Social Media Trends For 2022

There’s no denying that social media is a powerful and permeating force. Like any organism with billions of people behind it, social media trends morph and shift as fast as night turns into day. And as the world is almost completely out of the pandemic era, the way people work, play and engage with social media and the social media trends that accompany this change have evolved.

The speed in which savvy businesses and marketers catch onto the ever-changing nature of the way the world uses social media has had to increase to adapt. With how much things have changed and at the speed at which they’ve changed in the last couple of years, keeping up with the latest social media trends takes more time and effort. But that’s where we come in to help.

As a leading video production agency in London, part of our job is to keep on top of the latest social media trends in 2022 and beyond. We work with the biggest brands and businesses around the world, which includes giving advice and talking about current and future trends in video and advertising. And in this article, we’re going to talk in-depth about how they can catch the wave and ride high, taking full advantage of and capitalising on social media trends in 2022 and in the near future.

If you’re not already on it, get on TikTok.

TikTok. These two simple syllables have been uttered more than any other name in the social media sphere in recent times. The widespread adoption of TikTok means social media trends in 2022 and in the future are going to require the use of this platform if they’re going to make any real impact. As a new generation of young adults joins the modern workforce, the latest social media trends need to use their preferred platforms — and TikTok has quickly become one of them.

According to one study done by Cisco, 82% of all online content will be video by the end of 2022. And TikTok has helped to propel this projection forward. Brands and businesses who want to capitalise on the latest social media trends need to be where the action is — and that’s TikTok.

TikTok works because it works on people’s shortening attention spans. And as other social media platforms, such as Instagram, see how well TikTok keeps users engaged, so too are they adopting similar winning practices.

For brands and businesses today, TikTok provides an efficient way and a great opportunity to humanise themselves and potentially millions of viewers a behind-the-scenes taste of who they are and what they do.

Social commerce is a new norm.

The pandemic has had a huge impact on the way we shop. For a long period of time during the pandemic, millions of people were not allowed to physically shop. As a consequence, businesses adapted and began offering online shopping options. But it didn’t stop at big online retailers and small-to-medium sized businesses.

One of the current social media trends in 2022 that is likely to see no end in growth is social commerce. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have introduced new shopping features, such as Facebook Business shops and product tags on Instagram. These allow consumers to buy goods straight from their favourite social media platforms.

If you’re a business who uses social media to promote and sell your goods, consider taking advantage of this current social media trend. Use these new features on your pages. People want to feel closer to the brands, businesses and individuals they follow on social media. Giving your followers this convenient way to buy what you sell quickly and easily can only do your business good. In this day and age, especially on social media, people want quick — and quick is what you give them with this latest social media trend.

And just to back up this current social media trend with some numbers to help convince you to jump on the bandwagon, it’s predicted that social commerce will be an $80 billion industry by 2025.

AR and VR are taking off at light speed.

There’s more talk about both AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) today than ever. We’ve already seen AR technology being used in social media trends in recent years. Social media platforms have introduced augmented reality to create a more engaging experience. And we’re seeing more AR implementation in 2022, introducing new and more engaging elements across major platforms.

Snapchat was one of the pioneers in bringing AR to the forefront of everyday social media use. But Instagram and even Facebook have introduced AR features, such as AR filters. And as current social media trends in 2022 have it, both AR and VR are being increasingly adopted and platforms are setting them up to play major roles in the metaverse as it gets rolled out.

While AR and VR are getting set up to take centre stage, it’s a good idea to get used to both. As a business, engaging with your audience is vital. After all, user engagement is one of the main reasons why brands and businesses flock to social media platforms. Take advantage and engage with your audience now before both AR and VR are fully adapted.

Create reels and watch your follower count bloom.

Brands and businesses have flocked to Instagram for years to help them grow. Instagram is almost synonymous with business. And since the debut of Instagram's Reels two years ago, it’s quickly become users’ favourite feature.

The current social media trend of reels is being adopted in some way, shape or form by different platforms because it works. It works because the short, entertaining videos have a particular way of grabbing users’ shortening attention, forcing engagement. It’s an addictive feature not unlike those of some other platforms we’ve already mentioned. And this current social media trend has already proved a gold mine for collecting followers, being used by the likes of Justin Bieber and Stanley Tucci among others.

Reels allow brands, businesses and influencers to use a plethora of unique editing tools and an extensive library of audio tracks to create enticing and addictive content. What’s more, Instagram’s algorithm favours the use of Reels. For brands and businesses, this means creating Reels, which don’t have to take long, can uptick the numbers of viewers and therefore potential custom.

For the wise, jump on this social media trend and watch your follower count bloom.

Look out for the rise in social audio.

Never heard of social audio? You’ve been living under a rock. This recent social media trend has been taking the world by storm.

We’ve watched as podcasts have overtaken radio in the last decade. We see clear signs every day that video is where it’s at. But social audio brings together the lightness of audio conversion with a new social element that people are latching on to. And there’s a growing number of companies getting on the social audio trend.

Social audio allows people to connect through conversation. Chat rooms give people opportunities to share and connect through voice. It’s a niche that perhaps should have been quenched years ago.

Clubhouse is the hottest game in town right now for social audio. Twitter, seeing this social media trend set in motion, is in the beta phases of their version of social audio, Twitter Spaces. And reports suggest that Facebook is developing its own social audio experience.

All this means it’s only a matter of time before this latest social media trend takes over all major platforms. And according to those in the know, it’s only a matter of time before social audio embeds itself everywhere else, including websites and even articles. One idea is that this current social media trend will become so prevalent that one will be able to join live conversations on any webpage, article and elsewhere, allowing people to listen in on experts discuss what they’re reading in real time.

With all this talk of the possibility for social audio to take over the entire sphere of social media trends, we think it’s worth you getting on it now to take advantage — perhaps even becoming a pioneer of this social media trend in the process. With the rise of podcasts and with the speed in which social media trends rise, it’s safe to assume it’s worth the time and effort of any forward-thinking business to find an avenue to promote their content using social audio today.

Social media will become a viable and reliable search tool.

There’s been a lot of talk in recent years of how employers have used social media to scout potential employees — and look up the activities of current ones. For years, LinkedIn has been king when it comes to online job searching and interaction. In 2021, the platform reported that it had more than 800 million members from over 200 countries.

It’s been noted that LinkedIn’s success is in part due to its adaptation of social media trends that work. The use of hashtags has been a smart move that helps attract employers and potential connections. By using common hashtags, users expose themselves to more opportunities, allowing them to connect with more people on similar or desired career paths.

The major social media platforms have been aware of the potential to expand their user base by implementing job search and opportunities for its users. Many employers, recruiters and talent scouts already used social media to identify qualified job applicants. With so many people using the major platforms daily, seemingly always available, and displaying more of their personal, real self on them, we predict it’s only a matter of time before social media becomes a serious contender to LinkedIn for being a viable and reliable search tool for work.

Social media as an extension of customer service.

The way social media has become part of people’s everyday lives seems to know no bounds. Far from being just a way to connect with friends and family, one of the biggest influences on how social media platforms have expanded has been because of the massive potential for increased business. And with how many hours the average person spends on social media each day, consumers have begun to expect their favourite brands and businesses, who’re sometimes even more active on social media than they are, to extend their customer service and be available to them 24/7.

This current social media trend of customer services, such as instant chat, through social media will only continue to expand. More businesses are adopting the ease, mobility and personal touch that supplying their customer services through social media platforms gives them. Many brands and businesses have already experienced the benefits of this quick and easy way to communicate with their customers. Using social media as an extension of customer services is a great way to show you’re current, adaptive and available.

Conclusion.

The world has been through a dramatic shift, where people have had to adapt to new ways to connect and do business. In consequence, social media has become more present, more powerful, than ever. And the speed and number of ways in which major platforms are transforming the way people do everything from communicating to buying goods to finding jobs only seems to be accelerating.

These are just some of the latest social media trends that are shaping the world. And wise brands and businesses should do well to take advantage and capitalise on them now while they’re red hot.