Social Media Marketing: predictions for Facebook in 2022

What do we expect from Social Media Marketing in 2022? While many will be relieved to see the end of 2021 and a return to normalcy on the horizon, we still have a long way to go, with the full economic effects of the epidemic likely to play out over decades and in different ways. The predictions for Facebook.

Despite increasing competition and a constant stream of scandals (both real and imagined), Facebook remained at the top of the social media heap in 2021, with its 2.9 billion active members dwarfing all others and creating the world’s biggest linked network of people.

Although the platform is losing touch with younger consumers, it continues to grow into new regions, countering any significant use losses, as well as adding new ad tools and business choices to create a more comprehensive platform and enable the next level of brand engagement.

That’s before you consider its foray into virtual reality or the metaverse’s developing idea. Of course, it still confronts difficulties and is the subject of numerous investigations across the globe, but Facebook seems to be on the verge of even greater expansion as it continues to expand in new and diverse ways.The following are the main development components for The Social Network.

eCommerce importance

With the launch of Facebook and Instagram Shops at the start of the epidemic, Facebook made a major push into eCommerce, giving merchants another opportunity to engage with their customers.

In-stream shopping has since become a major focus for Facebook, and in 2022, you can expect to see more shoppable posts, streamlined payment processes (possibly through the development of Facebook Pay as well as its own digital currency, Diem), improved product discovery, and more alerts for buyable products in-stream.

Live shopping will also be a big part of the show. Live-stream shopping has become a popular trend in China, with the value of the country’s live-commerce industry increasing by 280 percent between 2017 and 2020 to reach $423 billion by the end of the year. With the overall consumer attention more firmly focused on eCommerce, now is the ideal moment for Facebook to make a larger push as it seeks to make live-commerce a bigger feature. It’s already experimenting with this, and it’ll likely become a larger emphasis in the future.

Facebook is also attempting to establish itself as a critical component of developing countries’ digital infrastructure, with eCommerce expected to play a significant part in this transition. As a result, as Facebook tries to incorporate more usefulness into the platform to offset anticipated ad spend losses, you’ll see even more shopping features progressively integrating into the Facebook experience over time.

Development of AR/VR

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, has already staked his claim to the Metaverse shift, which could potentially offer a way to connect the company’s numerous social media and develop tech initiatives. Expect the next generation of Facebook’s AR glasses, which will be more tightly linked with Instagram, as well as the introduction of more interactive technology, such as wristband control for AR overlays and next-generation social and workplace capabilities for its Oculus VR headsets.

It will be a huge victory for Facebook’s future goals if it can dominate the trending Metaverse area, and it’s already laying the groundwork in this regard.

Shifts in the algorithm

The recent ‘Facebook Files’ expose appears to be a watershed moment, not so much in terms of the company’s revelations (many of which we already knew or suspected), but in terms of the extent to which Facebook is aware of the negative effects its apps can have, and the efforts it makes – or doesn’t make – to mitigate those effects. Will Facebook consider addressing these major issues, even if doing so would go against its economic interests?

As Facebook looks to the next stage of digital evolution, beyond the Facebook platform, I expect the company to be more willing to experiment with things like limiting political content throughout News Feeds and giving users the option to turn off the algorithm via a simple, Twitter-style toggle or an alternate, swipeable timeline.

Removing algorithmic amplification was a major suggestion made by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, and offering this as a basic, optional feed choice may be the simplest way forward, in that:

a) It offers consumers greater control, demonstrating that Facebook is trying to solve the issue.

b) Because the majority of people will not utilize it anyhow, reducing the company’s influence.

Facebook has attempted this before (as mentioned above), but I believe we’ll soon see more visible, user-friendly feed choices, making it simpler for users to manage this aspect – or at the very least feel more in charge of their in-app experience.

Social audio

Is audio social going to be a long-term trend in social applications, or is it just a pandemic-inspired craze that gave users another option to interact when COVID limitations were in place? I believe it’s a combination of the two, but I believe Facebook will ultimately win the audio social race, owing to one crucial factor: discovery.

Audio social, like video live-streaming before it, has grown less appealing as it has been more publicly accessible, since, as with other media, although everyone can produce, not everyone can regularly provide engaging, entertaining material. Being excellent at audio or video live-streaming is a talent, and Clubhouse and Twitter are now wrestling with how to guarantee that you’re presenting the finest audio material to each user, to create optimum interaction with real-time broadcasts.

Both are failing, but Facebook, which has adopted a more measured, careful approach by limiting access to its audio rooms to rising individuals and organizations, is on a far more feasible road for the choice. While Twitter’s open reach may appeal to some, Facebook’s audio approach will see it get the most out of the option in the long run, even if it isn’t a major connecting choice post-pandemic.

Creating a digital presence

Digital identity and creating a connection between your Facebook profile and your VR/metaverse presence is another important step that you can anticipate Facebook to do in 2022. We’re already seeing this with the growth of digital art-based NFT avatars, which will shape how you’re seen by others in virtual space, and Facebook is testing its own NFT profile display choices to capitalize on the trend. Facebook is also directing more users to its digital avatar creation tools, which include sophisticated gesture and reaction choices, and as the metaverse push gains traction, you can expect to see more of these character capabilities added to assist more people to create their virtual representation and portrayal. As Facebook shifts its attention to the next stage, expect to see a lot more 3D characters of your friends in various formats throughout its applications.

Have faith in the system

As the effects of Apple’s ATT update continue to muddle the attribution waters, ‘trust the process’ will be a major theme in respect to Facebook advertising, with Facebook encouraging ad partners to depend more on its machine learning algorithms to drive expenditure. Facebook is working on systems that will help brands maintain ad effectiveness despite data restrictions, and it will increasingly highlight key examples that show it can still deliver good results. However, the learning period for each campaign – the early stage where its systems are testing and iterating results depending on user response – will now be more important than ever.

Facebook will continue to encourage advertisers to run longer campaigns and be patient, while marketers will increasingly use a hybrid reporting approach to track response, using Google Analytics and other methods (don’t be surprised if Facebook tries to push in-store QR code scanning as a way to provide more direct attribution). However, as Page reach and campaign outcomes decrease in many instances, more marketers will turn to emerge alternatives such as TikTok and YouTube CTV advertising to replace Facebook ad expenditure. This will affect the company’s bottom line, but it will strive to compensate for the losses via eCommerce tools, as well as point to the future phases of digital connectivity.

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