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The social media landscape is constantly changing and It's imperative that brands are active on social media. These days itās almost necessary for your brands' survival, which is why your brand should be up to date with the latest social media trendsĀ as well as leveraging them.
" TEN YEARS AGO, BRANDS MAY HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS UNNECESSARY TO BUILD A PRESENCE ON SOCIAL, BUT NO BRAND CAN AFFORD TO IGNORE SOCIAL MEDIAS IMPACT TODAY "
However, whileĀ 77.6%Ā of (Small Medium Business) SMBs (up from 73.2% in 2017) say they use #socialmedia in their #marketingstrategy, only 32% of SMBs seriously invest in social media marketing. With so many platforms to manage, business owners will need to change the way they operate. Partnering with agencies like us who can develop your brand's strategy, manage and schedule your brand's posts with automation can save you time and money. Get in touch if you'd like to discuss your brand's social strategy.
If you haven't thought about your brand's social presence its safe to say you will struggle going forward. We are now ending the 18/19 financial year, which is as good as any time to review your strategy and any social media trends, so here are 7 Pretty Vicious social media trends that are on a steady incline.
1. SOCIAL LISTENING
Social platforms are listening to your potential customer's online conversations. Scary for them? yes, but thatās the world as we know it. Think of #sociallistening as an opportunity to see what consumers are saying about your brand and a way to monitor relevant keywords or hashtags used on social media. This data can then be used to adjust your marketing accordingly.
2. LIVE VIDEO
Live video content was all the rage in 2018 and continues to be a popular trend in 2019. In fact, #livevideo content is so popular that roughly 95% of brands have made it a crucial part of their 2018/19 marketing strategy. Social users love it and 82% say they would rather watch live videos than read social media posts.
When it comes to live streaming, Facebook leads the way, according to the 2018 state of social media report from Buffer. In 2017, only 31% of businesses used live videos to promote their brands but expect to see a much higher percentage by the end of the following year.
The increasing popularity of live video means your company needs to get on board with this trend right now. Businesses need to recognize how this trend can help increase engagement with social media followers. Start going live on all your distribution channels and respond to user comments in real-time. This will help you maximize your reach and generate new leads for your company.
3. CHATBOTS
Chatbots like everything else, are evolving. Now #Chatbots are being integrated with social media platforms. Businesses are using Chatbots to communicate with their customers on social media. This trend is growing at a rapid rate. In the first yearĀ of the new Facebook Messenger platform, we saw the number of Chatbots jump from 33,000 to more than 100,000. The possibilities here are seemingly endless. Depending on your business Chatbots could be a low-cost alternative to paying real customer support representatives.
4. PAID ADVERTISEMENTS
Having an active presence on social media is definitely necessary for survival, but itās not quite enough. Brands that want to take their social media activity to the next level also pay for advertisements.
Itās become very easy to set up ads to target a specific demographic and in addition to being able to reach a precise audience, you can also set and manage your budget. There are so many different ad options and your brand should be testing and finding out what works best. We anticipate that more companies will allocate a larger portion of their marketing budgets to #paidsocialmedia ads n the future.
5. USER GENERATED CONTENT
User-generated content is basically like free advertising. If you can get customers to talk about your company it's basically taking all the work out for you. Be sure to encourage them to use hashtags and posts about your brand across their social platforms. Some of their followers might not even know your brand exists and people trust recommendations from their friends and family making social media platforms the perfect distribution channel for this type of content.
6. AUGMENTED REALITY
Augmented reality uses technology to alter something that's real and a great example of this was the Pokemon GoĀ gaming app. Most social channels are now implementing augmented reality on their platforms so you need only think of all the filters.
Facebook's camera effects platform takes augmented reality to a whole new level with features such as a built-in augmented reality studio for developers to design unique animations. These filters respond to motion and interactions in real-time, even during live streams. So expect to see more of this across all platforms.
7. EPHEMERAL CONTENT ( SOCIAL STORIES)
#Ephemeralcontent is content that is short-lived, lasting for up to 24 hours before disappearing forever i.e Snapchat and Instagram stories. Short-lived content is so popular because people feel as though it is more authentic compared to traditional sponsored advertising and it's a great alternative to live video streaming, with similar effects.
One of the biggest benefits of creating social stories is the opportunity to post several times throughout a day without spamming your followers, which we know can cause people to unfollow your brand. These types of stories also create massive FOMO "fear of missing out" meaning your users will check back regularly to make sure they arenāt missing out on anything. Which is great for flash sales and other promotions of this nature.
One thing for all brands to remember however is that social platforms are constantly changing their algorithms which impacts what users see on their timelines and often prioritizing family and friends over brands. Meaning your brand canāt rely on all your social media posts to drive traffic and clicks to your website and you'll need to come up with alternative social media marketing methods. If you need assistance with your social media marketing #PrettyViciousMarketing can help you stay up to date with the latest trends and help your brand effectively reach its target audience across social channels.
To find out more, get in touch and remember you can also sign up to our newsletter to get cost-effective marketing ideas and stay on top of marketing industry trends.
Until next time...
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