By Charndré Emma Kippie
Businesses will need to up their social media game in 2022 in order to scale and be more innovative.
Society has been accelerated by new technologies, while consumers have become more present and engrossed in the current state of the world and finding immediate solutions. One could say we are in the “Age of the Consumer” – it’s time to zoom in on their real pain points and needs.
The key to boosting your business’s social media strategy is creating quality content that is informative and valuable, but most importantly RELATABLE ie. palettable for consumers’ new tastes and preferences.
Did you know that Google is working towards getting rid of third party cookies by 2023? Third party cookie tracking is traditionally used by advertisers, marketers, and social media platforms – all website behaviour is tracked and monitored. This is huge in terms of ad tracking. Marketers will need to start adjusting their plans around this new development, collecting data on users (consumers) through User-generated content (UGC), more targeted social media, search engine retargeting campaigns and, of course, email marketing.
It’s not news that social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been utilised as online spaces for shopping to take place – simplifying the online shopping experience. With just a tap on a story you can purchase directly from any e-commerce site. Going into 2022 and beyond, we will see a surge in native advertising on these social media platforms, making selling to consumers easier. Social media users will be able to shop anytime, anywhere, from their mobile devices. It’s all about making the lives of your customers easier and moving with the times.
As a result of Covid-19, consumer behaviour changed drastically, and many were directed to online shopping which was an entirely new experience for them. This online-first approach will be explored even more in 2022. As a result of this, businesses will need to forge stronger relationships with their customers online in order to boost engagement and product interest. Investing in your online customer service strategy will go a long way in attracting new, curious online users and ensuring customer loyalty. This requires a well-maintained online presence and investment in quality creative assets.
Since social media will clearly be booming, businesses will need to boost their teams as much as possible so that they include digitally savvy members who are able to keep up with social media platform trends and keep tabs on social analytics. These team members will create brand awareness AND new revenue streams. A social media community manager could be just what you need to foster stronger relationships and engagement for your brand online.
At the end of September 2021, TikTok revealed that more than 1 billion people use the app every month. This indicated that there is a 45% increase in monthly active users since July 2020. That is massive growth! It’s no wonder more and more businesses are incorporating the platform into their social media marketing strategies. TikTok leverages on the short social media attention span users exhibit, allowing all content to take the form of short, informative snippets that get the message across. Users (consumers) want bite-sized informational content that doesn’t seem like a chore to pay attention to. The goal is simple: put together powerful, short-form content and get it trending on TikTok.