Social media strategies keep changing. What worked in the past may play a small role in the future due to emerging trends, ideas and technologies. There was a time when THE text was the gateway to social media communication, but this is soon been replaced by videos and virtual reality.
To stay ahead, you need to capitalize on emerging social media trends and implement them before your competitors.
Video content
The future of social media is geared towards video. It is estimated that in the coming years over 80 percent of the content that we consume will be video. This tread can be seen in live videos introduced in mediums like Facebook and Instagram. Videos have the benefit of improving interaction with viewers. Brands that engage viewers through live videos enjoy increased brand visibility and trust online. By having an Instagram auto comment your new post, your readers can continue interacting with you even when you are not available. Social media will need to explore new channels that are making head waves like “house party.”
Micro-influencers
As digital influencers have taken the internet space by stomp, their fees have skyrocketed, and this has led to the rise of micro-influencers. Micro-influencers often have less than 10,000 followers, but they tend to dominate their niche. They can be very effective when you want to promote your brand cost-effectively while raising your ROI. These influencers tend to be very effective because they tend to be experts in their industry and have faithful followers.
Personalized content
Social marketers have a lot of data at their disposal. We are going to see more personalized content directed at individual consumers. We have seen brands using this data to promote and suggest products that might interest individual consumers. Amazon will for example offer suggestions for similar items based on your search history. Personalized marketing will reduce costs and improve customer relationships. The only danger is your data finding the wrong hands.
AI chatbots
Artificial Intelligence chatbots are going to replace humans when it comes to customer care. Chat botdo not need to take a break from work and can be deployed 24/7. They also do not suffer from negative emotions and tiredness like humans which make them excellent companions for customer care. AI will create a human feel when it comes to interaction with chatbots – you will actually not realize that you are interacting with one.
Virtual reality
VR/Augmented reality will change how brands communicate with their customers. Virtual reality will enable customers to view 3D images that will tell a brand story. Virtual reality is currently being used in gaming,but we are going to see this extending to other areas like education and marketing.
Products to carter for generation Z
This is a generation that was born in the age of gadgets – they are tech-savvy and purchase most of their products online. Retailers and online stores have started taking an interest in Gen Z because of their immense purchasing power. Gen Z interacts with brands differently from the baby-boomers. It is rare for them to visit physical stores preferring to do their shopping at the comfort of their gadgets. Gen Z also do not learn about products through traditional marketing means like print and media preferring to learn about brands online from friends. Being surroundedby technology they offer a perfect opportunity for social marketers to build brand awareness and visibility.
Rebuilding trust
There are many fake profiles online,and the risk of getting scammed online is very high. Facebook was accused of sharing crucial customer data with parties during the Cambridge Analytica scandal,and recently there reports that Quota accounts were hacked. This scandals and more have eroded the trust that brands had built online. Consumers are increasingly getting worried about the privacy of their data online.
Brands have to start by winning trust back. They have to get rid of any spam and duplicate social media accounts that can be used to portray their brands negatively. To do this brands need to create an open and transparent online platform where customers feel safe sharing private information.
Creating content based on stories
Readers will often ignore content that has too much advertising. If you want consumers to read your content, then you need to shift your strategy to more of telling stories. Stories that evoke emotions are easy to read and lead to more shares.
They capture experiences, which are easy to relate with. You can include images to your stories but do not forget to customize them for the mobile view – this is going to be the main way through which consumers interact with brands online. If you have not experimented with stories, then it is time you tried out this content style that is going to dominate social media platforms. Those stories that are emphatic in natureand that jolt the imagination to action have better chances of passing the message than those about the company’s history.
Paid Ads
These have been dominantthroughout the year,but we are going to see an increasing number of companies increasing their social media budgets to incorporate ads. Budgets are expected to increase by up to 30 percent with Facebook, Instagram and YouTube taking the bulk of the budget. To increase their ROI marketing managers will hire social media marketers who are creative and can interact with the audience. Some brands are creating teams in-house who are familiar with motion graphics and animations. Others have chosen to outsource the service to third-party content creators who are eager to prove their worth. The social media landscape is going to become more competitive as we move forward.
Conclusion
Social media marketing is going to influence how brands communicate with their customers. There is an increasing use of mobile phones to do transactions. This is being led by Generation Z who aretech-savvy and prefer interacting with their brands online through friends and digital influencers. Content will change from being largely text-based to video. Virtual reality will be at the forefront in bringing this change.