2022 Trends: What’s Next for Digital and Social Media?

The future is on the horizon. All the signs point to an exciting time ahead for those who are creating content, understanding trends and being in tune with the digital landscape. Not only has social media come a long way from when it launched, but new facets are developing at an impressive pace as well.

Here at labpatrika.com has some more information about What’s Next for Digital and Social Media.

In this blog post, we break down some of these major developments and predict what’s next for social media marketing in 2022. If you’re looking to beat your competition or gain more traction in your own marketing efforts, don’t miss out on what’s coming.

1. Social media marketing goals and strategies in 2022

According to the latest findings from the Pew Research Center, 92% of online adults use social media. While this number is higher than it has been in the past, it’s still quickly becoming outdated. How will marketing evolve?

2. Social platform use decreases in the future

The Internet isn’t going anywhere, but we can see continued declines in the amount of people who are able to be reached through social media channels. With more competition than ever before and economies evolving at a rapid pace, there may not be enough time for everyone to find their way into these channels.

3. Social media users will be more diverse

With the rapid rise of disabled people on social media, it’s hard to ignore how different the platform will become. With more accessibility options for those who are blind, deaf and autistic, we can see how these users continue to diversify the population of content creators in every field.

4. Social media marketing is expected to drive the future.

Businesses that are able to take advantage of new forms of marketing are predicted to see increased results over those who stick with traditional tactics used for years. Becoming aware of and utilizing new technology is one thing, but understanding how it fits into your overall business journey is another thing entirely.

5. The use of A.I. and blockchain technology.

By 2022, the use of blockchain technology is expected to increase from $42 Million to $2.31 Billion. Facebook has also begun implementing artificial intelligence into their platform, and how this will change the social media industry over time remains yet to be seen.

6. The number of data breaches is predicted to continue rising.

As more people rely on social media, the risk for data breaches increases proportionally – especially as hackers get more creative with new ways to gain access to sensitive information. 

7. The rise of influencer marketing

As marketing becomes more and more impersonal, the potential for businesses to connect with their audiences has decreased. While this is not a new trend, it’s one that is expected to evolve over time and one that will continue to be fueled by social media marketing efforts, especially as we move towards 2022.

8. The end of ad free social media.

For years we have been able to use social media for free, but as advertising becomes more intrusive and the content on these platforms increases, the time where these platforms will be ad-free is expected to come to an end.

9. Social media users will capitalize on micro-influencers.

With the drive towards authenticity and building trust over time, micro-influencers are poised to see a rise in their popularity and profitability in the upcoming years. 

With a lower risk of being found out as a fake and more accountability built into their brand, we can expect to see micro-influencers continue to grow alongside other forms of marketing and social communication.

10. Businesses will still use bots to create engagement.

As we move towards the future, marketing will consistently evolve. While our methods today are innovative and effective, it’s important to have a plan in place for the future. Using bots to fake engagement or pretend that you have a larger following is not a new concept – but one that continues to be used by businesses looking to make themselves look better than they really are.

11. Users will feel less attached to their profiles.

It’s been said that one of the reasons social media is so useful is because people feel a sense of ownership over their online persona. As time moves forward, people will get more comfortable with letting go of this attachment and creating entirely new personas to help them connect with others more easily.

12. Advertisements will become hyper-specific.

Due to the increase in technology, businesses are able to customize everything from the font to the image and even skip all together if they so choose. They are able to make sure that it is hyper-specific and speaks directly to who they want it to speak too, which makes marketing much more segmented than before.