2022 Social Trends for Small Business

There are a lot of wild cards for what 2022 will look like. Will COVID continue to dominate how we work and interact? Which platforms will be the most effective for small businesses as demographics continue to shift? Will iOS 14 have as big of an impact on digital advertising as was warned?

That's all still in the air, but here are the trends we see growing, holding steady, and declining in 2022 and what that means for your business:

GROWING TRENDS

Short Form Video

Hands down, the biggest trend of 2022 is and will continue to be short form video: Reels, Shorts, and TikTok.

Thanks to a helpful algorithm boost from Facebook/Instagram and the legal success of TikTok, short form video is booming and as more brands make the shift from traditional graphic design, it will become increasingly important for every small business’s social strategy.

Like all shifts in content consumption, short form video comes with its own set of challenges for brand accounts. It requires managers to be hyper aware of trending sounds and videos, use creative but not traditionally professional editing, and create a brand personality with a life of its own. Spend a few hours scrolling through Duo Lingo’s TikTok page and you see content that is organically seen by millions and yet falls far outside the confines of traditional marketing.

At the end of 2021, content was largely identical between the three major platforms, but over the next year expect each to shift closer towards their normal demographics: Facebook Reels will be more effective with older users, Instagram with millennials, and TikTok with Gen Z. Expect the average age of users consuming short form video over the coming year to increase as well. Also, while not yet a real factor for businesses, keep an eye on YouTube’s own spin off of Reels, Shorts.

If your business hasn’t started branching into short film video, 2022 is the year to dive in.

TRENDS THAT ARE STAYING THE SAME

Stories/Ephemeral Content

Ephemeral content was the banner story for 2021 and stories aren’t going anywhere this year, much to the dismay of designers everywhere. (Let me tell you why they are the worst type of content to design but may be one of the most effective uses of graphic designers today another day.)

Stories continue to enjoy prominent placement on Facebook and Instagram and are boosted through notifications to followers. That makes them a great place for time-specific marketing (current sales, offerings, or schedule updates). Practically for managers they also create a space for specific Call-To-Actions that we often avoid in the newsfeed.

Stories can be time-consuming for small businesses. They usually require fully conceptualized and designed content for a post that will only last 24 hours, but at least until the algorithms shift, the reward is worth the trouble.

Live Events

Here’s to hoping that we don’t need too many more fully live events in 2022! 🙌

Out of necessity, livestreaming became a major trend for small businesses in 2020 and 2021 and finding creative ways to use live events will continue over the next year regardless of the course of the pandemic. There is still so much opportunity to reach wider audiences by using livestreaming for more than just the display of in-person events. Think online pop up shops, giveaways, and brand updates that connect with viewers live, spontaneously and unproduced.

That isn’t just an effective use of social, it’s easy! Live videos do not need to have the same production value as regular video content. Small businesses can just use their phones and start streaming.

There has been an irreversible shift towards remote work that will continue to have ripple effects in the coming year. The key for businesses going forward will be striking the balance of our desire to reconnect in person and the convenience we’ve found in connecting live online.

DECLINING TRENDS

Digital Advertising as we knew it.

When iOS 14 was unveiled, Facebook began their very public feud arguing that small business advertising would be essentially worthless because of Apple’s new privacy controls that allow user to ask third-parties not to track their data.

Beyond all the noise though, what does that actually mean for us?

The answer is a lot, but not as much as Facebook wanted you to think.

The major shift for small businesses is the inability to build accurate retargeting audiences using a Facebook pixel on your website. That’s a game changer that was once one of a small business’ greatest tools to compete with the big guys. For some, that overturns their entire digital advertising strategy. 2022 will be the death of running dynamic ads to retarget relevant users with products. If that was central to your business plan, then it may be the end of digital advertising as you knew it, but it will certainly not be the end. Custom Audiences from your existing lists, Lookalike Audiences, and Interest-Based Audiences will take over in 2022 and, as the digital platforms adapt to Apple’s changes, those options will likely become more efficient over time.

For most small businesses, it might be a change, but it will not be a devastating one.

Twitter

Over time, platforms shift and as small business owners we have to decide which ones deserve our time and energy. This year, Twitter is not making the cut.

We have formally retired our brand Twitter account and the accounts for all our clients. That is not to say that Twitter is going the way of Myspace, which is only a shadow of its former self. It may continue to have many users for years to come but for now Twitter has ceased being an effective tool for most small businesses to engage and meet customers.

Twitter was always a difficult needle to thread for many business owners, even ones with part-time social managers, because the content that performs best on the platform can’t be easily scheduled in advance. Twitter is all about in-the-moment reactions, which meant that instead of scheduling months in advance, managers needed to write copy on the spot.

Going forward, the resources required to maintain a presence on Twitter could be better focused elsewhere.

And last but not least (actually definitely least…)

Comic Sans

This one has been out for a while and yet people are still using it. STOP.

WHAT ABOUT THE METAVERSE?

This might be the most hyped trend for 2022 but even if some big brands dip their toes in the water, the metaverse is not going to be a part of most effective marketing plans for many years and that assumes it will ever be included.

For now, small businesses should wait to start metaverse marketing until there are users in the metaverse to market to. Check back in 2023.

WHAT SHOULD YOUR BUSINESS DO?

Knowing what’s coming, what’s here to stay, and what’s on its way out the door, how should you react?

1. Make your brand a personality, not a logo.

The key to succeeding in stories and short form video is more informal, less produced content. Center your content on people and connect on a personal level with your audience. Increasingly, digital marketing will focus on building relationships not just with a faceless brand, but with the people who make up the brand. 2022 is the year to bring the people out from behind the logo.

2. Consume short form video content.

Most of short form video right now makes no sense. The content that forms well is almost impossible to think up in a board meeting. Trends come and go in a matter of days. The only way to keep up is to consume the content yourself. Close your office door for a little while each week, scroll through TikTok, and tell everyone it’s for work.

3. Embrace spontaneity and humor in your marketing.

2022 will continue to push the boundaries of marketing etiquette, focusing more on humor, personality, and connection with the audience over immediate ROI. That may feel uncomfortable at first, but when done right it can have a big impact. Step out of your comfort zone and you can stop the scroll.

4. Think differently about digital advertising.

Finally, if you hit a rut after the iOS change, make this the year you shift your digital advertising to strategies that will work for the long run. There is incredible potential in Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences, so take advantage of it. As those features become an increasingly important stream of revenue for the platforms, they will likely improve their effectiveness even more and your business will be the benefactor.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The landscape of social media is evolving every day and it will continue to change throughout 2022. That’s why we keep up with all the shifts in algorithms and trends so you don’t have to. Sign up here and we’ll send you the latest updates as they happen so your business can stay ahead of the curve and make the most of all the time and resources you put into your digital presence.