Social media trends 2022 the data you need to know!

In your 2022 social strategies, what types of posts really can’t be missed? What content engages and converts?

We went looking for advice from the best in content marketing: HubSpot released its annual report top social media trends 2022.

The report collects data from 310 social media marketers around the world, both B2B and B2C.

It gives us very detailed information about trends and, with deeper analysis, also gives valuable insights into the most engaging posts.

Let’s first make a quick pass over the general trends.

Social media trends 2022: what to consider in your strategies

We omit the content data here, to which we would like to devote more detail later.

The other highlights that emerged from HubSpot’s report are mainly these 6:

1. Facebook is still the most used social media platform with the highest ROI. It continues to create engagement and generate quality leads. It is followed by YouTube, and then TikTok, Twitter and Instagram;
2. In partnerships with influencers, the number of followers is not the only parameter to consider. The marketers interviewed also focus on content quality, engagement rate and sharing the same brand values;
3. The most commonly used targets are as follows:
   • Generation Z, ages 6 to 24;
   • Millennials, between the ages of 25 and 40. This group represents the most popular audience among the social media marketers surveyed;
   • Generation X, between 41 and 56;
   • Baby Boomers, 57 to 75.
   • The role of communities in social media strategy is growing;
   • Going forward, the formats that seem to generate the most curiosity and investment from marketers are Twitter Spaces, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Shops;
   • The metrics considered most reliable for tracking social strategy goals are impressions/views, clicks, conversion rate, interactions.
4. The role of communities in the social media strategy is on the rise;
5. Going forward, the formats that seem to generate the most curiosity and investment from marketers are Twitter Spaces, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Shops;
6. The metrics considered most reliable for tracking social strategy goals are impressions/views, clicks, conversion rate, interactions.

Social media 2022: content to push your strategies

We now come to the focus of our article. What content is helping you push your social strategy?

The first thing you need to consider is the target audience. In fact, younger people, such as Millennials and Generation Z, prefer short videos and funny content. So stories on Instagram, reels on TikTok are incisive.

Older, boomers prefer longer, more specialized content, often educational in nature, such as interviews or podcasts. The social media or social network most used by this target group is Facebook.

Now that we have framed the tastes of the audience, let’s define the trends related to the format and type of content to create performing posts.

Social media report 2022: which format performs best?

It is not news that social networks and social media are the realm of multimedia content. The video format is increasingly depopulated and established as a growing trend.

Fifty percent of Hubspot respondents said they would increase their investment in short video production. It will be the most widely used format in 2022.

We recommend that you include videos especially in your Instagram plan and of course on TikTok.

There is another video format that is catching on and on which those in the industry are placing a lot of emphasis: live video.

It is used by brands in various industries. From our point of view, it can be particularly useful for those who have an e-commerce, as a place to present products, show them, propose real-time offers.

After a bomb debut of ClubHouse, interest in the platform seemed to have cooled.

The advent of Twitter Spaces, however, portends that starting in 2022, Audio Chats will also be interesting battlegrounds for brands.

Social media report 2022: influencer marketing

Influencer marketing continued to grow and evolve in 2022, becoming an increasingly important component of digital marketing strategies.

Here is a rundown of key trends and data related to influencer marketing in 2022:

Industry growth

The influencer marketing industry experienced significant growth in 2022:

• The value of the global market reached about $16.4 billion, an increase of 19 percent over 2021.
• The industry is expected to continue to grow, reaching $21.2 billion globally in 2023.

Social media platform

Instagram has been confirmed as the dominant platform for influencer marketing:

• Eighty-nine percent of marketers listed Instagram as the primary platform for campaigns with influencers.
• YouTube and Facebook ranked second and third, respectively.
• TikTok has continued its rapid rise, surpassing YouTube in popularity among influencers.

Budget and investment

Companies have increased investment in influencer marketing:

• 77% of companies dedicated a specific budget to influencer marketing in 2022.
• 68 percent of companies planned to increase spending on influencer marketing in 2022.
• On average, companies devoted between 10 percent and 20 percent of their marketing budgets to campaigns with influencers.

Micro and nano influencers

There has been growth in the use of micro and nano influencers:

65.39% of influencers on Instagram had fewer than 10,000 followers.
Micro-influencers dominated on TikTok.
Average earnings of nano-influencers (1,000-9,999 followers) increased significantly, reaching about $1,105 per post in 2022.

Emerging trends

Some key trends that emerged in 2022 include:

• Increased social commerce and use of influencers to drive direct sales.
• Growth of “FinTok,” or influencers on TikTok who provide financial advice.
• Increased focus on diversity and inclusiveness in campaigns with influencers.
• Increased use of video, particularly on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Effectiveness and consumer confidence

Influencer marketing has proven effective in generating trust and influencing purchase decisions:

• 62% of social media users trust influencers more than traditional celebrities.
• More than half of consumers have purchased products promoted by influencers.
• 82% of respondents discovered a product on social media and purchased it directly from their phone.

In conclusion, 2022 saw continued growth and maturation of the influencer marketing industry, with increased investment, diversification of platforms used, and increased focus on micro and nano influencers.

Consumer trust in influencers remained high, confirming the effectiveness of this marketing strategy.

Social trends 2022: the content you can’t miss in your editorial plan

Not all content is equal. This year more than ever, the target audience has expectations of brands.

If you want to be successful, you have to give valuable content to your people. Only in this way can you have an ROI commensurate with your effort.

Also don’t forget that all content posted is “filtered” and managed according to theSocial Network’s algorithm.

The first thing people today expect from brands is social responsibility. No wonder, then, that posts expressing brands’ values are among the highest performing return on investment.

As a result, more and more companies are considering investing in such content in their social strategies.

When we talk about valuable content, however, we are not necessarily talking about engaged content. Another type of post that performs well in 2022 is funny, humorous, and short posts.

There are already many brands using this content, but the trend is growing and seems to be among the most effective, including in terms of economic return and user conversion.

A third characteristic that posts must have to engage is this: people using social media must be able to identify with your content.

This is normally done through storytelling, which in social needs to be more immediate and lightning-fast than ever before.

Why social strategies are important

An all too common mistake is to think that to be successful with social media you only need to publish posts.
Even by publishing many engaging posts, however, you don’t get results if you haven’t planned a social strategy upstream.

Social strategy is a plan that allows you to define:

• objectives;
• metrics for monitoring;
• target;
• types of content;
• publication timing.

Only through a results-oriented social strategy do you know whether you have actually hit your goals, which must always be in line with your company’s growth.
How do you get there? Through experience and expertise, which allows you to have a broad view of the world of social media for brands.

Want to learn more about Social Media Marketing? Read these articles:

• Linkedin Stories: why to use them
• Instagram statistical data 2024–need to know
• Facebook Messenger Bot: New frontier for web marketing
• Does it still make sense to do marketing on Twitter?
• Facebook Lead Generation to gather new leads
• Social Media Audit for Companies