Social Media News February 2022

February 1, 2022

Pinterest Predicts 2022 

 

This year Pinterest again leads us to the new trends for the year 2022. According to their own data, 8 out of 10 trends from last year have already come to fruition. Thus, they claim to provide a true glimpse into the future – on the platform where users plan their future. The Pinterest website allows trends to be filtered by audience and category 

For Generation Z, predictions like “Oh my Goth”, “Emotional Retreats” and “Pimp my ride” show up. For Boomers, on the other hand, topics like “design store”, “back to the roots” and “pet heaven.” 

One thing is for sure: there is a lot to discover and the image collages definitely inspire. 

Recommendation: 

Click through the different categories and see what trends await you in 2022. Maybe you can draw inspiration and incorporate it into your new campaign 

 

Social Media dwell time 

 

How much time do we actually spend on social media platforms? Due to the pandemic, we have invested a lot of time at home and spent it on social media. According to Jan Firsching from futurebiz, this situation led to steady growth and more intensive use of social media 

In fact, says App Annie, users spend just under 24 hours a month on TikTok. This puts the platform way ahead of the other social media giants. In addition to TikTok, Instagram (8.5 hours per month) and Telegram also increased their usage times – but only by a small amount. (However, if we add up the meta apps, we come to just under 31 hours per month) 

TikTok is also in first place in terms of downloads. The age differences of the users also tell us something about their social media usage.  While the younger generation unsurprisingly prefers TikTok, Instagram and Spotify, the older generation generally favours Facebook, Facebook Messenger and Amazon. 

You can find more facts about the developments of the social media platforms compared to the last years in the detailed report of App Annie 

 

TikTok growth hack 

 

TikTok has experienced immense growth in recent years and continues to work on gaining more fans with new ideas and features. In addition, TikTok wants to help its users to achieve a wide reach. Currently, the social media platform is testing a new feature that allows creators to invite other people to watch their videos via WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter.  

With this invite feature, people are not only encouraged to watch the videos but to follow them directly. According to Niklas Lewanczik from onlinemarketing.de, the invite button ensures that the creator is followed automatically. The function is especially helpful when a creator wants to draw the attention of his circle of acquaintances. Of course, TikTok is not introducing this feature entirely selflessly – with new followers, new signups on the app would also increase. 

However, according to Andrew Hutchinson from socialmediatoday, the new feature also carries the risk of spamming. Yet TikTok tries to counteract the danger by only allowing users to forward videos to contacts they are already connected to on other platforms. Therefore, it is unlikely that you will receive clips from strangers.  

In this example, from Dan Schenker (shared by Matt Navarra) you can see the structure of the new option.  

 

LinkedIn launches new formats 

 

Due to the pandemic, we have developed alternative ways of communicating information without direct contact. LinkedIn has seen a growth of users in live events because of this shift. For this reason, LinkedIn is now expanding its live audio rooms. According to Andrew Hutchinson from socialmediatoday, the focus remains on professional business networking and connecting between companies and employees. In audio rooms, as we know them from Clubhouse, users can join in live discussions. You can participate by raising your virtual hand. In addition, the danger of spamming and off-topic conversations is very low due to the professionalism of LinkedIn.  

According to Kathrin Pfeiffer from onlinemarketing.de, the LinkedIn live audio rooms are different from the already existing broadcasts, because now listeners can also interact live. So now more and more real events are to be imitated. There are different live room formats: events without video, video events and single user live streams. 

The success of existing audio rooms on LinkedIn is shown by the participation rate over the past year – it rose by almost 231 percent. 

 

TikToks repost button 

 

TikTok has introduced a new repost option for its users to share videos with their friends. This function has been available on Twitter for several years. Tweets can be shared with one’s own group of friends without having to send it to them.  

However, according to Sarah Perez from techcrunch, there is one difference: The reposted videos do not end up on the user’s own profile, but on the friends’ For You page 

Currently, the new feature is only being tested with a small number of users. But of course, there will still be the option to share the videos with your friends via direct messages. However, according to Katie Keck from theverge, this can sometimes be complicated if you want to send a video to several friends – in these cases, the new option could be helpful.   

In addition, the videos would no longer have to be viewed manually via the DMs but would be integrated into the video flow of the For You page. In doing so, TikTok is taking a risk that could endanger the platform’s flagship: the accurate, perfectly tailored For You page. The algorithm could be messed up by the reposted videos.  

TikTok tries to avoid the risk of spamming by only allowing users to see the videos of mutual friends on the For You page, which means that the person you follow must also follow you back.  

 

TikTok trends in 2022 

 

Alyssa Rose from Hootsuite has compiled the most important TikTok trends for 2022 for us.  

Trends can help a brand create simple content and generate attention. In this regard, trends on TikTok are particularly recognizable. However, trends are also there to be changed. If everyone posts the same thing, it can quickly become boring. So stay creative with the following trends! 

 

  1. Trending dances

TikTok is known for its many fun dances. But the best part is, you don’t have to become a professional dancer to participate in this trend. For example, throw yourself into the company mascot costume and dance to a trending TikTok sounds. To see this in effect, look up the hashtags: #dancechallenge, #dancetrend, and #trendingdance. 

 

  1. Edgy humour

The young target group loves dry and sassy humour. As a business on TikTok, you should spread joy and not take it too seriously. 

 

  1. Glow-ups

In videos, you can easily document a process from “before” to “after”. This also leads to people watching the videos from front to end to see the end result. Glow ups can include anything, for example: art, furnishings, small businesses. 

 

  1. Seamless transitions

In the TikTok app, there are many editing tools that make it easy for you to edit videos and make the transitions look like magic. 

 

  1. Being vulnerable

The TikTok community loves honest and hired content. Therefore, not everything has to be perfect to generate a lot of views on TikTok. 

 

  1. Asking for other creators to participate in the comments

With this super simple method you can make your comment section explode. Come up with something fun, like: “make the comment section look like family vloggers YouTube video titles” 

 

  1. Making TikToks with your family

TikTok is no longer just for Gen Z and Millennials to enjoy. Gen X and Baby Boomers are also getting in on the fun with their children, and family members. 

 

  1. Referencing current pop culture

Many series and movies show their influences on TikTok. Embrace the trend and an organic reach will form. The American teen series Euphoria is already catching on, but hit Korean series Squid Game was also quick to be creatively referenced on TikTok.  

 

  1. Documenting a day in the life

Realistic videos about the course of a day are becoming more and more trendy. It doesn’t matter what you do, almost everything on TikTok has an audience that will enjoy it.  

 

  1. Replying to a comment on an older TikTok to create a new one

This way you can quickly get into an interactive dialogue with your community. You can also respond directly to questions in the form of a video. 

 

  1. Satisfying videos

Here you can get really creative. Whether painting a wall, cutting soap, or brushing your hair – everything can be satisfying. 

 

  1. Catering to different niches or subcultures

TikTok has many subcategories that can be defined with hashtags. So people can find exactly the content they want to see 

#cleantok #gymtok #dadtok 

 

  1. Behind-the-scenes videos

These kinds of videos can also be interesting for businesses. At the next shoot, you can simply run the handheld camera and involve your community in the process. 

 

  1. A strong (personal) brand

It is important that you stay recognizable. What is your trademark? TikTok users love consistent content. 

 

Author

Anna Lemke