Episode 40 - 2022 Social Media Predictions for Public Sector

It’s that time of year to share my social media predictions for 2022. But my predictions are specifically aimed at those of you working in government and public sector.

Coming up in today’s show.

• > Are you a social media savvy public sector pro? Find out!
• > 10 social media predictions for public sector 
• > We end the year looking at the state of social media with Andy Lambert of ContentCal as we bring you the final Social Media News Show of 2021
• > Gear up for your own 2022 social media strategy with my free webinar in January

Joanne’s Column: Are you a savvy social media pro?

Three traits of a great social media manager

Here’s what a savvy social media pro will know and act upon. 

1. Strategy: they will be very clear on the ‘why’ of social media for their organisation and they will have a current strategy which acts as a roadmap for the year ahead
2. Data: they are tuned into the metrics of social media and understand why they are important 
3. Content Planning: they are forward planning content that is linked to organisational prioritise and aligns with audience needs, aspirations, challenges or hopes.

Consulting: 10 Social Media Predictions for Public Sector in 2022

#1 Real Talk on Reels

#2 Time to Tiktok

#3 Community is King

#4 Messaging is a Must

#5 Paid Advertising Pays Off

#6 Collaboration with Influencers 

#7 Social Scales Up  

#8 Content Marketing Planning

#9 The Rise of the Show

#10 Social Audio

The State of Social Media at the end of 2021

I thought it apt that we finish this episode by looking at the current state of social media as we plan ahead for 2022. 

So in the last Social Media News Show of the year with Andy Lambert we discuss what’s relevant for public sector marketing pros. Here’s my top takeaways.

• Link posts getting less engagement: while this is true on Facebook, I’m a huge fan of link posts as a contributor to your website, so don’t just look at Facebook engagement alone. Go ahead and check Google Analytics > Acquisition > Social Media and find out how much traffic Facebook is bringing you on a monthly basis.
• Carousels out-performs all other post types on Instagram Grid: I’m a huge fan of carousels and you should be too as they are commanding great reach and engagement on the Instagram Grid.
• Stories on Instagram get less engagement that Grid Posts: Don’t ditch Stories because of this latest research, Stories are great to personalise and provide more behind the scenes content. Think about Stories as providing context to Grid posts. 
• How many hashtags on Instagram? This is the perennial question, right?! New research from Later analysis 18 million Instagram posts found that an average of 20 hashtags on Insta posts got most reach. 
• Pay to Play Trends: Paid ads on social trends show that ad spend is up 43% year-on-year, however the cost per click is not coming down! Dig deeper my friends. 
• Reels Ads Outperform TikTok Ads: A savvy marketer did an A/B test spending $1,000 on 
• New ‘Add Yours’ Sticker on Instagram: We know user-generated content is a great way to increase reach and engagement and brand trust on Instagram, so this new Sticker from Instagram is a brilliant way to capitalise on this tactic. Public sector could use it to promote a campaign, for example, Healthy Ireland might post a photo from a Park Run, and ask followers to ‘Add Yours’. 
• The Creator Economy: All social networks are now offering creators monitisation of their content as they seek to increase time spent on their social networks. This gives public sector organisations more chance of attention if you are right there with the right content. I know monetisation is not relevant, but time spent on social networks by citizens is. 
• Facebook Groups get Sub-Groups: Going niche in 2022 is a good strategy and Facebook recognises this as they launch sub-groups within Facebook Groups. This could be used by a local Council to segment their Departments. Will you now consider Facebook Groups?
• Posting from Facebook to Instagram is now possible: Perhaps long-awaited by some, we can now post from Facebook to Instagram via Creator Studio. 
• Sharing Instagram Links on Twitter: The polar opposite social networks are now becoming social media friends with news that Instagram links on Twitter will show a link preview and be more accessible. 
• Text to Speech on Reels: Captions are now available to add on Reels. 
• Improved Twitter Analytics: I love Twitter Analytics but they’ve only gone and improved the data we can glean from them. 
• TikTok breaks 1.5 million monthly active users: It’s time to TikTok folks! In 2021 we watched to see how this curve would go for TikTok and it is showing no signs of abating. 

YouTube introduces ‘New To You’: Much like the For You Page on TikTok, YouTube is following TikTok’s lead with a new feature that pushes videos to us based on our previous video consumption habits.

Resources

FREE SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS FOR 2022 WEBINAR

Two years on from COVID-19 how has social media transformed? What strategies do you need to put in place this year?

Register here

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Thank You for Listening!

Thank you for tuning into episode #39 to find out the number one digital strategy for the next 10 years. If you are a regular listener, please rate and review our show.

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