[column] Social media trends for 2022

Tito (see photo below) has kept up with the digital transformation of several companies in Latin America and Europe.

Because of the  coronavirus pandemic he had his contract terminated, and he ended up creating PROJECT RENAISSANCE in his spare time: a free-of-charge consultancy to help small companies in the process of digital transformation.

In 2015, Tito started his international career. In this period abroad, he followed the digital transformation process of several companies of various segments. Before returning to Brazil, he worked as innovation director at Biederman McCann in Paraguay. He also worked as digital director of WPP Group companies, including Y&R in Peru, and as a teacher at the Miami Ad School.

Here are the six digital marketing trends Tito Ribeiro has predicted for 2022.

1- After the coronavirus pandemic: Changes in algorithms and Social E-commerce as the main focus

Despite the growing investments in more disruptive technologies, many executives are  worried about recovering the economic losses left by the coronavirus. Therefore, it  seems that companies will rather focus on short-term solutions. In 2022 the e commerce will be the focus of platforms, which are expected to announce changes in  their algorithms soon. Instagram might include new shopping options and build on  regular use so that its users can adapt to shopping within the platform itself.

Shopping in live streams will be a big trend in 2022 as well. Live transmissions are one of the new features to be announced by Pinterest in the second quarter next year, for  example.

Twitter is also testing a new shopping option on its platform. In China alone,  social commerce sales totaled US$186 billion in 2019 (before the pandemic), according  to eMarketer. A Research and Markets survey showed global social e-commerce  should reach US$ 600.4 billion by 2027. There are a lot of e-commerce platforms and  tools that could be used to create an impact strategy. So start working right now on  this front.

2 - Mutual purpose - Team synergy and the importance of a good manager

The coronavirus pandemic greatly reshaped the way we work, either through distance  working or hybrid work models. In 2022 it’ll be time for a structural reorganization.  Companies, agencies and particularly creative, social and marketing departments will  need to invest in new talents.

Strategic leaders are indispensable to avoid the common basic errors that digital marketing teams usually make.

The teams will have to work as real gears, and only a  true leader can make this happen. Otherwise, customer loyalty won’t be achieved, and  employees turnover will increase. So, hire right and bet on experienced talents  because 2022 will be a great year for digital marketing. Listen to your clients and staff.  This will be necessary more than ever. And having a strong team focused on the same  purpose and working in synergy will be crucial.

3 - Meet new demands - TikTok and LinkedIn are in the spotlight

Taking into account the high demand for video contents will be more than a basic  requirement. And such an increased demand for real time content will be a major  concern for social media professionals, especially because of new platforms such as  TikTok – a powerful tool to reach younger audiences – and Linkedin. Therefore, find a  good leader and create a good strategy to keep up this year. 

The use of QR Codes have also increased during the pandemic and is drawing attention  in markets such as Canada and Asia. Snapchat, for example, is looking to build on QR Code as an scanning option to help users find additional information, special offers,  and other exclusive features, such as content creations.

4 - Stronger B2B marketing - The future of sales guided by technology

Currently, one of biggest dilemmas faced by entrepreneurs and executives is to  understand where to put their efforts and how important it is to create strong  strategies in physical and online environments. It seems simple, but to know who your  real audience is, and what are their needs and preferences, requires a lot of work. One  trend that has been of big help is to use digital resources to research, especially in  social media.

Personalizing offers, creating new products and keeping a closer relationship with your client, while focusing on innovation when presenting the results, will make all the  difference.

In the B2B marketing, we noticed that technology and artificial intelligence  can make businesses scale exponentially. When it comes to B2C, Amazon is a great  example. The company has initiatives such as Amazon Go, a cashless payment  technology for large supermarkets that is worth getting to know through platform  "Just Walk Out".

5 - The right way to use influencers - UGC, creating communities, and DNVBs

Knowing how to use influencers and content creators correctly will make the  difference. Hiring an influencer isn’t about hiring a celebrity as a poster boy, it's about  creating a community and lasting relationships. 

Both Digitally Native Vertical Brand (DNVB) and User-Generated Content (UGC) are  changing the relationship between retailers and consumers and should be discussed in  every company using Digital Marketing strategies. However, it’s necessary to define  KPI and to create a good narrative (without a good “storytelling”, working with PR and  influencers is throwing money away). 

Before hiring influencers, hire someone who is capable of creating good stories and  has the ability to build a good relationship with the communities. And remember: this  isn’t work for interns. If you engage someone with few abilities in this activity, you’re  doomed to blow it. 

It’s important to remember that according to the Manifesto do Influencer Marketing,  82% of people follow digital influencers rather than personalities and famous people.  In other words, people are more influenced by individuals that they feel closer  to. According to research by Deloitte, the active participation of consumers in the  brand’s channels can bring benefits such as a growth in engagement of about 30%.  Therefore, if you don’t work with influencers, your brand won’t sell as much.

6 - The restart of Marketing - The end of Cookies, the start of FLoC

We’re on the countdown to the easiest and fastest path to impact the audience,  although many specialists have already started to speculate about big data analysis in  the first-party data model. What will truly be hit by this new wave and the change in  data handling is Programmatic. For digital marketing, the end of cookies will represent  a possibility for rebirth, with strategies that enable the extraction and debugging of  first-party data to implement creative and effective end-to-end campaigns in the  purchase funnel and the establishment of audiences and communities for brands. 

Google promises to improve the experience with ads through Federated Learning of  Cohorts (FLoC), which, in practice, emerges as a new system of group data. But there  isn’t a lot of specifics on what types of groups would be created. To conclude,  professionals and companies will need to break paradigms, reinventing, innovating,  and hiring specialized professionals.

Many other experts are betting on the creation of proprietary audiences as an alternative to the end of Cookies.