Listed below are the 10 most significant Facebook movements in recent memory.
1. There’s a new kid in town, and his name is the Metaverse.
Suppose now that it is time to return to the classroom. Facebook strolls in to class late, sporting a new ‘do and some flashy, futuristic footwear. They spent the summer at a retreat that changed their lives, and now they preach the benefits of experiencing the world in three dimensions. Oh, and from now on you can call them “Meta.”
If Facebook’s evolution into Meta were a bad teen drama, that’s what it would look like. Mark Zuckerberg has shifted his attention to the virtual world (metaverse), and the company’s name change reflects that. The CEO of Meta explains the benefits of this innovative form of communication, which takes place in a virtual 3D augmented reality world and opens up new possibilities for socialising, gaming, exercising, learning, and more.
A November 2021 Statista survey of American adults found that 68% were “not at all interested” in Facebook’s metaverse project, but hey, transitions are tough. We’re watching what happens next with Facebook’s $10 billion investment in Meta. It’s hard to tell if this new kid is cool or not so far.
2. The reels are the most profitable part of the game
Facebook’s new video format, Reels, is “the fastest-growing content format by far,” the company claims, and it’s now available in 150 countries.
Stories, the Watch tab, the top of the home feed, and Facebook’s news feed all feature reels as recommendations. These short, captivating videos aren’t just a great way to waste an afternoon; they also help content creators monetize their channels.
Overlay ads (so long as they are part of Facebook’s in-stream ads programme) allow creators to make money off of their public Reels. Overlay ads play before Reels, allowing viewers to take in both the ad and the full Reel at once. Currently, Facebook’s Overlay ads come in two varieties: banner ads (which appear along the bottom) and sticker ads (which the creator can place in a stationary spot on the post—just like a sticker).
It’s more profitable for the creator of a monetized Reel if more people watch it and interact with it. The maximum monthly income on Facebook is $35,000. Well, it wasn’t that bad.
Spending too much or too little on Facebook ads? These average costs for Facebook ads in 2021 will give you a sense of what you can expect to spend.
3. It’s much simpler and more convenient to manage things in groups.
In 2022, brands that have adopted Facebook Groups as part of their marketing strategies have already received some good news. In 2019, the Groups tab was redesigned, providing easy access to Groups for all users (and serving as a gentle reminder that you can safely leave “Office Birthday Gift for Frank 2014” behind, as it was just too dramatic). Groups as a method of communication have since gained increased priority on the platform.
With the goal of “helping Facebook Group admins keep their Groups safe and healthy, reducing misinformation, and making it easier for them to manage and grow their Groups with relevant audiences,” Facebook announced new tools in March 2022.
These capabilities allow administrators to do things like temporarily remove users from Groups and automatically delete their posts.
The announcement also included the addition of QR codes to Groups, which when scanned take the user to the Group’s About page, and the ability for Group admins to send out email invitations to new members. As a business owner, Facebook groups are a fantastic tool (more on that here).
4. Facebook has become an important resource for consumers looking to learn more about products and services.
According to the Hootsuite 2022 trend report, social networks are becoming increasingly important as a primary information source for internet users aged 16–24 around the world who are investigating brands. This means that instead of visiting a business’s website to learn about the services they pro
vide and their prices, Generation Z typically turns to their various social media platforms.
If you’re wondering why that matters, let me explain. By 2026, it is expected that Generation Z will make up the largest segment of the American consumer market. Brands need to maintain an active and current social media presence to attract this demographic. As such, it’s important to set up a Facebook business page (here’s how to do that) and make sure it’s as informative and user-friendly as possible.
5. Messenger has become the de facto method of communication for online purchases.
These days, consumers aren’t just looking to social media for brand insights — they’re also using it as a quick communication tool. The days of wondering if the factory conditions are also very cool and emailing info@verycoolpants.com are over. As an alternative, you could send them a private message.
Facebook reports that customers who are able to directly contact a company via the platform have a higher opinion of that company. Instead of sending an email or visiting a store, customers can have a timely and personable conversation with a company through messaging, which also aligns the company more with the “social” world than the “business” world, since you are using the same platform you use to chat casually with friends.
And while Messenger is great for customers, it can be a pain for businesses if they aren’t careful to monitor their direct messages.
That’s something that programmes like Hootsuite can help with. The Hootsuite Inbox centralises all Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter comments and direct messages for your business. Hootsuite collects customer questions so you don’t have to sift through your profile or use Facebook’s in-built inbox to find the information you need.
6. Facebook Shops’ popularity among businesses (and consumers) continues to grow.
Since Facebook Shops appeared in 2020 (during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many brick-and-mortar stores around the world closed), companies of all sizes have had a reliable way to sell on the social media site. In June of 2021, there were 250 million stores using Facebook Shops, serving the one million monthly users.
Therefore, Facebook’s social commerce features are expanding. It has been reported that sales in Facebook Shops are up by as much as 66% compared to sales on the brands’ own websites. Thanks to Facebook Pay, you can use the platform to receive and make payments for goods and services, as well as donate to friends and causes.
7. Live-in-store purchases are increasing in popularity.
Facebook’s Live Shopping satisfies the needs of both the consumer and the retailer by allowing for direct interaction between the two parties and the live demonstration of the goods or services being offered. Companies are capitalising on the fact that people who prefer to experience content in real time use Facebook, the second most popular platform in the world for this type of content.
Live Shopping not only makes advertisements more interesting than the average commercial, but it also boosts a company’s credibility. Humanizing your account and putting a face to your brand increases your chances of getting noticed (it might be ironic, but the very virtual world of social media always values content that comes across as very real).
You can’t get much more open (or vulnerable!) than live video content, and that’s why it works so well to promote your products.
8. Despite the end of the pandemic, Facebook Live has maintained its popularity.
Of course, Facebook Live isn’t limited to commercial purposes. This was especially helpful during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, as users were able to safely broadcast concerts, news, and other events via the platform’s live video features without risking their health. However, despite the fact that the situation with the pandemic has improved and real-world events have resumed, many people still prefer to watch live, online videos on Facebook.
In terms of live video streaming, Facebook ranked second in November 2021, behind only YouTube (obviously, the mighty and well-established Youtube has quite the grip on video watchers everywhere).
9. When it comes to “harmful content,” Facebook is getting serious.
Trolls, bots, and that aunt you avoid at Thanksgiving dinner are just some of the negative aspects of the internet that can dampen the positive aspects of social media. (Whoa, I wouldn’t have guessed a Minion meme could cause so much trouble?)
The internet is notoriously hard to police, but Facebook claims that their “improved and expanded proactive detection technologies” have helped reduce the amount of harmful content shared on the platform in some regions.
The company removed 1.2 billion spam messages and 4 million drug-related messages in the fourth quarter of 2021, up from 2.7 million in the third quarter (up from 777 million).
Additionally, Facebook reported a negligible decline in hate speech between 2021 and the previous year (don’t let the extreme appearance of this graph fool you; the scale is very small). Improved personalization, a more robust optimizer for data integrity, and the Meta-AI Few Shot learner are all contributing factors.
Despite appearances, the company’s policy on offensive content is not foolproof. As an example, Facebook says its “smart” technology detected a large volume of content in 2020 related to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to Facebook’s report from 2021, the social media giant is “working to improve the accuracy of enforcement on health content, including content related to breast cancer and surgeries,” and that “significantly less overenforcement” occurred during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 2020.
10. You can use Facebook’s Marketplace to shop regionally.
There are a lot of people who could see your Facebook marketplace ad in January 2022: 562.1 million to be exact. While many people use Marketplace to unload unwanted household items or ill-fitting clothes from a regrettable online shopping binge, the service is also useful for U.S. businesses selling brand-new goods (and can be used for auto and real estate in certain countries).
So, how does Facebook Shops differ from Facebook Marketplace? It all comes down to location, as most Marketplace searches are conducted by buyers looking for localised inventory. In most marketplace sales, the buyer must pick up the item in person, which is not the case with most Facebook Shops.
Put another way, Marketplace is a great place to look for local goods.
As a whole, the 2022 Facebook trends revolve around social commerce and social responsibility, with the ultimate goal of improving the app’s usability and fostering a more positive user experience for everyone. AI development has resulted in a virtual environment that increasingly resembles the real thing. This is getting extremely meta.