Shruti Khemka “The first rule of social media is that everything changes all the time. What won’t change is the community’s desire to network.” – Kami Huyse
Each new year brings with it some new normals. These often include emerging trends, technological evolutions, or breakthroughs of some kind in the world. This occurs in most ecosystems, irrespective of their size. One ecosystem that we are especially interested in is the Digital world.
The Digital World with its new trends and features can be overwhelming at times. But they also allow you to demonstrate your creativity and bond with your audience in your own unique way.
Social media trends are like fashion statements. They change every season. Sometimes, an old trend comes back, and other times something new and exciting steps out of the shadows of the web. Whatever might be the case, the emerging trends can be seen miles before they are visible.
Let us dive right into the social media trends on the horizon for the year 2022:
1. Growing digital community
There are hundreds of platforms out there for people who like to share their passions. Musicians and gamers are chilling on Twitch. Readers are browsing through books on Bookbub and Good reads. Today’s digital communities are rich, well connected, spirited, and affect our daily lives way more than usual. According to a survey by Squarespace, Gen Z said that they find their digital lives more memorable than their offline lives. Facebook groups see an audience of over a billion users every day.
“The distinction between digital and physical is blurring and young generations are leading the charge.”
The biggest digital communities were not built in a day. It took famous brands years of work and limitless resources to create magnificent online communities that exist today. One example of a sale-based digital community is the Bewakoof Tribe. Where they offer exclusive discounts and early access to their members. Digital communities are one of the biggest emerging trends of 2022.
2. The creator’s boom
About 50 million people across the globe describe themselves as creators. The creator economy around the world is currently worth a little over 100 billion dollars, and as we can feel, it is just the beginning. Many marketplaces and creator tools have been launched over the years, and investors are excited to invest in platforms like Rizzle, Josh, Instagram, YouTube, and many more. These creator tools make it easier to collaborate with brands and connect with a loving audience.
As social media goes deeper and deeper into the e-commerce arena, it becomes necessary for brands and other businesses to invest in the creators responsible for driving maximum engagement and promotion of products on all these platforms. Creator community is still being built. If you thought it was oversaturated, you might want to re-evaluate.
The last two years of the pandemic have helped boost the careers of many creators online. They found their niches and are now growing exponentially.
3. Social commerce
Social commerce is a sub-category of e-commerce. This year’s marketing budgets are the lowest ever as recorded in the history of marketing. However, according to Gartner’s survey, 51.4% of marketers said that they will increase their social spending this year.
The exciting part is that this year the spending is being taken from Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook and distributed towards Pinterest, Tik Tok, and Snapchat. Marketers are shifting to channels where they can make maximum impact. Funny enough, they are the channels that were previously not even considered in the social channel mix for marketing strategies.
Social media is like a virtual mall. You can browse, click and buy anything you like. Using foresight, many social media platforms have introduced special tools for e-commerce like Instagram shops, Pinterest’s shop tab, and Tik Tok shopping. Social commerce is a booming trend; better get on that train now, my friend!
4. Short-form vertical videos:
Thanks to Tik Tok and Instagram reels, short-form vertical videos are on the rise and can also be called the king of content at the moment. Video is one of the best tools to drive sales and storytelling. Video is the biggest growth hack at the moment.
Videos get more engagement than any other form of content. Twitter stated that tweets with embedded videos get 10x more engagement. We have seen brands connecting more deeply with their customers in the last year. We have seen a rise in Instagram trends, and these trends have helped many creators reach out to a broader audience. They have created memorability for themselves.
In 2022, a lot of fun transitions and in-depth tutorials seem to await us. Platforms like Rizzle, Moj, Josh, Tik Tok will soon be the new rulers of this social kingdom.
5. Mental health in the digital space:
The one thing we all have had in common in the last couple of years is awareness of our poor mental health. The years of the pandemic have been harsh for all of us. However, it was not only the pandemic and the fear of covid but also the increased time that was spent online.
The increase in people’s time online led to a rise in demand for virtual content, which led to creators’ burnout. The creators and many brands also felt the brunt of burnout with their social media teams tired of managing the influx of customer inquiries as the world was plunged into chaos due to the government-imposed lockdowns.
Digital burnout became the new pandemic. We saw an increase in webinars and social media posts talking about how to care for yourself when facing digital burnout. You can find some in the video below.
The year 2022 will bring a revolution for mental health in the digital space.
6. Social media posts: A new digital currency?
Yes, it is true, my friend. Buying a product with a post might not be as widespread for now but it is soon going to be a reality. The game of sale has already begun.
Soon, you will be able to purchase products with Tik-Tok, Instagram, or other social app wallets like amazon wallet or just by posting a picture with the product online. This is not a permanent thing but a type of marketing gimmick which is definitely taking off.
Based in Milan, Italy, Bun Burgers allowed their customers to pay using Tik Tok currency for November. This helped them get user-generated content at no cost and brand awareness at a larger scale.
7. Memes and Memes
Since they were introduced, memes haven’t failed to tickle our funny bones. They started as images only, but today video memes are equally famous. We feel this year is going to be meme-tastic. There are special meme accounts for everything. From astrology to space, social media woes to writers’ despair.
Memes are a great way for a brand or an individual to connect with their consumers or viewers.
Conclusion
Ah! We have some exciting things to look forward to this year. The rapidity of digital transformation is like a tornado hitting the sand. We have no idea what the end result will be, but it is exciting to wait and see, isn’t it?
