Change is the nature of the world, and social media is not a stranger to this concept. Things change far more often in social media than in real life. Things that were trending and staples of social media can become obsolete with just a single update.
Along with change, the trend is another inevitable aspect of social media. Each year tens of trends come and go in every social media platform, and 2022 was similar. But what is the social media trends 2022 that defined the year?
Social media trend 2022 that defined the year
In all honesty, multiple trendsetters changed the social media meta this year, and recounting every single one of them would make up for quite a long and boring list. So here we have compiled a list of 13 major trends that changed this year.
So without any further ado, let’s get started with the list.
1) Use of Social Media as Search Engines
Although social media has always been used to search for online information ever since social media marketing became a thing, we live in an age where most internet users are hooked on social media. Therefore, social media will inevitably be used as search engines sooner or later. The social media algorithm has evolved to provide you with posts relevant to your search term – similar to how search engines work. The majority of searches done on social media revolve around opinions.
2) Rise in User Generated Content and Influencer Marketing
Ever since the rise of digital marketing and social media marketing, brands have been continuously promoting and advertising their products on social media. We all know and accept this to some extent. But over the past few years, social media users have gotten tired of brand advertisements. Because of this, the brands have recently focused on user-generated content (UGC) and influencer marketing.
We are in a time when just about anyone can be a content creator and build a small fan following. This further emphasized the importance of UGC and Influencer Marketing. Active brands on social media sponsor an influencer who then uses their content for marketing the sponsored product. These types of content feel more natural, are more entertaining, and attract more visitors/ customers.
3) Musk and Twitter
This is one of those trends and news on social media that just about everyone knows about. Although the details of Musk acquiring Twitter are a bit complicated, the general gist is that he wanted to buy Twitter; halfway through, Musk said he didn’t want to buy Twitter anymore before he finally bought the company. As soon as he got the company, he fired a ton of employees and formed a content moderation council, and made another headline about Twitter blue (check out our article on Twitter blue for details).
Recently Musk has been in the headlines for asking if he should quit Twitter on his poll and that he will follow the decision, where the majority of voters answered “yes.” Judging by what we know so far, he won’t give twitter up, and the tweet is just another one of these random ones. Regardless, Musk has changed Twitter and the future path of this social media.
4) Rise of Social Commerce
Social Commerce is a concept that has been introduced previously, but over the past year, businesses have increased their commercial activity on social media. This is one of the more interesting Social Media marketing trends 2022. Why? Previously, businesses mostly conducted commercial transactions through their website, but over the past year, more and more business has been selling their products through their social media pages.
Do note that although Social commerce has been on the rise, the primary players in this activity are B2C businesses, which use social media commerce for increased revenue and customer interaction.
5) Rise of Short Video Content
The rise of short video content is another apparent Social Media trend 2022 that is not a surprise to anyone. We all know and saw the rise of TikTok, followed by Instagram Reels and now YouTube Shorts. YouTube Shorts is still adding new features for YouTube Shorts to promote and improve its short-video content platform.
Furthermore, the growth of TikTok is still in progress as we speak, and we have seen many rising stars from this trend. The rise of short video content is one of the most prominent Social Media trend 2022. Infact one of the most important update of YouTube 2022 was about YouTube Shorts.
6) Increase in Live Video Streaming
On the other side of the spectrum, along with short-form video content, live video streaming is also rising. Unlike short video content that lasts for a few seconds, live video streaming can last for hours. Strangely, the popularity of both short videos and live videos have gained popularity.
The primary players in live video streaming are TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, and Youtube (as one can expect). There are some good reasons for the rise of this trend in 2022 as well. For starters, the views can directly interact with and influence the decision of their creator through live chatting. The users can also gain followers and build and promote their brands.
7) Demand for Authentic Content along with Customer Service on social media
This was one of those Social Media Marketing trends 2022 that was a surprise when it appeared. However if you followed the trend, the demand for increased authenticity was already high back in 2021. This year, the demand for authentic content from the brands continued with additional request for customer service for convince and speed.
So the situation now is that brands have to provide authentic content along with customer service to their customer. While this is more effort for the brands on social media, the result is enhanced customer retention and loyalty, which is worth the extra effort.
8) Want Inclusive brands on Social Media
Talks about Diversity and inclusion in brands have been on the rise for the past decade. So it was only a matter of time before it influenced social media. To market and influence, users on social media, brands, and pages need to align with causes that do not exclude anyone and include a diverse range of races, genders, languages, identities, etc. Social media consumers want the pages and brands they follow to stand for something and be inclusive.
Along with this, different social media platforms have taken actions to prevent discrimination and ostracization by changing their community standard to ensure an inclusive and peaceful experience on social media.
9) Importance of Important Metrics
This year emphasized the importance of planning as more and more brands began to focus on metrics that show the overall growth of their social media presence. These metrics that affected the Social Media trend 2022 are:
- Brand Awareness
- Engagement Rate
- Conversion
Each of these metrics shows how well the brand is known, the number/ rate of people currently engaged, and the rate of visitors to conversions. While the specific definition of each of these metrics will vary depending on the social media brand, the importance of these metrics remain constant.
10) Highlight ESG on Social Media
One of the top trends of 2022 was the focus on ESG on social media by companies and brands. ESG or Environmental, Social, and Governance performance are all about initiatives that you, as an influencer or business, are involved in bettering the society and/or contributing to existing issues. This one was especially one of the prominent facebook trends 2022.
Although the inclusion of ESG has always benefited those involved in social media, it has become an essential aspect in 2022. If your company does not have ESG listed on its social media page, then you better start now because, as we see it, its importance will be more pronounced as time passes on.
11) Snapchat Snap Maps
This was a rather recent update. Snapchat updated its Snap map feature to make it more similar to Google Maps. As Snap Map previously only identified users, it can now identify businesses and locations that your friends frequent. This is done with permission from the users.
In the end,
Social Media Marketing trends 2022 was mostly about fulfilling user demand. Users demanded information-packed, entertaining short videos, and social media fulfilled them via Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube. The demand for inclusivity increased, soon becoming a trend for all businesses. As you may have seen, the rest of the Social Media trends in 2022 were all about satisfying the interests and needs of Social Media Users.
Except the two oddballs of Twitter and Snapchat, most of the social media trends for 2022 were just follow-ups of previous trends. Naturally, this is not an exhaustive list of all the major trends. However,
We hope you found this interesting. And as always, thank you for reading till the end.
FAQ
Q: What are some of the top Social Media Trends?
A: Some of the top social media trends are:
- TikTok is on the rise and will continue to rise
- Influencer Marketing is on the rise
- People demand ESG from reputed brands
- Social commerce is on the rise
Q: What is the #1 social media right now?
A: At the time of this writing, the top social media platform as per Monthly Active Users (MAU) is Facebook, with an average of 2.96 Billion MAU
Q: What is the fastest-growing social media today?
A: The fastest-growing social media at the time of this writing is TikTok, with an estimated growth rate of 8.2% in 2022.