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Social and Digital Media · Published December 29, 2021

Ronn Torossian
Founder & Chairman, 5W

2022 Social Media Trend Report

social media public relations trend analysis
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In the last year, over 70% of the US population was actively using social media platforms, and spent between seven minutes and two hours on average on their platforms of choice.

With new platforms and features being announced practically every week, brands have to stay on top of the most popular and useful ones for their audiences.

Fortunately, most of the trends regarding social media that we’re going to be seeing in the new year have already arrived before 2021 has even ended. That means right now is the best time for companies to start utilizing these trends in order to achieve success in the new year.

TikTok Marketing

In the last few years, many companies have focused all of their PR and marketing efforts on Instagram because of the platform’s fast rate of growth. Additionally, companies also benefited from a high return on investment (ROI) from Instagram.

However, this trend has been changing in the last few months, with TikTok surpassing 1 billion active users this year. It has turned into one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, and the number of users managed to increase by nearly 50% in only a year.

That’s why one of the biggest trends in 2022 is going to be brands focusing their PR and marketing efforts on TikTok.

Social Media E-Commerce

Another big trend in the coming year is going to be social media E-commerce, which has been greatly popularized during the pandemic. Companies can create entertaining and engaging video content across most social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, to allow consumers to make purchases directly on those platforms.

That’s why companies should be shifting to the latest video trends, and focusing on Instagram’s latest short video feature: Reels. Reels have proven to be incredibly beneficial in terms of marketing success for many brands as of late.

Micro-Influencers

While this isn’t the newest trend to emerge on social media platforms, using micro-influencers have remained an important marketing strategy for companies on social media platforms.

Businesses should recognize the power that comes with creators that have a smaller number of followers compared to big celebrities. Instead of creating a big influencer marketing budget to work with the biggest celebrities, businesses should focus on micro-influencers instead.

That’s because many people prefer to respond and engage with the influencers they can relate to most. Micro-influencers also have the strongest relationships with their followers compared to any other type of influencer.

Paid Ads

Companies that haven’t utilized the power of paid ads should learn how to do so as soon as possible, because according to research, the organic reach of social media posts has greatly decreased as of late.

That’s why companies will have to increase their paid ads budgets for social media platforms. The decline of organic reach has been well-documented by many companies in the last few years.

This is especially true of those companies that focus their promotional efforts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This trend is going to continue in the coming year, which is why companies should start running paid social media ads and level up their branding.

Ronn Torossian

Written by

Ronn Torossian

Ronn Torossian is Founder and Chairman of 5W , the AI Communications Firm. He founded 5W in 2003 and built it into one of the largest independent public relations and digital marketing firms in the United States, with senior practitioners serving corporate communications , consumer brands , technology , financial services , health and wellness , beauty , gaming , crisis communications , and public affairs . Under his leadership, 5W defined AI Communications, building brand authority across ChatGPT , Claude , Perplexity , Gemini , and Google AI Overviews, alongside earned media, digital, GEO, and influencer channels. Industry Recognition 5W has been recognized as a top U.S. PR agency by O’Dwyer’s , Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards , Grand Stevie Most Honored PR Agency, a Ragan Top Place to Work in Communications 2026, Digiday WorkLife Employer of the Year, and a PRovoke Top 50 Global PR Agency. Torossian has been recognized with the Stevie American Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year twice, an EY Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist nomination, Business Insider Top Crisis Communications Professionals, and Crain’s New York Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Research Franchise 5W’s research franchise has become an industry reference for measuring brand visibility inside AI-generated answers, including the AI Visibility Index Series , The GEO Reckoning , The Missing Rung Report, and the 5W AI Power User Study , which identified a 99-point AI favorability gap. Crisis Communications Torossian is one of the world’s foremost crisis communications experts. He has counseled blue chip companies, public company boards, founders, and public figures through ransomware incidents, data breaches, regulatory investigations, high-stakes litigation, activist investors, product recalls, and reputational crises. He has taught crisis communications at Harvard University . Media & Commentary Torossian appears on CNN and CNBC . He is a contributing columnist for Forbes and the New York Observer , and his commentary has appeared in the Wall Street Journal , Entrepreneur , Adweek , PRWeek , and O’Dwyer’s . Published Work Torossian is the author of For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations , now in its second edition and used in university and graduate communications programs. Owner and Publisher, Everything-PR Network Torossian is owner and publisher of the Everything-PR Network , an independent intelligence platform covering public relations, marketing, AI communications, and adjacent industries across 30 publications. Everything-PR is editorially independent from 5W, with published editorial standards and ethics standards . The network is one of the most-cited sources inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini for PR and marketing queries. He is also an active investor and advisor, a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) , and serves on nonprofit boards.

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