Top 5 Social Media Trends in 2022

The year 2021 is drawing to a close. After it has recently been decided to what extent social media trends of the past year have prevailed, we dare to take a look into the crystal ball: what will happen in terms of Facebook, Instagram and Google in the coming year? We present the current social media trends.

Social Media Trend #1: Snackable Content

Snackable content – this buzzword has been running through social media such as Facebook, Instagram and co. for years. But what is it actually? And how should I deal with it – here are the facts:

• Snackable content are short videos, as we know them mainly as Instagram or Facebook Stories, Snapchat chats, WhatsApp statuses or also from TikTok.
• Snackable content is becoming an increasingly important form of storytelling in digital communication – with very specific storytelling requirements.
• The idea: The 15-second videos tell what a photo used to tell – but with more dynamism and with built-in filters and hashtags. Several short videos can then tell a longer story and depict, for example, a day on holiday, a concert visit or everyday life at work.

Social Media Trend #2: B2B Online Marketing

While Facebook, Instagram and Co have long since arrived in the B2C sector (end customers), many companies with business customers still have a hard time with online marketing. We are sure that this reluctance will be over by 2022 – so here are some examples of digital B2B marketing on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Co that you can learn from:

• The window manufacturer Finstral has helped its retail partners to place local Facebook and Instagram ads. And it did so in an automated way, with software from LocalUp.
• The start-up Parcellab helps online retailers send their shipping notifications in their own layout and attracts e-commerce-savvy customers to their own website via content marketing.
• The IT service provider Datev tries to better connect with customers and partners via corporate influencers.

Social Media Trend #3: Local Marketing in Social Media

Another trend for 2022 is local marketing in social media. Studies clearly show: Local campaigns on Facebook, Instagram and Google achieve better performance metrics than campaigns without specific targeting. It is particularly exciting to think locally not only in terms of placement, but also in terms of the entire advertising concept:

• Local ad motifs, e.g. from the nearest branch.
• Mention of the location in the text: Not just “Bake a cake now”, but “Bake a cake in Wanne-Eickel now”.
• Link to a local landing page so that it is clear throughout the contact that the customer is on a suitable offer.

Practical examples of local marketing in social media with campaigns that are played out automatically can be found in our case studies.

Would you like to know more about local online marketing and the possibilities for your business?
Then read here how local businesses can also benefit from online advertising.

Social Media Trend #4: Virtual and Augmented Reality in the Metaverse

The topics of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have been in the media for a few years now. With augmented reality, the current reality is “enriched” – i.e. one sees additional objects in digital glasses or on the smartphone display in addition to reality. With virtual reality, on the other hand, users move in completely digital worlds.

In 2021, both topics got a special boost. Mark Zuckerberg announced that he would focus fully on the “metaverse” and rename the company Facebook accordingly. It is to be expected that this theme will also make further leaps in 2022. Facebook, Instagram and the like will then be increasingly enriched with virtual or augmented elements.

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Social Media Trend #5: Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is also a permanent trend in online marketing – only this intelligence is getting smarter and smarter. A few years ago, the LocalUp software would have been called AI. It generates automated ads for Facebook, Instagram and Google from dynamic elements such as location and products.

By 2022, more will have to happen. Artificial intelligence ensures, for example, that Amazon’s Alexa understands our voice and that the sunglasses actually appear on our nose in the ubiquitous live filters in videos on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Artificial intelligence plays just as important a role in customer service chat on Instagram or WhatsApp Messenger as it does in generating complete texts for websites and online shops.

Learn how Artificial Intelligence is being used in online marketing and where it will be used in the future in another blog post.

Let’s take a look!

Not everything will be new in 2022 – but many trends from previous years will be raised to a new level. As always, however, there is always a bit of wishful thinking involved in trends. So let’s be surprised which trends will prevail – and which will be on the list again in 2023, in the hope that they will finally become reality.