The Future of Social Media: How will it Change beyond 2022?

We're all thinking about it - how will social media change in the future? Of course, this is on the minds of many businesses and marketers as technology changes.

We only have to look back over the past 10 years to see how much social media has changed and influenced our lives - One thing for sure is that this will continue.

Did you know that more than HALF THE WORLD is now on social media? So what will happen when the remaining 40% join?

Carry on reading to see Social90's take and 5 trends that will change social media forever.

How Will Social Media Change in the Future?

One thing we can be sure of from our 4 years of experience working with brands, influencers, digital marketing, and our social media platforms is that change is inevitable.

Being close to the picture can have its drawbacks, but we pride ourselves on being able to take a step back and analyse the bigger picture.

As a result, we believe that one of the most significant changes in social media will be privacy, particularly around data.

Take a look at Apple's ad privacy changes and their impact on the industry. This change was a clear result of consumers' wish to make their data more private.There will inevitably be a shift after the Cambridge Analytica scandal and organisations having more data on us than ever before.

On top of this, Web3 and VR will lead to changes in social media in the future, whether by the increase in interactions in the metaverse or virtual reality. With Facebook investing $10bn  in the space, it's inevitable.

We've run our brush over the changes that will occur - now it's your turn. Check out the 5 trends that will change social media below and contact us to see how you can future-proof your business.

5 Trends that Will Change Social Media

Facebook was founded in 2004, Instagram in 2010, and Twitter in 2006 - but now there's a new kid on the block, TikTok, that is taking all of these by storm.

This has led to many businesses updating their marketing strategy to fit these new search engines with more visual content (such as VR and AR) to win on social networks.

But what's going to happen beyond 2022? Will TikTok be the leader, or will there be another disrupter that changes how we interact online? Carry on reading to see the 5 trends we believe will change social media forever.

Trend #1: Chatbots and AI

Chatbots have become popular because they make it easy to reach out to brands on social media.

Humans can't be as fast or responsive as bots using AI; that's why we expect this trend to take the industry by storm, particularly as AI develops to become even more advanced.

For example, Rytr is an AI writing platform that allows marketers to automatically create blog outlines, meta descriptions, social media posts and even replies - saving time and money. Imagine how things will change when these tools get even more powerful!

Chatbots are easy to set up and use with a drag-and-drop builder. Of course, they can't be programmed like a programmer would, but they don't require the same level of technical knowledge. This means brands will be able to talk to their customers without doing the talking!

Trend #2: The Takeover of Influencer Marketing (particularly micro-influencers)

Social media influencers' power is only going to grow across social media sites. Why? People buy from people, and trust in brands is only going to decrease - which is why marketers have turned to them to improve their marketing efforts.

When an influencer posts about a specific product, the brand pays them to do so. Brands are also looking for reliable places to advertise their products and connect with potential customers on popular social media networks.

However, influencer advertising is not only for influencers with a huge following. Big influencers are becoming expensive for SMEs, and micro-influencers will become an option for small businesses.

Trend #3: Employee Advocacy and Personal Branding

As we discussed above, with the rise of influencer marketing and a lack of trust in brands, employees are becoming more critical than ever.

Your employees can become social media influencers for your brand to increase your reach and boost your relationship with your customers - remember, people buy from people.

For example, your employees could sit behind a screen and send countless emails and LinkedIn messages without getting a single response. Alternatively, they could begin posting helpful, relevant content on LinkedIn and gather MILLIONS of impressions per month, as our client Mauriteft Consulting Services has done exceedingly well.

Trend #4: Groups, Groups, Groups

Did you know that there are businesses making millions per year through Facebook groups? And you thought Facebook was dead?

At the end of the day, humans are pack animals, and we will always seek to be in groups of like-minded people. Facebook has done exceedingly well at capitalising on this, particularly with adding new features such as live video content, story updates, and participation as a business page.

We have already seen this trend in action as more and more influencers have moved their profiles to "private" to avoid the effects of the Insta algorithm and avoid being shadow-banned.

Instagram Stories also have a "Close Friends" feature. Through this, you can showcase your stories to an exclusive group of people to give them a more up-close look at your new product or service. As a result, your community will feel privileged and get the chance to see what you're up to before anyone else.

We expect this trend to continue, particularly as brands and influencers find more meaningful ways to connect with their audience.

Trend #5: Transparency

Yes, yes, we know, we've already banged the drum  about how consumers don't trust brands. But this causes another trend around transparency.

According to a study conducted by Sprout Social, only 55% of customers felt that brands were truly transparent on their social media platforms.   Only 15% of consumers believe that brands they see on social media are very transparent.

This powerful statistic shows that brands need to do a lot of work to be transparent on social media. According to millennial consumers, transparency is the highest priority, and it's up brands' sleeves to figure out how to   achieve it. Is your brand doing enough?

If you're not doing enough, you should be.

Transparency is a significant component in building trust. Consumers are more likely to trust companies  that can communicate openly, often leading to increased sales.

How Brands Can Create Long-Term Business Value With Social Media Tools & Platforms

Social media is an important communication channel for any company. This is because it allows them to connect with their customers and create a relationship with them. It also helps with brand building and customer retention. Social media tools and platforms help brands manage their social media presence in a better way.

Many social media tools available can help you manage your social media presence more efficiently, such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, etc. You can use these tools to schedule your posts in advance and track your posts' performance by using analytics reports.

Working with expert social media management companies like us can also provide businesses with the boost they need. Check out our case studies to see how we've helped businesses across various industries exceed their goals.

What's Next and How to Stay Updated?

We're going to be posting a lot of content over the next few months covering how we see social media evolving- it's our job to be ahead of the crowd.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram to see the work we're doing, as well as connect with our founder, Luis, on LinkedIn to get your weekly dose of free value to boost your brand.

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