Social media will continue to keep marketing departments and decision-makers busy in 2022. You can only increase your sales if you target your target groups where they actually spend time. Who is using which platforms this year and where can you actively promote yourself? We show you the most important platforms such as TikTok, Twitter and LinkedIn.
New forms of communication on social media
In recent years, the way companies draw attention to themselves on social networks has changed dramatically. Viral commercials reach millions of views, funny dialogs between different brands under posts, tweets and videos are liked thousands of times. However, the question that should be in the foreground is: Who are you as a brand?
An important trend in marketing remains the direct communication. Your customers expect to see you at the Social media platform of your choice. You will be happy to see instructional and recipe posts from brands, exciting Video content and even pure virtue signaling around holidays, environmental and social issues. Virtue signaling is the behavior by which a person publicly displays his or her own virtue and wants to show how morally good or morally superior the person is.
When Dr. Oetker's social media team insults users on Twitter or BVG anonymizes critical tweets and posts as advertising, it may increase reach. However, in the vast majority of cases, it does not fit in with the image that the brand has built up over the years or decades.
Does my company need to be on TikTok?
The Chinese video platform TikTok has grown faster than any other social network in the last two years. By the end of 2021, the app had more than one billion accounts. The principle behind its use is very simple. In short clips, users tell stories, share their problems and experiences, or practice dances and songs together. Around 69 percent of users are under 24, but seniors and all age groups in between also enjoy watching and sharing the clips.
It is therefore not surprising that brands try to find a niche there in which they can convince with creative content. Officially, this is mainly possible by placing commercials that are displayed from time to time while scrolling. However, if the brand has something to tell, shows interesting tricks in tutorials without advertising content, or shares funny stories about its business, companies can also use this method. interact with the users.
However, anyone who wants to use TikTok must understand the platform. On a social media platform, where videos are sometimes just a few seconds long, a quick positive response is important. Otherwise, once skipped, your target audience will not return to your content on their own. So it's not an absolute must to use TikTok for every industry and every type of business. However, if you have a desire to create good video content and ideas on how to creatively engage and retain a younger audience, you should definitely not skip this platform this year!
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn still popular
The global players Facebook and Twitter, now steeped in tradition, are striving to remain attractive to users and advertisers in 2022 through better crisis management and more support. Instagram in particular, which like Facebook belongs to the new meta group, is still highly attractive. More and more influencers here serve almost exclusively Reels, that is, longer videos instead of short clips and images. Around 2 billion users also watched vloggers, streamers, comedians, documentarians and influencers at work on YouTube in 2021.
In 2022, however, collaboration with influencers will also be worthwhile on business networks such as LinkedIn, as several social media experts predicted at the end of 2021. On LinkedIn, B2B companies and service providers in particular reach a customer base that relies on reliable information and professional contact. LinkedIn is rarely used for saying pictures, memes or funny content. Those who advertise here want to position themselves as serious.
It may also be worth keeping an eye on Facebook's new Metaverse. It is still unclear how successful the project, which is based on VR and virtual interaction, will really be. However, it can be assumed that at least some of the 2.6 billion Facebook users worldwide will immerse themselves in the new digital universe.
Handling service and support via social media
As mentioned at the beginning, customers increasingly see the Interaction with brands via social media channels from a service aspect. With the help of AI for example, additionally turn your Facebook direct messages into a Chatbotthat reliably plays out the right information. Although they need to make significant improvements in the area of data protection, messengers like WhatsApp are also more attractive than ever for users when it comes to making contact.
As a company, in addition to social media presences, mail and telephone contact, do you also offer the fast Support chat via WhatsApp to profit from this trend. Of course, it is essential that the service chat is actually manned. This way, customers can save your company in their personal contact book and send a message at any time in the event of queries about orders, requests, criticism or general questions - and without worrying about telephone costs and dead spots.
Plan your social media campaign with expert knowledge
Many German companies still had no real social media strategy in place in 2021. Creating attractive content, cross-promotions across different channels and linking products, for example in Instagram posts, via sponsored videos on YouTube or as an ad on Facebook, noticeably increase sales. They can also be used to adapt the company's image or make it greener, more social or younger.
