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9 social trends to help brands win consumers' hearts

9 social trends to help brands win consumers' hearts

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Consumers today want it all, from faster services and better experiences to a brand connection. Brands are now striving to be even more consumer-centric and need to have their ear to the ground to listen and meet changing consumer demands. As companies gear up for 2022, new trends will begin to emerge, especially in the social space, offering brands with a plethora of opportunities to capture consumers' hearts and attention. 

Want to win the social media race next year? Here are the nine trends compiled by Talkwalker marketers will need to keep an eye on in 2022. 

1. TikTok will take over social media 

TikTok's domination is not over yet. According to Talkwalker's latest 2022 social media trends report, TikTok has also demonstrated itself as a medium that consumers engage with on an omnichannel level. TikTok's highly personalised content recommendation system enables brands to gain exposure and connect with a qualified, engaged audience. Brands such as Nike, Senoko and Farmhouse have turned to TikTok to keep their audiences engaged during the pandemic, moving from ads to more direct forms of consumer interaction.  

According to Talkwalker, consumers have committed so fully and quickly to TikTok that other social media platforms have had no choice but to follow. For instance, Instagram Reels took inspiration from TikTok’s platform, and just recently, Reddit rolled out a video format that is strikingly similar to TikTok, said the report. 

In Malaysia, MyHealthKKM, the education health division of Malaysia's Ministry of Health, tied up with TikTok last month to raise public health awareness for mass vaccinations and provide accurate information about COVID-19. Agencies such as Publicis Groupe and dentsu have also recognised the power of TikTok, inking partnerships with the company to help brands tap on the platform.

2. Socials ads will develop, as cookies get crunched

Social media platforms have become a huge asset for advertisers to reach consumers in a more personal and direct way.

According to the report, 49% of Internet users are likely to buy brands they see advertised when browsing on social media, creating a huge opportunity for advertisers to grow through this tactic.

However, the success hinges on the advertiser's ability to deliver personalised ad experiences that speak to needs or ideas that consumers already have in mind. As the user expectations for ads vary across generations, brands need to have a deep understanding of their audiences' preferences. Once equipped with the right knowledge, brands can proceed to build a strategy around them. 

As Google works to phase out cookie tracking by 2023, the future of social advertising remains to be defined. For brands, this means learning to balance the need for personalised services and the need for consent and compliance, according to the report. While the cookieless future seems bright for advertisers, good publishers, and consumers, those that have been profiting off of privacy-invasive data collection from users will need to rethink their strategy. 

3. Social selling will simplify the customer journey 

Influencer marketing is a big opportunity for brands to align their products and services with relevant influencers to meet new audiences.

In fact, 69% of marketers plan to disburse more money on Instagram influencers than any other market this year, the report said.

While social commerce was previously focused on ads or promotions, platforms are beginning to provide new and innovative selling solutions that focus on making the journey easier for buyers. For example, Instagram introduced new shopping features which allowed social media users to purchase items without leaving the app. 

To get a consumers' attention, brands are required to be creative and think out of the box. Live streaming, for example, has become a popular method for consumers to interact and purchase products immediately. As brands catch on, the industry can expect more shoppertainment content on social media platforms.

(Read also: Livestreaming to push consumer spend on social apps to US$17.7bn by 2025)

4. Post-pandemic content will shape up to consumer needs 

With consumers spending more time at home as a result of lockdowns and social distancing restrictions during the pandemic, the demand for content has increased. This means that consumers are looking for personalised experiences that are shaped around their lives. 

Consequently, this has brought about the rise of audio. Live audio platforms are a natural progression from podcasts. Brands can offer an exciting listener experience, with reduced production costs, but now with an interactive element. According to the report, many of the reasons why people love these apps are the special guests that often visit the rooms, the good news that is shared, and the added value that people feel concerning their mental health by being able to talk to people about similar situations or ones they can personally relate to. 

(Read also: Analysis: What is 'active audio' content and why it matters to marketers)

5. Omnichannel engagement will change the way consumers engage with social media 

According to the report, 64.5% of Internet users receive breaking news from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram instead of traditional media. Though this gives brands an opportunity to expand their audiences through the use of social media, there are also risks of fake news or misleading content. 

Since the beginning of 2021, there have been over eight million results of misinformation in online conversations, said the report. With this in mind, brands should keep close tabs on what its audience is reading and believing and commit to sharing factual information that builds consumer trust. 

Strengthen your omnichannel marketing capabilities today with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Omnichannel Marketing Asia on 23 November. Learn ways to build an evidence-based practice, up the ante on your strategies, and be head and shoulders above your competition. Click here to register today! 

6. Maturing influencer marketing will finally come of age 

Influencer disruption was already starting to happen, but the pandemic sped things up. In fact, the report said many consumers have been led to influencer communities by the pandemic. This, in turn, has led to the growth in the variety and value of influencers. Influencers now have been able to reach consumers on a level that many large brands are unable to. 

As the impact of social media continues to grow, so too does the weight and influence of influencers. New rules have resulted in increased influencer regulation and responsibility, while many influencers have thrived with drastic audience and engagement growth. As the line between social media and eCommerce becomes increasingly blurred, influencer marketing connects with consumers, allowing brands to flourish and see immediate results.

7. Brands will lead in social media decentralisation 

Consumers will continue interacting through social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook in 2022.  However, it is likely that the market will begin to see more brands, specifically those in the travel, payment and navigation space, incorporate social components directly into their user experience, the report said.

Consumers today no longer view brands as just a brand, but as a connection. The demands of customer experience have grown higher as customers do not expect just a service but a way to interact, engage and communicate. The option for brands is to either allow those interactions to happen offsite, through forums and social media, or to keep it within their own platform. Doing so allows brands to better shape the conversations happening around them, while also gathering valuable data and insights around its consumer base. 

8. Metaverses will be the next consumer connection 

More often, people in the gaming industry crave increasingly immersive experiences. This explains why virtual words, such as those from Fortnite or Animal Crossing, have performed so well. As more brands slowly move towards virtual reality when the pandemic hit, this resulted in an acute need for online socialising and interaction. According to the report, the metaverse is a solution for how people will interact in the future, and brands that are properly equipped to understand consumer insights will succeed in this new reality. 

As advertisers realise the unique potential of the metaverse and what VR can offer, the market will see an increased interest and value in brands investing in the phygital space in 2022.

(Read also: #ExplainIt: Is there a need for a chief metaverse officer?)

9. Communities will develop and take control 

Consumer communities are not as passive anymore. With more ways to connect with like-minded communities across the globe, they are no longer content with passively discussing their interests. Instead, consumers now are equipped with the dedication to actively drive change. These communities are quickly identifying the issues they are interested in as a whole, and then taking action to change those issues, said the report. 

In fact, many businesses tackle social media incorrectly by hoping something will stick. Instead, brands need to be more strategic to have content shaped around the consumer, with the aim of establishing loyal and engaged communities. 

Insights were taken from Talkwalker’s Consumer Intelligence Platform for the last 13 months, prior to August this year. For some examples, up to five years of back data were used. Given the nature of the topic and the importance of forecasting trends accurately, Talkwalker placed emphasis on examples and data gathered between January and August 2021. Mentions of topics were gathered from a variety of media including news sites, social media channels, blogs, and forums. 

Join ourDigital Marketing Asia conference happening from 9 November 2021 - 25 November 2021 to learn about the upcoming trends and technologies in the world of digital. Check out the agenda here.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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