Social media marketing will be even more important in 2022 than it has been in 2021. With Google moving to make third-party cookies obsolete, marketers are looking for the best ways to reach prospective buyers through other channels. One of the best options is to reach them via social media. Many brands already have social media accounts used to connect with their followers in some way. And, social media usage is still growing. According to Pew Research,
When Pew Research Center began tracking social media adoption in 2005, just 5% of American adults used at least one of these platforms. By 2011 that share had risen to half of all Americans, and today 72% of the public uses some type of social media.
Since so many people are using social media, finding the best ways to reach and engage them is the challenge for marketers in 2022. But, social media channels are making updates that will help you engage your followers. Let’s look at three social media channels, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, that are updating their features for marketers going into 2022.
Instagram Reels
We’ve seen the growing popularity of videos, especially short-form videos, on social media channels in 2020 and 2021. The pandemic may have accelerated the growth in this usage, but videos were already popular before the pandemic. Growth in videos was particularly focused on short-from videos like what sites like TikTok specialize in. Other social media channels have quickly caught on, and have been seeing huge growth in short-form video.
Instagram Head, Adam Mosseri, recently tweeted, “We’ve seen an explosion in video, and it’s a paradigm shift we’re embracing.” Instagram members are interested in watching entertaining video more than all other media on the platform. What does that mean for marketers? It means that video needs to be your primary focus on Instagram. According to Mosseri,
My team has consistently seen that reels are our clients’ top-performing organic and paid ad creatives—especially ones that feel more organic/authentic and don’t look like a typical ad.
But, just making a video isn’t going to help you. Your videos should provide value to your audience and align with your marketing strategy. Videos need to be creative, innovative and entertaining to grab attention.
how to utilize instagram reels?
If you’re not familiar with Instagram Reels, they are short videos in which you can embed a link, product tags, or call to action (CTA). Instagram Reels were introduced in 2020, but have been upgraded with new features since then. They have been adopted by all sorts of users as a more intimate way to connect with their followers. As people stayed home due to the pandemic, the need for connection grew, and video usage boomed.
If you already have Reels in your account that are performing well and generating engagement organically, you can leverage them as paid ads to reach a new audience. To use an existing Reel as a paid ad, you can download it from Instagram, and then upload it as a paid ad. These audiences are all in-app users, so they aren’t affected by the loss of third-party cookies.
Instagram also has added other features, Direct Messages and Instagram Live, that facilitate conversations with followers. You can also invite up to three people to join a live video chat that followers can view live or recorded later.
Facebook Niche Marketing
Facebook has rolled out several new features that offer new ways to reach your niche market. Groups and Pages have traditionally been used by social media marketers to build a following. You can now create subgroups in Facebook Groups, both free and paid, giving you the ability to have a paid subscription for some group members. Other new features include a Shop to sell merchandise to followers directly on Facebook or linked to your outside ecommerce site, and the ability to create community fundraisers within your group.
Facebook also announced Reels in 2021, similar to Instagram Reels, to create and view short-form videos, and a new Bonus program to earn money on the platform for qualified creators.
Another Facebook addition is Live Audio Rooms, currently rolling out to members, which offers an in-app capability for Podcasting and chatting with public figures, and Facebook Live which allows you to live stream from your mobile device, or camera and streaming software with Live Producer.
LinkedIn Creator Mode
LinkedIn launched Creator Mode in 2021, which gives you some exciting new tools to reach out to members with your content. These tools include LinkedIn Live Video, Video Ads, and LinkedIn Newsletter. At this time, LinkedIn is still rolling out access to these features, and you have to qualify to use any of them. Note that each feature has different criteria to qualify.
Once you’re accepted to use Creator Mode, your profile features your original content first, highlighting it, and tracks the number of followers you have by adding a “follow” button. You are also eligible to become a featured creator on LinkedIn. Featured creators have their original content displayed on the entire platform, opening up access to more members. With the addition of these features, LinkedIn is adding an in-app subscription model which can be used to market to your followers.
While the audience on LinkedIn is very different from Instagram and Facebook, the use of short videos for marketing is still beneficial. B2B clients appreciate how-to and product information videos to help guide them in their buying decisions.
Changes in Social Media Marketing
The new features on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn offer marketers successful new ways to reach their audiences with in-app targeting. You can continue to build a list of dedicated followers to engage with in popular ways, like video and audio. As these features develop and expand with new technology, you have the opportunity to create intimate, niche connections through social media that can develop into regular customers.
While organic social media marketing is a good way to get started with social media marketing, investing in paid ads will help you get access to followers at a significantly higher rate. You can create unique video content to invite people to learn more about your brand, products, and services.
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