My brain is like peanut butter at the moment, I feel so tired as this year draws to a close.

Maybe it's the wife kicking me in the back from the constant snoring or maybe it’s just been a hell of a ride so far from a business perspective. But for the first time in a long time, I’ve felt old.

With all that’s going on in the world.

But one thing that has really struck me (if it wasn't already evident). Is that the push to digital is over.

We conduct zoom calls all day everyday. Without a second thought. in fact Zoom’s valuation exceeded $100 billion during the pandemic, a 383 percent increase on its value in January 2020. Which is flipping bonkers. In 2022 Simon Kemp says that in 2022 the world will spend over 4 trillion hours using social media.

That's 457 million years!

Whether we like it or not digital and doing business remotely is here to stay.

It’s knocked at the door, with a bottle of whisky in hand and its now curled up by the fire with its slippers on.

Which excites me working in this space and being on a platform where I dedicated my time and energy in growing an audience. And I absolutely, without hesitation. Know it was the right decision to make.

So where does that leave Linkedin, Social Media and us in 2022?

Well read on dear friends as I spin a Christmas Carol.

These are my predictions for where we are headed in 2022 and I’ll break it down like the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Linkedin used to be a resume holding site. You’d go there upload a tired old CV, in the vain hopes that someone would see it and employ you. Then something strange happened.

Along came this thing called social media and slowly Linkedin became more social.

People started talking to each other, having conversations. The tiny first teetering steps of social walking into the present.

The Ghost of Christmas Present

Which got us to here, present day.

Humans building relationships at scale through context, content, consistency, conversation and conversion.

Where the creator economy is stronger than ever. In fact Linkedin's new creator accelerator programme which just debuted in the US means they now have a stronger focus on bringing thought leaders and creatives into the fold to produce content.

Forbes said this in 2020 

There has been a 50% increase in content shared on LinkedIn year over year. Over 6.3 million people attended virtual events on the platform, making it quite relevant to the new all-virtual world of work.

More humanised content is being shared on the platform than ever before (bravo I say, behind each of our business personas is a real human, with dreams and desires just like me).

The shift in being able to really have your voice heard and own your personal brand on the platform has never been easier to implement. 

You just need to start and put in the work, but across a team that can be tricky. It takes consistent effort to enact real organisational change, but there is a way!

The Ghost of Christmas Future 

So as we head into the murkey mists of the future, I predict the following.

Teams leveraging their personal brand to become thought leaders and influencers in their space. 

Diverse teams, all talking about their expertise and adding real value to the audiences they are growing, all feeding back into that corporate brand, expanding the core values of the organization and making it more human.

More colour, more pizzazz and more presence than ever before.

Artists, marketeers, engineers, programmers and CEO’s all sharing their unique take on the world through a business and personal lens.

And more human = more revenue!

A bigger push towards video across the platform as more creatives start to realise what a great platform it is to grow an audience and they start to experiment and push the medium even more.

And hopefully more live shows with more creative angles to the content.

The fact only 1% of a 740 million user base creates content still blows my mind!

Kinsta says

In 2019, LinkedIn sessions increased 25 percent year-over-year, with 358 billion feed updates viewed. but only 3 million users (out of the 740 million) share content on a weekly basis. This means that only about 1% of LinkedIn’s 260 million monthly users share posts, and those 3 million or so users net the 9 billion impressions.

We'll see artists, gamers and content creators (and most importantly business owners) start to flood our feeds and I for one can't wait.

As creatives start to show what they can do in our feeds, proving that business doesn't have to mean boring.

Maybe a move to virtual event spaces as well? (with VR). Who knows.

And a real implementation of a marketplace where people can easily purchase services from you through blockchain integration (wouldn't that be AMAZING).

The future is exciting and unlike Scrooge, it’s one I’m really looking forward to!

As Linkedin become THE business social media platform of choice for businesses that want to grow diverse teams of influencers.

See you in 2022, it’s been a heck of a year and it's hurtled past like a freight train.

But this polar express is slowing down and is starting to pull up to the station.

The real question is.

Do you have a ticket? Because the next stop. May just surprise you, and looking forward to that future has never made me feel more young.

See you in 2022!

Stay safe and spend time with those loved ones 🥰