Hootsuite global social media trends 2022 report is here

Hootsuite global social media trends 2022 report was recently launched which, it says, is backed by global data and expert insights.

As per Hootsuite, this report is based on Global trends survey with 18100 respondents, 15+ experts from Twitter, YouTube, and Google were interviewed and 200+ country’s data were tracked. They supplemented their research with reports and data from The Harvard Business Review, McKinsey, Deloitte, Edelman, Emarketer, Forrester, GlobalWebIndex, The CMO Survey, and others.

One can download Hootsuite social media trends 2022 survey data after filling up basic details.

In the preface of this report, Tom Keiser, CEO, Hootsuite writes “Use the data and be courageous! We want to support you in making bold choices designed for growth—choices informed by research, data, vision, and purpose.”

What is in Hootsuite global social media trends 2022 report

So, what is in this report that helps you make bold choices? The report has five key social media trends for 2022:

1. The Brand Strategy Trend
2. The Social Advertising Trend
3. The ROI Trend
4. The Social Commerce Trend
5. The Customer Care Trend

Let’s get a summarised view of each trend

Trend 1 – The Brand Strategy Trend

“The distinction between digital and physical is blurring and young generations are leading the charge. There will be many opportunities and challenges for brands to take on as we go through this shift. But when it comes to the amalgamation of online and offline experiences, it’s not a question of if marketers react, but when.” says Elena Melnikova, CMO – Talkwalker.

According to the report, brands will find the right communities with the help of creators to market their products and services. The trend suggests that in 2022, brands will partner with creators to connect with the right community having new audiences, earning their trust, and gaining cultural capital. This trend also suggests that creators will now have more opportunities and will be in demand.

Trend 2 – The Social Advertising Trend

This is interesting! When asked – Do you plan on increasing/decreasing/maintaining your investment in the following channels in 2022? Mostly said that they will maintain what they were investing on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. However, they agreed to invest more in TikTok, Twitter, Whatsapp, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Clubhouse. This means that in 2022 marketers are ready to invest in less traditional networks.

Surprisingly, when asked which is the most effective social platform for ads, Facebook and Instagram scored higher.

The survey suggests that marketers will spend more on social ads but they will also have to innovate and choose smart ways to achieve their goals.

Trend 3 – The ROI Trend

As per Hootsuite`s 2022 Social Trends survey, most larger businesses indicate that they have become more confident in quantifying the returns on investment of their social media practices. When asked How confident are they in their organization’s ability to accurately quantify the ROI of Social media, 37.4% responded as Somewhat confident, 32.1% were very confident and 13.8% were extremely confident.

The report suggests that in 2022 business leaders will buff up employee advocacy programs, will listen more to consumer insights, and will focus on delivering higher impacts.

Trend 4 – The Social Commerce Trend

As per the report, social media will become the hub for the shopping experience. Lockdown boosted the e-commerce industry a decade in just 3 months.

The report says that younger generations are now turning to social networks to research brands and products more than search engines. According to a joint report by Hootsuite and WeAreSocial 53.2% of global internet users aged 16-24 said social media is their primary source of information when researching brands. This is a huge gap social media have covered.

Etienne Marineau, Founder, Heyday by Hootsuite says “The brands of tomorrow will not be defined and set within the confines of a brand book. Brands will be co-created with their consumers and creators—the result of ongoing collaboration and conversation with their fans.”

So, Small businesses in 2022 will work on increasing customer experience across social storefronts while global enterprises test the limits of the online shopping experience.

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Trend 5 – The Customer Care Trend

As many businesses nearly disabled their customer service in the pandemic, social became the main way to handle service inquiries. “As a social media manager, you`re not just in charge of content creation and strategy”, says Nathan Allebach, Creative Director at Allebach Communications.

59% of marketers agree that social media customer support has become more valuable for their organization.

According to the report, in 2022, business leaders will look to social marketers to take an extra role in customer care and respond to all types of consumer queries. This may require a lot of interdepartmental training, but the result will build deeper trust with the customer.

Hootsuite global social media trends 2022 report: Conclusion

This no doubt is a great report and will surely help social marketers in 2022. One can be ready for upcoming trends in 2022 and start working on the strategy.

Download Hootsuite global social media trends 2022 report

Do visit the Hootsuite report page here and download the full report.

Disclaimer: This research is done by Hootsuite and Paze hasn`t played any role. The publically available Hootsuite report is only summarised for the convenience of the reader.