How are Companies Utilising Social Media in 2022?

There has been a major shift in the way we promote our brands for the past two years. We’ve learned that social media has become a priority to most marketers.

What can we expect from companies on how they utilise social media this year? Let’s take a look at some of the findings from the latest studies.

1. More Social Media Hires

According to Founder and CEO of Jotform, Aytekin Tank, “…the problem is when social media isn’t prioritised, organisations miss out on the opportunity to optimise platforms and turn them into revenue generators.”

It is essential to hire and have a whole team of marketing professionals that have experience not only in drafting and scheduling posts, but to also have the capacity to engage with the online audience within the brand’s tone of voice. People are engaging more with their favourite brands on social media, even making sales! This is why social media support staff and community managers are also necessary.

Photo Credit: Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

2. Higher Social Media Ad Spend

Although the budget is tighter for marketers in recent years, Hootsuite’s latest report found that more than half of the 18,100 marketers they surveyed said that they’re planning to increase social spending this year.

Survey says they’re looking at investing more on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. However, the largest increases in spend will be on TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat as studies have seen the biggest jumps in effectiveness belong to these platforms.

This year, B2B marketing sees an increase in investment on Instagram and Twitter.

3. Customer Collaboration

Briana Rabiola, Social Media Manager at the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, says “User-generated content will continue to grow, taking a larger role in overall marketing strategy and campaign development. Audiences will become part of brand images and voice.” This is where Influencer Marketing comes in.

An example used by Sprout Social is the partnership between Pura Vida Bracelets which had 300,000 followers on Tiktok and social media celebrity Charli D’Amelio who had 112 million followers at the time of the campaign. The brand took interest in this and was able to expand its following. The brand now has 465.5K followers.

4. Snackable Content

Speaking of Tiktok, businesses are now investing more in Snackable Content. Hubspot defines Snackable Content as “straightforward, short-form, easily digestible content that lends itself to being passively consumed and shared on social media.” It is because of these characteristics that made it so effective.

A norm has emerged from this and it’s called the Vertical Videos. A study from Buffer found that vertical videos have generated 68% more engagement on ads.

5. Social Selling

Physical stores may live on, but e-commerce in social media is here to stay. Research from Hootsuite and We Are Social saw younger generations turning to social media more than search engines to look for brands.

Companies will use social selling to allow users to make a purchase from whichever platform they’re on.