Did you know there are 3.96 billion social media users worldwide? And that adults spend 95 minutes each day across all social channels? These are rather high statistics – and they’re only growing. The future of social media is, as everything else in the digital age, fascinating and exciting! This article will explore what we can expect from social media in the future, and what some of the biggest social media trends are.
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Social media trends
The digital world doesn’t make it easy to keep up – especially when it comes to social media. Frequent algorithm changes, updates, trends and new futuristic features make it almost impossible to stay ahead of the game – unless of course you’re invested and make staying-up-to-date a priority (which, we believe, is extremely important). So, what can we expect to see for the rest of 2022 and beyond?
1. TikTok is leading the pack
A lot of people might argue that TikTok is used only by Gen Z, and although a lot (60% of its users, in fact) are Gen Zers, there are also a lot of millennials who are taking advantage of this app’s endless possibilities. Taylor Swift, for example, has 11.3M followers and 100.8M likes on her platform. But it doesn’t really matter who the biggest audience is, TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2021 (with 656 million downloads), and it’s the sixth most-used social media platform in the world, according to Hootsuite’s Digital 2022 Report. Tapping into this growing platform is essential.
Take a look at Future Females on TikTok here.
2. The rise of social commerce
With social media dominating user’s time, social commerce will become increasingly popular. While brands have been using social media platforms to sell their products and services for quite some time now, this virtual way of shopping is set to become the norm. From shoppable Instagram posts to shoppable tags on Facebook, social e-commerce will be at the forefront of all social media strategies.
3. Communication and customer service
We can all agree that social media has moved away from being just a space where people share their memories. Today, social media is dominating the marketing space, it’s a retail platform, a place where influencers and brands connect and work together, and it has become the perfect place to deliver (good!) customer service. Customers want to be communicated with where they’re at – and that is on social media. According to Gartner 60% of all customer service requests will be sorted out by means of digital channels by 2023. Customer service on social media is also a way of focusing on the human side of brands, which brings us to our next trend…
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4. Brands becoming human
An important part of using social media, especially for brands, is to remain human. Being connected to the values of one’s brand and illustrating that unique personality will tighten the relationship between brand and customer.
5. The metaverse and social media
The virtual-reality space in which users interact with a computer-generated environment and other users, also known as a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection, will undoubtedly shape how users interact on social media. Generating virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) content will become non-negotiable if brands want to stay ahead of the game.
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6. User-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) will continue to grow. This form of content generated by users brings the user to the forefront of a brand’s marketing strategy. For example, fashion retailer Monsoon is making UGC shoppable by asking shoppers to share images of the products they shopped and using the hashtag #MyMonsoon. The retailer then pulls the images into on-site galleries, where shoppers can shop the real-life looks. Fun, right!
These are only some of the trends shaping the future of social media and we cannot wait to see what else emerges in the upcoming years!
What are some of the social media trends you are enjoying, or hoping to see multiplying in the future? We would love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments section below.