccaria is a TikTok strategist who helps creators build a loyal audience that gets conversions. His course is called The Tok Academy.

#20: Facebook Ad Spend and Tracking Diversification Improve Campaign Performance

If you aren't already advertising on Google, YouTube, or Instagram, then it's time to start. Yes, Instagram is owned by Facebook but can deliver different results. I'm also seeing good results on specific ad vehicles like Google Local Service and even niche sites like Nextdoor.

While attribution has never been perfectly trackable, recent iOS changes have made it more difficult so we need to watch our spend from the bird's eye view. Smaller advertisers should focus on Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) rather than Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). MER is the holistic view of comparing total revenue to total marketing spend on all channels.

Continue to track what you can with the Facebook pixel and tools available but realize we are only getting a relative view point; we are going to make general spending decisions based on what leads or purchases are being estimated by each of the channels. Larger advertisers are already shifting to a focus on the more general MER vs ROAS per channel. Smaller advertisers will need to track their numbers in this way, too.

Additionally, Facebook ad costs have been rising, due to the loss of tracking and competition. I think this may push out some lower margin products or smaller businesses who have less overall marketing budget to work with. But, there are a few things businesses can do to use Facebook most efficiently:

• Test in a more focused way than ever before. Use Ad Set Budget campaigns to control your tests and know exactly where you need to be to be profitable. Test placements, images, and copy more rigorously.
• Keep the bigger picture in mind. What is the longer term view for client or customer acquisition? Does someone buy from you multiple times? If not, how can you ensure customer lifetime value or average order value goes up?
• Separate your back end tracking so you can really see where leads and sales come from. Implement a tagging system so you know where clients came from if they didn't buy right away.
• Try different approaches to your targeting; I'm seeing wider audiences work better in some cases and in others very specific audiences are working well.

Facebook marketing is here to stay for the foreseeable future but the businesses that test and diversify now are going to be the winners down the road.

Andrea Vahl is a Facebook ads expert and speaker that helps businesses get more leads and sales without spending a ton on advertising.

#21: Genuine Storytelling Drives YouTube Marketing Success

Currently, marketers are focused on providing quality information in a professional presentation. However, everyone is doing that.

Marketers need to focus on building emotional connections with their viewers. They can do this through telling stories and showing vulnerability. This will allow them to build trust and credibility, and the human connection will bring people back for their content consistently.

Tim Schmoyer, a leading YouTube strategist and agency owner, has helped his clients grow organically by over 14 billion views and 61 million subscribers.