Now that we are over half-way through the year, what social media trends have emerged? What is working for social media marketing today? Feeling like your stuck and need an inspiring new idea to reach people and increase engagement?

Here are the top 3 social media trends so far for 2022:

Social Listening

Every small business is trying to figure out how to get the most valuable thing in the world – the attention of their audience. Attention is the currency of online marketing. However, that means our audiences have exposure fatigue. All the brands are trying to get in front of them all the time, and it’s exhausting. This is going to separate the really good content creators from the rest of the pack. How do you become a stand out on social media? You build a relationship with your audience and you ask them what they need. Why do they follow you? How can you help them transform their lives? Social listening is becoming a key component in the best social media marketing strategies and your small business should be doing that as well.

Short Form Video

Video isn’t new. Video marketing has been the most effective form of online content for years long. However, long form videos are losing their shine. Unless you are building a YouTube channel, short form video is what people are consuming right now. Whether the videos are for TikTok, Instagram Reels, for Facebook – keep them short, entertaining, and engaging.

TikTok

Miss the early days of Facebook when organic reach and engagement was crazy effective? Yeah, everyone does. Unfortunately, the more popular a social media app becomes, the harder it is to achieve organic results. Right now, TikTok is newly popular and the organic reach is fantastic. So, everyone is jumping ship to try this new video platform. That means there is a short, narrow window before TikTok becomes the new Facebook. And businesses are not missing the boat. Does that mean you should join the TikTok bandwagon? That depends. Can you ramp up quickly? Are you ready to learn a new platform? Is your audience watching videos on the app? Are you willing to make a lot, seriously a ton, of short videos every week? If you answer isn’t HECK YES to each of these questions, I’d recommend not spending the time and energy getting to learn a new channel that you can’t be successful using. If it is a yes, stop reading this blog and starting using the app ASAP. The more you use it, the better you’ll get.

Social media trends are just that… trends. They are no substitute for the long effective tactics of creating a social media strategy, building an editorial calendar, telling stories and building relationships with your audience. If you are already doing these things and want to amp up your efforts right now, these trends may be just the thing.

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Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

There is no perfect formula for creating social media content worth sharing. However, there are some things you can do to up your social media marketing game and create content that your audiences wants to share with their people.

Storytelling

The number one tip for any brand on social media is to learn how to tell a good story. Human beings are drawn to stories. Story evokes an emotional response in people. If you want your content to spread, you’ll have to learn to be a storyteller. Your followers will share your content as soon as they start caring about it. Stories make us feel.

With each piece of possible content, ask yourself what the story is behind the content. How can you spin the same idea in a way that uses emotional drivers and makes viewers identify and care?

Keep It Relevant

The most common mistake small business owners make with their social media content is forgetting that they are creating it for their audience. The goal is to sell your product or service, but no one signs up for a social media account to read ads and promotional material. Social media marketing only works if you are creating content that is relevant and interesting for your followers. What do they need to know? Can you inspire them? Educate them? Entertain them? If you are only using it as a bulletin board for what you want people to know, you’ll quickly find out that no one is paying attention anymore.

Know Your People

If you are going to create content and tell stories that are relevant to your audience, you must first know who they are. If you aren’t creating messaging that is meant for a specific audience, you are just speaking to the sky and hoping it talks back. Relationship building and creating community means being intentional about getting to know your followers. If you want to create effective messaging, ask your people why they show up, what they need, and what keeps them coming back. Then create messaging and content inspired and motivated by these responses.

If you aren’t sure what to create on social media, these social media messaging tips are the inspiration you need to sit down and get started. If you want additional help, book a discovery session with me.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

While it’s true that social media marketing always appears to be changing, our many years of experience in this field has taught us that the basics really stay the same. While the popularity of certain platforms comes and goes, how to find success on social media is more about your approach than it is about adopting early technology.

Here is our best advice for unlocking social media marketing success in 2022: 

Saturation

It’s no longer the early days of social, which means that popular platforms are becoming more and more saturated with both brands and consumers. The larger the database, the harder it can be to stand out from the crowd. Plus, competition is growing fast. Marketers seem to have forgotten the days of marketing budgets and advertising and are putting a lot of effort into social media marketing hoping to get a BIG return for a small investment. 

While social media is becoming more valuable to both brands and users, getting found is more difficult than ever. If you want to reach your target audience on social, you have two options:

1. Invest in social media advertising.
2. Create outstanding and interesting content that your viewers actually want to interact and engage with

As you can imagine, only posting promotional information about your business is not going to attract the attention you need to be successful on social media in 2022. You’ll need to either step up your content marketing game or your marketing budget.

Personalization

Customers want to deal with real people. The emergence of social media marketing has proven that audiences want to connect and communicate with brands in real time. Today’s traditional customer service experience is broken. Long wait times, outsourced service people, and a lack of accountability have all contributed to an expectation that companies just don’t care about people anymore. That changed when people could go to social media apps, like Facebook and Twitter, and get in touch with someone directly – who cared about their problem and wanted to offer a solution. Everyone wants to know they are being heard – and that includes your customers. Spend time on social media this year showcasing that you value your audience and customers, letting them know that their voice matters, and working to uncover their needs.

Engagement

The biggest mistake we see brands do on social media is ignoring their audience. The best content in the world isn’t going to make an impact if your followers know you aren’t really there. Batch content every month as much as you like, but it’s imperative that when your audience engages with that content that you respond to them. Don’t just ‘post it and forget it’ by leaving your people hanging waiting on a response that will never arrive. Your community will quickly discover that you aren’t really there and they’ll seek the connection and validation they are looking for elsewhere.

Social media marketing may be changing but the fundamentals of connecting with people remain the same. If your only goal is to get conversions, we recommend sticking to an advertising plan instead of investing time and money into content creation and distribution. If your goal is to build a loyal community that will eagerly turn into brand advocates for your business, then social media marketing is where your focus should be. Social media is a brilliant way to connect with your customers, promote your brand, get feedback from your audience, and increase your sales – but it only works if you are in it to connect and nurture relationships with your followers.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.