Social Media for eCommerce: Trends to Watch Out for in 2022

The new year is speeding around the corner faster than ever, and your social media strategy needs to be prepared and ready to launch when the clock strikes midnight.

Since 2020 social media and eCommerce have been climbing in popularity, and are on track to continue their rise. Consumers are now familiar with the ease and convenience of purchasing and finding new stores via social media.

One way you can reach new customers is by tapping into new and upcoming trends.

Trending topics on social media have the ability to reach millions of potential customers and to increase your brand’s popularity.

Here we take a look at four social media trends we think will be big in 2022 and will help to accelerate the growth of your eCommerce site.

Trends you need to watch out for in 2022

1. Shopping in platform

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and even TikTok have dabbled in the world of eCommerce in 2021, with TikTok and Facebook introducing in-app shopping options.

Already 70% of consumers use Instagram for shopping purposes due to its visual nature.

With this in mind, spending time to invest in the new social commerce options rolled out by Facebook and TikTok in 2021, will boost your chances of conversions.

Customers who find your brand via social media will have the step of having to visit a website eliminated for them, allowing them to check out directly through the platform. Reducing the likelihood of abandoning the potential purchase.

The prediction is that more social media platforms will begin to roll out in-app purchases. So building your brand’s social presence is of the utmost importance to stay ahead of the game.

2. Stories

You may have already noticed celebrities and influencers will use a ‘swipe up to shop’ feature on their Instagram stories.

This feature was limited to those with over 10k followers and added another step to a customers journey for those with a smaller following.

Instagram has made some changes and now allows a link sticker on a story to replace the swipe up feature.

That means those of us who are not ‘Insta famous’ can now direct potential customers to a site via stories (finally).

The prediction is that this feature will become more widely used. Especially within small business circles, in order to direct traffic from a well built social media platform to a website.

With this option, it is important to ensure your online site is just as well built as your social media platforms.

Having a site that does not match your social media will reduce customer trust within the brand and they will be less likely to convert via your site (not to worry, here at Salesfire we have your website covered).

This could involve mirroring social media features on your website to create a consistent product discovery experience.

One such feature that is appearing across social media and forward-thinking eCommerce stores can implement is visual search.

Check out our webinar on The Future of eCommerce where we discuss how retailers can merge the social and eCommerce experiences.

3. Short-form video content

Short-form videos have been on the rise for many years.

Starting out with Vine (shoutout if you remember this classic platform) and now with the rise and fame of TikTok.

Other platforms have introduced their own versions of short-form video content too, with YouTube introducing shorts and Instagram with reels.

The prediction is that due to the algorithm on each site preferring short-form video content to your regular posting, these videos will be the main way to get your business noticed on social media.

In addition to the favoured algorithm to viral content on TikTok, in-app shopping with Shopify will give many stores the opportunity to convert in-app shoppers.

Keep an eye on trending audios and competitor videos within your industry and jump on the trend and make sure your video is in line for going viral.

4. Augmented Reality

A rising trend that is set to take over not only social media but the world of eCommerce in the coming years is the adoption of augmented and virtual reality.

Searches for “Social media AR” have increased a whopping 81% in the last five years.

AR and VR are set to increase in popularity and are gaining momentum on social media already with the use of filters.

Pinterest has already introduced a ‘try before you buy’ AR feature, which allows customers to try on different shades of lipstick, supporting eCommerce purchases by reducing consumer uncertainty in a product prior to purchase.

AR is a trend to keep an eye on over the coming years as it is a new piece of technology that brands can now use to gain recognition before it becomes mainstream.

Why you can’t afford to neglect your brand’s social presence in 2022

Looking ahead at the trends for social media and eCommerce in 2022 shows us the importance of your online presence.

Every brand whose name you know has an online presence and their customers are also on social media ready to discover your store.

It’s now key to the product discovery process to invest in your social media as a channel comparable to your eCommerce site.

Keeping up with trends on your social media platforms is an excellent way to gain recognition as a brand, reach potential customers and build your business online.

Once doing so you must ensure customers are directed to a site they can navigate through easily in order to complete their purchase.