If you’re like most business owners, you’re wondering what the next big social media trends will be. After all, everyone is looking for an edge in this changing marketing world. Are we going to see new social media platforms in the coming years, or will existing ones continue to expand? 

It’s likely a “yes” to both of those questions, but the key point to keep in mind is that you want to be where your customers are both now and in the future. With that in mind, here are some of the top social media trends that businesses need to know for 2022 and beyond.

#1 Outsourced Content Creation

Content creation — like, really good content creation — is time-consuming. And for the most part, it isn’t going away anytime soon. The most successful brands will outsource their content creation to freelancers, influencers and agencies.

As of now, you can hire social media influencers on platforms like Instagram to promote your brand, product or services. You can also utilize employee advocacy to convey your message authentically and connect with customers who trust influencer marketing over brand marketing.

In a nutshell, if businesses create valuable content that people engage with, they’ll have a better chance of making a sale down the line. If you aren’t able to create that type of engaging content yourself, you can do two things: 1) invest in content creation services and 2) invest in employee advocacy to get your team involved with influencer marketing. Rallio’s platform includes our Activate app to help organize and formalize your advocacy program.

Related: Mini Case Studies: 3 Powerful Ways Our Technology Boosts Brand Reputation

#2 Closed Groups 

One big social media trend of 2022 is that open groups will become less popular as more people begin using closed groups. On Facebook, you can invite a select group of followers to join your private Facebook group on a topic of interest related to your business.

So let’s say you’re a personal trainer. You can create challenges throughout the year and ask your followers to invest in your online personal training program. Your Facebook group can then include only people who have opted into your program.

These more exclusive groups enable users to have more meaningful interactions and build stronger personal relationships with their friends, family and colleagues. You’re able to create small-group conversations and connect with your target audience on a personal level. It’s also a free, organic method of gaining more followers and driving traffic to your other online properties, such as your business page, your website or a landing page.

#3 All Things Video

You may have noticed that your social media feeds have become flooded with videos in the past several months. From Instagram to Facebook to TikTok and everything in between, videos are dominating these platforms, and it’s important that you get on board with the trend.

Businesses and advertisers love videos for their ability to engage viewers and convey information more quickly than a picture or text could. Video is an important social media trend for businesses of all sizes because it allows you to show off your brand’s personality. Including video in your ads can also improve your ad results.

If you’re new to making videos, don’t worry! All you need is your smartphone, good lighting, and maybe a tripod to keep your phone steady as you film. If all that sounds like too much, just stick with your smartphone — but if you want to get fancy, check out this article with some videography tips.

Related: Your Best Cheat Sheet on Instagram Reels for Business

#4 Instant Messaging and Chatbots

Instant messaging is already a huge presence in social, with platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram direct messages ruling the roost. These messaging platforms give customers a direct line to your business if they have questions or need customer support. Therefore, it’s important that you have a system for checking these messages and responding to customers. 

You can also use platforms like Messenger to answer FAQ with automated responses, pre-screen job candidates, and help direct customers to the correct contact at your organization. If you need help setting up your automations, see this article from Facebook.

With chatbots, you can set these up on your website to handle customer inquiries in the same way, saving you time and effort while improving customer care. This way, as you drive traffic to your site from social, your chatbots can also step in to handle customers’ needs.

#5 Shifting Demographics

Every year, the average user age shifts slightly as more and more younger generations begin using social media and older generations adopt new habits on new or existing platforms. This means businesses will need to pay close attention to their social media strategies if they wish to engage with changing demographics and avoid being left behind by their competitors.

According to Pew Research, the social media user base has grown more representative of the broader population: “Young adults were among the earliest social media adopters and continue to use these sites at high levels, but usage by older adults has increased in recent years.” Pew adds that Facebook and YouTube are the most widely used platforms, with smaller shares of Americans using Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Additional research from HubSpot worth noting (see the link for more stats):

• The top way marketers find their audience on social media is by researching relevant online communities like Facebook Groups and subreddits
• Most marketers say short-form video content is the most popular content format for Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z
• Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users; eMarketer predicts Instagram will have over 1 billion in 2022

Social Media Trends Evolve, and So Should You

The landscape of social media is always changing, and in 2022, the evolution will be in full swing. The better you’re able to keep up with social media trends, the more prepared you’ll be to take advantage of what each platform offers.

Need help making the most of these social media trends? Head over to rallio.com and contact us to learn more about how we can work together toward your goals.