22% of the world’s population uses Facebook extensively for their content needs. This means, out of the 7.6 billion people in the world, 1.7 billion people are on Facebook at any given time, viewing everything from blog posts to promotional videos. This makes Facebook (and by extension social media) a large hunting ground for customers.
2018 trends that are set to take social media to the next level
Social media is king and if companies wish to be noticed, they need to get started on preparing a rock-solid social media marketing strategy. 2017 brought with it many social media trends.
2018 too seems to be heading towards a new direction in the realm of social media. Here are the top 5 social media marketing trends that you need to look out for in 2018:
1) Rise in the importance of micro-influencer marketing
Studies show that 80% of the consumer population seeks referrals while making a purchase decision, and the people they bank on for information are influencers. So far businesses have stuck to celebrity influencers for their marketing campaigns. The coming year, however, you may need to turn towards micro-influencers for increased engagement.
Micro-influencers are influencers with a small, but supercharged following. They are more believable and approachable to consumers because of their lack of superstardom. Consumers often perceive micro influencers as more realistic than their celebrity counterparts; making them great sources for audience engagement. Today, brands like Gucci are also tapping into micro-influencer marketing to attract smaller segments of consumers and to bring in a more personal touch to their branding strategies.
You can get started on your influencer marketing campaign too by using top micro-influencers near you. For example, if you’re a company based out of Philadelphia, then looking towards influencer Brendan Lowry to promote your brand is a good way to start. If you’re in the men’s wear industry, then fashion blogger Allison Graham can be your ticket to success.
2) Streaming of live, real-time content
Live content has some obvious benefits. For one, it is highly engaging- encouraging audiences to interact with brands in real-time. Second, they are easy to make and inexpensive. It stands to reason that live streaming content would remain a trending force on social media even in 2018.
If you’re releasing a new product or are interested in improving brand visibility, then choose to live-stream. This is a great way to build trust and develop a follower base. Real-time content also makes brands more personable.
3) Online hangouts for workforce development and customer acquisition
Facebook is on the cusp of releasing its latest development called Spaces, which will allow friends to hangout with each other using virtual reality. Why? Well, audiences today are choosing to dynamically interact with each other virtually, as opposed to just leaving static likes and comments.
Businesses can leverage this trend in 2018 by incorporating Google Hangouts and YouTube’s Hangout on Air in their workforce development and customer acquisition ventures. By using video conferencing and broadcast video presentations, brands can organize meet-and-greets, competitions, product launches, seminars, recruitment drives and a whole host of other engagement activities. Audiences can now interact with brand representatives and peers and remain highly-engaged.
4) Creation of personable content through AR and VR
Most marketing campaigns of the past have been very robotic. This strategy won’t work anymore. If you’d like to be in the limelight this 2018, then choosing to be more personable and more human is the way to go.
2017 saw bots taking on a more human-like role on social media. The upcoming year will see Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality at the helm of personable social media engagement. Snapchat’s VR Bitmoji (where users can post virtual bitmojis of themselves) comes to mind here. Follow suit and you’ll gain plenty of attention.
5) Stringent social media policing
It started with the Russian hacking of Facebook and now it’s come down to monitoring the functioning of Artificial Intelligence on social media. The technological developments and the technological failures of 2017 have certainly created a ripple effect, with there being a stricter policing of content posted on social media.
With more social media networks choosing to further fortify their systems and customer accounts, businesses need to be ready for some highly stringent procedures and security checks. Not only will brands be monitored for what they post on social media, but their entire backend operations may be checked for any possibility of hacking and phishing.
Bans may also soon be enforced regarding the content that can be shared on the platform, making social media marketing inflexible and challenging.
Wrapping it up
Brands which are on top of these trends will soon see their popularity flourishing and soaring on social media. It’s important that businesses keep their eyes peeled for these important industry changes, to stay atop the social media game.