The business landscape remains unpredictable and ever-changing, but this year we have been getting a much clearer picture of the post-COVID world. Here are business trends that we will continue to see as we emerge from the pandemic.
1. Social media’s influence will continue to rise.
According to Statista, in 2022 internet users in the US spend 123 minutes per day on social media. The power of social media in business marketing and e-commerce is not going anywhere and will likely increase in the coming years.
With the growing number of social media users and people spending more time on social media, businesses are investing more in social media ads. Ad spending on social media this year is projected to hit $80.6 billion in the US alone.
2. E-commerce will continue to grow.
We’ve witnessed how the e-commerce industry boomed as many consumers shifted to do most of their shopping online–one of the major changes in the way consumers shopped when the pandemic hit. Stores are now open again, but people’s shopping behaviors have changed. We were in lockdown long enough for this new way of buying to become extremely popular and sustained since the start of the pandemic.
Insider Intelligence forecasted that this year (2022), US e-commerce sales will pass $1 trillion for the first time. Before the pandemic, this milestone is something they did not expect to reach until 2024.
3. Entrepreneurship will continue to surge.
Many of the millions of people who lost or left their jobs during the pandemic became entrepreneurs. It’s been two years since the pandemic hit, and it’s also been two consecutive record-breaking years of new business creation.
A report from Intuit Quickbooks predicted this trend to continue in 2022, projecting the creation of up to 17 million new small businesses. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on how Americans want to work also continues. In the same report, it was found that an overwhelming 83% of people said that it has expedited their plans to start a business.
4. Influencer marketing will continue to rise.
Companies are not only relying on big names to promote their products and services: They are also turning to influencers, even if they do only have 1,000 followers. This is not surprising since every dollar spent on influencer marketing returns $5.78 media value.
For example, L’Oreal’s skincare brand, CeraVe, was able to reach their 2022 goals two years early partly due to micro-influencer marketing. Influencers on Tiktok turned CeraVe into a cult favorite.
The high demand for influencer marketing also gave rise to influencer marketing platforms, which makes it easy for influencers and companies to connect and make deals.
5. The “chief purpose officer” will emerge as the next major C-level role.
Everyone is asked to be their whole self in the workplace as companies try to create a more inclusive and productive environment. Societal, political and cultural issues are no longer topics we’re forced to leave at home. As ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) becomes even more important to corporate strategies, there will be a need to create a new major C-suite role–chief purpose officer.
6. More companies will explore and embrace the metaverse.
The metaverse is a new virtual world that fuses physical and digital realities (primarily accessed with a VR headset). With the emergence of metaverse into the mainstream and its ability to provide an immersive and virtual experience for all types of entertainment and projects, many businesses are considering how and when to participate.
Here are some ways in which the metaverse can shape the operations of businesses:
- Selling virtual services
- Paving the way for new currencies and transaction types (i.e. Cryptocurrencies and NFTs)
- Building new ways of customer and business relations
- Streamlining remote employee interactions
- Onboarding new employees
When planning for the months and years ahead…
Keep these predictions in mind as you strategize with your team about what’s best for your people and your business. See if anyone has any ideas to supplement your current strategy so you can evolve together and keep your business relevant to what your consumer wants as well.
For some more info on how surveying your customers can be extremely effective and lead a business founded on social media influence to a high seven-figure company, listen to my podcast interview with Sean McDevitt, co-founder of DLD Nation. Find it on my website at hilarycorna.com/podcast and subscribe to the pod to join the UNprofessional crew!
Let’s continue making the world more human as we all evolve together.
In love and respect,
Hilary Corna
