Taking advantage of the following social media trends is sure to help you stand out and increase your brand visibility, market reach, and user engagement.

Short video and a TikTok

Out of all the social media platforms, YouTube is the leader in online video content, with 92% of marketers viewing it as a vital part of their marketing strategy. Interestingly, TikTok has thrived. Short, entertaining videos are increasingly popular among younger audiences. Generation Z is leading this trend, but other generations have followed suit. In a bid to heighten interest in video, Instagram introduced the 15-second video format as Instagram Reels.

Authenticity is the key

This shift in content is evident in the popularity of TikTok and BeReal–two platforms that allow people to share unfiltered, unedited videos with each other.

Micro-influencers and their effectiveness

This year, more than ever before, brands will be working with influencers to reach their target audience. Despite its effectiveness as a social marketing strategy, influencer marketing can be costly.

Social commerce on the rise

Facebook and Instagram were among the first social media platforms to introduce shopping capabilities. The growth of online retail and the popularity of social media makes it likely that Facebook’s Shop feature and Instagram’s Storefront will become very popular.

Social media networks for customer service

As businesses adopted social media networks, they realized the channels were more useful than they initially anticipated. As social media has become a vital part of commerce, it makes sense that these platforms would also be used to provide customer service. You can use Facebook’s features like a common inbox, automated responses, and chatbots to help out your business.

Social media trends change rapidly, in ways that would have been hard to predict just a handful of years ago. That said, here are 5 trends that we think will continue to take shape over the next several years.