Social media marketing can be the most fun part of your campaigns and your social media management. Who doesn’t like to interact with your customers, show them your trending products and watch your fan base grow?
However, on these platforms you have to keep up to date permanently, if not instantly. In social networks the rules of the game change very quickly and you have to be aware of any new developments so you can implement them in your social media strategy.
In this post we tell you about the most important social media trends for 2022: the importance of a video strategy, more ad spending on various platforms and more use of User Generated Content.
- Video strategy to boost your brand
One of the social media trends that is here to stay is video.
Consumers love them. They not only give the possibility to learn more about a product or service: they also offer a higher ROI (return on investment) and increase the organic traffic a website receives.
How to implement a video marketing strategy
The first thing is to know what the objective of your campaign is. Normally, network campaigns have the following objectives:
Increase your exposure. For example, share the Christmas spirit through a creative narrative of your brand.
Increase sales. For example, showcasing new products that could be perfect gifts.
These are precisely two of the benefits of video marketing. So now you know: focus on creating content that shows your personality and helps strengthen relationships with your customers.
Launch short videos
Platforms like Instagram or TikTok are the queens of the game with the rise of short-form videos. TikTok has conquered generation Z with its videos up to 30 or 60 seconds and Instagram has adapted its network with Reels up to one minute.
Creativity has no limits for these types of videos! Many content creators, brands and influencers run contests or challenges through this format. Here are some content ideas that usually work well:
Tutorials
Challenges
Top products
Humor
FAQs or frequently asked questions
Carousel of images
Before and after
Unboxing and product testing
Handmade
Sweepstakes
Decide which social network best suits your brand and consider the length of the videos, the type of visuals you will use, the sounds you will add and the cover photo.
Subtitle your video
According to a study by Sharethrough, 72% of users would watch a video more if it had captions. Today, most content in this format is viewed with captions. When do you go on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook to see what your friends have posted? On your way to work, in line at a store, on the bus…?
It makes sense that we consume a lot of content without sound: we usually look at social networks at times when sound is not an option.
If you don’t want to waste your time, add subtitles to your videos in your marketing strategy. Especially to the ones you are going to share on your social networks, they will make life easier for your users! Movavi or Subtitle Edit are some of the tools you can use.
Note that Instagram offers the possibility to add automatic captions to Instagram Stories or your feed videos.
- User-Generated Content is King
Instagram is an application in which collaborations between brands and influencers and content creators lead the way. And user-generated content, known as User Generated Content (UGC), is also a success.
At some point your followers will upload photos with your products, and what better way to thank them than by sharing their photos on your profile!
But, to make sure you see all your fans’ photos, it’s important that you create a hashtag of your own that they can put on their photos or mention your Instagram profile. Don’t make a hashtag too complicated or more than one will get confused when writing it! Something like #brandname should do the trick.
Once you have it, tell your followers about it in one of your posts and ask them to mention you. From time to time, go to the hashtag search section of your social network and choose your favorite hashtags – they’re sure to come up with some original stuff worth adding to your account!
Collaborate with creators through Instagram Stories.
Instagram Stories are a great marketing tool for collaborating with content creators or influencers. In case you don’t know them yet, they are images or videos posted on an Instagram account that are only available to the audience for 24 hours. Once that time has passed, they disappear forever.
You can save them in Highlights so that they are permanently visible and your audience can enjoy them whenever they want. Stories create a direct communication channel with followers that is much more natural and allows them to interact with you through polls, stickers and reactions, which is very positive for engagement!
- Ads: higher investment and on more platforms
Competition in social networks is extremely high: everyone wants to be known. Therefore, if you don’t personalize your ads, the chances of losing consumers increase considerably.
According to several studies, consumers have changed the way they consume Social Ads on platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook or Pinterest.
Among the trends for 2022, more investment is expected and that this will be on various platforms. Therefore, you have to think about where your audience is so that you don’t end up saturating it.
We bring you two options to configure your ads:
Attract visitors to your store using retargeting.
Retargeting is a type of advertising that allows brands to personalize their offers and ads by having visitors receive specific content based on their behavior on the website. How?
For example, let’s say a user visits your online store several times without buying anything. Using retargeting ads you can show him the same products he consulted at the time and even offer him a small time-limited discount to encourage him to make a purchase.
However, you have to be patient: just because a visitor didn’t click on your ad doesn’t mean they won’t click on it in the future. So if your ads are not achieving a good conversion rate, consider changing your text, design or CTA (Call To Action).
Take advantage of user targeting by location
Most social media platforms let you segment your audience based on their location. This is just what you need to offer the most relevant messages at the right time to your followers.
For example, selling in Spain is not the same as selling in Argentina. When thinking about what products to include for the season, consider whether your target audience is in the northern or southern hemisphere. It is not a good idea to add hats, sweatshirts, scarves, etc., if your buyers will spend Christmas drinking daikiris on the beach.
Focus on your niche market, apply the necessary changes in your online marketing strategy and launch your advertising campaign depending on the location of your customers.
