A few years ago, no one would’ve predicted the comeback of QR codes or the meteoric rise of TikTok. In 2021, Apptopia noted that TikTok was the most downloaded app on both iOS and Android devices and is predicted to leave Facebook and Instagram behind. As a savvy marketer, it helps to keep an eye on what’s happening in the industry so trends don’t take you by too much surprise.
YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok all invested in their own versions of a creator fund. According to a recent report on the creator economy, more than 50 million people worldwide consider themselves to be creators. Creators aren’t limited to social media networks but those that do use social media contribute to the expected $13.8 billion influencer industry.
With the maturation of the creator economy, more strategies become available to brands. Micro-influencers with less than 15k followers are benchmarked to have higher engagement rates on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, giving smaller brands an opportunity to grow their presence.
In 2022, the need for social media risk management and mitigation will rise – meaning public relations and social teams need to form a unified front. Whether it’s negative product feedback, site outages, going viral for the wrong reasons or real-world tragedies, it’s important that brands build effective corporate communication strategies with social at the center. Brands can keep their eyes and ears open for any potential crises with social listening and proactively use real-time reactions to shape communications around sensitive topics.
The beginning of the year is a big one for marketers. Besides looking back on the previous year and evaluating strategies, it’s also a time to examine upcoming trends. We can’t predict the next viral challenge on TikTok but we can tell you to consider the network as a marketing channel. In 2022, social media companies are investing in livestream shopping, audio content, the creator economy and more. Take this moment to update your social media marketing strategy.
