Social networks: what trends in 2022?

Social networks are now an essential part of brands’ marketing strategies. This is even more the case since the pandemic. It is therefore crucial for digital marketing professionals to analyze trends on social networks in order to understand consumers’ expectations and adapt strategies.Quelles sont les tendances des réseaux sociaux en 2022 ?

More investment in social networks

Social Ads have become an invaluable resource for marketing teams. They can reach their audience in a direct and personal way while getting concrete results: 49% of users say they are likely to buy a product or service after seeing an online ad. It’s no wonder that digital marketers are planning to increase their advertising spend on these platforms in 2022.

For 48% of respondents, Instagram is the platform they plan to invest in the most. Facebook (47%) and YouTube (44%) are not far behind. As for TikTok, they are 36% to increase their budget on this promising network.

Nearly 50% of respondents do not plan to increase their spending on other social networks, such as Snapchat, Clubhouse, WhatsApp or Pinterest.

TikTok is doing well

Building on its success during the pandemic, TikTok has continued to gain traction over the past two years and has broken records by being, for a time, the most downloaded app of 2021.

Now a must in a social media strategy, the short-form video platform allows a brand to start a more direct and authentic conversation with consumers.

TikTok is considered by 24% of marketing professionals as the most effective social network to achieve their business goals. This is a real breakthrough for a platform that only had 3% of respondents in 2020.

Facebook takes the top spot, however, with 62% of respondents believing it is the most effective platform for increasing their conversion rate and reaching their goals, followed by Instagram (49%) and LinkedIn (40%).

2022, the year of social selling

As the pandemic has disrupted consumers’ shopping habits, it is only natural that social networks have become a central part of the shopping experience.

Sales on social platforms (also known as “social selling”) have exploded and all indications are that the trend will only increase. Today, the main challenge for brands is to innovate and optimize the customer experience while facilitating the buying journey.

Some social networks have already integrated new functions, such as Instagram: the customer is no longer redirected to a website and can now buy a product without leaving the application.

The customer care trend

If sales on social networks are increasing, so is the demand for customer service. And between labor shortages and problems in global supply chains, dissatisfied potential customers need answers.

Social network managers must, therefore, guide brands through this change and improve their customer service to solve consumer problems.

What content is trending on social networks?

Consumers have become more empowered since the pandemic and demand that a brand produce content that meets their expectations. It is therefore essential for marketing teams to listen to them and identify what they want.

Original and creative content

According to 51% of Hootsuite survey respondents, their biggest challenge in 2022 is producing creative and original content. Consumers are demanding more creativity from brands, as well as more inclusive content.

To meet these demands, brands have implemented several strategies:

• They have increased their budget to work with influencers who share their values;
• They are exploring new platforms, including TikTok;
• They are testing new formats, such as live audio and video, which are perceived as more authentic means of communication by audiences.

Measuring the ROI of content on networks

In 2022, being able to measure the ROI of your content is as important as producing quality content.

According to the Hootsuite report, 83% of marketers are confident in measuring the ROI of their social media campaigns. This is a significant increase from 2021, when the figure stood at 68%.

Calculating an accurate ROI is a fundamental step to :

• Measure the impact of your actions on the networks;
• Refine the analysis of its targets;
• Produce even more targeted and personalized content.

It’s also interesting to note that marketers tend to measure their ROI through third-party tools (36% of respondents, versus 21% in 2020). However, the majority use native social network platforms to retrieve this data.