Well, going with the season. Autumn is, and so is Social media. With over 2.5 Billion active social media users, social media is definitely the ‘trending media’! Did you come across something amazing on Facebook and shared with 10 of your friends? Well, be assured that you have now become a part of the virality of the information which you recently shared because that is what is trending.
Our attention span has come down to 8 seconds, each day user’s scroll through 300 feet of content, allowing brands a very small window to grab the user’s attention. With more than 1.3 million pieces of content being shared on Facebook alone, we are probably in for a bigger “ride” for social media marketing in these last few years of this decade.
So how do you make your brand stand out? What are the trends that you must follow to bring impact on your social media strategy? To find out, get reading.
Social Media: Next Big Thing in Marketing
For many Digital Marketers, social media marketing is the ‘next big thing’. According to Hubspot, 92% of marketers in 2019 claimed that social media marketing was important for their business, with 80% indicating their efforts increased traffic to their websites. And according to Social Media Examiner, 97% of marketers are currently participating in social media—but 85% of participants aren’t sure what social media tools are the best to use. Thus clearly placing Social Media as a huge potential to increase sales. But not all are statistics are rosy, research has also revealed that a higher percentage of customers are often facing bad social media experience. Thus as a business owner, you must not take chances and maximise the impact of social media marketing campaigns for your brand. Here are few trends of social media marketing that we have compiled for you to give you a strong grip.
Set aside the social media Budget. With free organic reach slowing down, there is a rise in the Cost of Social Advertising. It’s seen that spending of Facebook has increased over last two years, which has led to better reach out and leads conversion for businesses. More brands are realizing that social media marketing provides an extremely cost-effective way to reach a targeted group of consumers which is driving the competition for results with social advertising. So plan your advertising budget and stay ahead of your competitors.
The ephemeral engagement. Give your users a time-bound experience. As you limit the time for marketing campaigns to 24 hours, a curiosity is built up around your brand. Ephemeral content, when introduced by Snapchat, created a meteoric change in the marketing scenario. Teasers with time-limits create an inquisitiveness that is volcanic. Not just teasers but also exciting and high-quality content which disappears in 24 hours is enough reason to create a hustle among the Users to check out their favourite brand. Start your ephemeral strategy right now!
Let the Video take charge. Videos on social media generate 1,200% more shares than text and images combined. In fact, people can recall 95% of a message when they see it in a video and only 10% when they see it in the text. The social media video content gradually grew in 2017, and it is projected that in 2018 video will prove to be a very important part of your content strategy. Also, It is been estimated that by 2019, the video will account for 80% of all consumer internet traffic. Thus it’s time we take Video seriously.
Get the list of Influencers today! Since influencer marketing is still popular, carry forward your brand messaging with influencers. Studies show that 74% of people look into their networks on social media for advice on buying decisions and 40% of people buy things based on seeing it being promoted by an influencer on Instagram or Twitter. So with the right influencers and a good partnership agreement in place, help your brand to create some noise!
Can Chatbots be more human? A rising question which is getting more affirmative answers. Chatbots are no longer the robotic and clunky machines, they are now being adapted to interact with their audience in a more personalised way. This is an upcoming marketing potential and more research is being conducted to make machines that can create stories and are genuine and relatable.
A reality closer to Augmented Reality. Although AR failed with Google glasses, apps like Snapchat gave it a new life, face filters are the first to come to mind. But AR moved beyond Snapchat too, Pokémon Go gave AR a whole new playground to play. So what is the future of AR in social media? A significant change has been brought it by AR in the way we communicate, create and share through social media. Brands like Apple launched iPhone 8 and iPhone X with new augmented reality experiences, therefore creating opportunities for social media channels to integrate AR in new ways. Similarly, allowing brands to create AR based projections showcase their products and services and increase client & consumer conversations.
