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Social media is quickly becoming the go-to place for advertising. For small businesses, social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to find your ideal audience.
Social media platforms are dynamic spaces, algorithms change, consumer behaviour changes, and the content on offer changes depending on the platform and features. However random it may seem, there are a lot of resources to guide you in the right direction.
Below, we discuss some of the predicted trends for 2022. As always, your social media strategy will depend on your business and the kind of audience you want to attract. We recommend leveraging these trends and adapting them to your business. By no means do you have to do something for each trend, but by being aware of them and making them your own, you’ll better ensure you keep the uniqueness of your vision while making sure your content is going further.
TikTok was the most downloaded app of 2021, with 656 million downloads and shows no sign of slowing down. TikTok provides an ideal environment to market and interact with ideal audiences through topview ads, in-feed ads, brand takeover ads, branded effects and branded hashtag challenges.
TikTok doesn’t demand polished, high-quality content like Instagram. Instead, users prefer a more laid-back approach that makes brands more approachable. TikTok’s content centres around stitches and reposting, which means you want to make your content has elements that your audience can react to and engage with.
If your business’s target market is gen-z or millennials, TikTok is the ideal platform to use. Just under 70% of TikTok users are under 40, so the platform is dominated by these groups. If your goal this year is to grow your audience and increase brand awareness, TikTok is the place to be.
There is a saturation of businesses online nowadays, and reaching new audiences is the way to carve out your digital marketing niche. There is a lot of competition as a result of this saturation, so businesses recognise the need to develop a loyal and engaged audience.
Growing audiences and fostering relationships increase the likelihood of engagement from your viewers (and in turn, sales). Utilise content that encourages responses and opinions from your audience in meaningful ways (for example, a this or that kind of post for a new product). It increases the ‘buy-in’ of potential customers and shows that you’re responsive to their preferences.
Additionally, your audience is more likely to remember your business if there is back and forth. It might not get you an immediate sale, but it will increase the likelihood of someone remembering you when they’re in need of your product or service.
Maintaining social media is becoming its own role outside of a marketing team. Having a dedicated social media hire is quickly becoming an important role for businesses competing in these digital spaces. Maintaining social media takes more time than you may first assume and is a unique space all of its own. As a result, having a team member fully dedicated to these tasks can ensure your business stays on track and the job is taken care of.
As a small business, it’s not always feasible to get a dedicated person on board. Services such as MarketMaxNZ offer an in-house level of service for social media posting and monitoring that can alleviate the pressure of being present on social media, without the stress of having a dedicated hire.
Augmented reality allows users to ‘try on’ your products. As online shopping continues to grow as a preferred method of buying, AR increases the user-friendliness of the shopping experience.
There are a number of creative ways to include AR, there are product try-ons, filters, and visual experiences based on your surroundings (think a simplified Pokemon Go). AR isn’t always the most accessible tool for a small business, but there are creative ways to use it to complement your advertising campaigns.
AR is growing in popularity as it can increase the turnover from cart to purchase by up to 33%. For people who chronically keep items in their cart, the ability to try them on can push them to purchase.
Instagram and Twitter have a large body of engaged buyers that want to know about products and services before purchasing. Why not go to them instead of having them hunt you out?
