As we start the beginning of a new year, we thought we would take a look back at the main social media trends of 2022. Social media is ever-changing, as is the world of marketing, and so staying informed about current trends and patterns has never been so important if you wish your brand to be successful on social media. Here we summarise six key trends taken from HubSpot’s 2022 Social Media Trends Report, to help you socially navigate in the age of the ’now’ consumer.­

1.  TikTok taking over social media, leaving other platforms to adapt

TikTok continued to dominate in 2022, with its short-form digestible video content and highly personalised ‘for-you page’. TikTok is a great social media platform for brands to gain exposure, and with it being the first non-Facebook app to reach 3 billion global downloads, it may be time for you to think about how you can start using it for your business. TikTok content can also be seen to be shared across other platforms, demonstrating its omnichannel presence with consumers.

2.  Social ads developing, as cookies get crunched

If you hadn’t already heard, Google is working on phasing out third-party cookie tracking in 2023. For brands, this means it’s going to be even more important to personalise services to consumers while honouring the need for consent and compliance with data collection. This was evident in 2022, with many brands having to change their methods to keep up engagement and reach. Many marketers and advertisers turned to rely more on social ads in 2022, and it’s likely the influence of social ads will only continue to grow.

3.  Social selling simplifying the customer journey

Shopping through social media platforms continued to thrive in 2022, with Instagram releasing more features allowing consumers to purchase items without ever leaving the app, and TikTok Shop gaining mass popularity. Social platforms took advantage of providing innovative solutions to consumers to make it easier, quicker, and more convenient to buy what you see online. Social selling also goes hand-in-hand with influencer marketing. Brands have been using influencers to endorse their products, and promote consumers directly to their product page without them ever leaving the app. This has been seen to be hugely successful and popular in 2022 and will only be increasing more in 2023.

4.  Post-pandemic content shaping up to consumer needs

The Covid-19 Pandemic massively influenced social media behaviour and usage since 2020, and this continued into 2022. The shift in people’s lifestyles because of Covid-19, including working from home, has resulted in consumers wanting more personalised experiences shaped around their lives – including social media.  Brands must fight harder to remain visible to their potential customers, ensuring they are targeting specific audiences and posting relevant content. An increase in ‘snack-sized’ content has been seen in the past year, where brands have realised consumers are becoming more aware of their time and the content they want to be consuming – therefore creating targeted posts in digestible forms that interest their audience has been popular.

5.  Maturing influencer marketing finally coming of age

Influencer marketing was already starting to pick up before the pandemic, but the pandemic led many consumers to turn towards influencer communities as a valuable source of information when traditional forms such as live theatre and cinemas, and simply meeting up with friends for a chat wasn’t available. It is now considered to be a dominant marketing method, as consumers value authentic and ‘unfiltered’ content from people they feel they can relate to on platforms such as TikTok. If you’re not already considering influencer marketing, you’re at risk of missing out!

6.  Brand inclusivity being brand critical

Consumers are no longer interested in superficial partnerships, empty promises, or one-time donations from companies. They want brands to be more socially responsible and inclusive of bringing together people with differing opinions and backgrounds. This led brands to step up their game in 2022, thoroughly analysing their actions, objectives, and culture to ensure they remain a brand people want to buy from and don’t get ‘cancelled’. Brands have been more focused on providing proof at a deeper level, that they care and act on issues such as sustainability and inclusivity.