4 Trends That Will Shape The Future Of Social Media Marketing

The significance of social media marketing is undeniable, with thousands of people using social media to promote both their businesses and their products every day, as well as to keep in touch with others. With so many using social media each day, changes and growth are pretty likely, meaning your business needs to be aware of what trends are out there and how they can shape the future of social media marketing.  

Add Live Videos 

Live video first started to dominate in 2016, with apps like Periscope and even Snapchat allowing individuals and businesses to showcase their stories in real time and with the likes of Facebook and Instagram incorporating live video options into their platforms, it’s likely that the popularity of live video will continue into upcoming years. With people more attracted to videos rather than text and with live video working as an effective way for people to connect with brands, it’s understandably increasing in popularity, which could shape the way social media platforms function.  

Paid Advertising 

With paid advertising getting more popular on platforms such as Google, it’s not surprise that social media platforms are looking at increasing paid advertising on their platforms too, encouraging brands to pay for ads and promoted posts on the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Due to how targeted they can be and the fact that organic content is being shown a lot less, due to algorithm changes, paid posts are seen as the way forward for brands looking to engage with audiences and also as an effective way to drive sales to a more targeted audience.  

Customer Service Improvements 

Customer service on social media has really come into it’s own in recent years, with many huge brands using Twitter and Facebook to engage with customers and deal with any issues or enquiries that may need to be resolved. These days customers don’t want to be kept on hold on the phone when they can easily tweet or direct message a question to a company. While there’s still a long way to go for some brands, who still take hours to reply, it’s likely that change is coming to how businesses use social media for customers, allowing for speedier replies and happier customers as a result. 

Content Marketing

Social media marketing is a great way for brands to make the most of content marketing, working as an effective platform for sharing brand graphics, blog articles, product photos, behind the scenes photos of your business and even to share user generated content. Social media shouldn’t all be about selling, it should be about having fun and sharing the creative things your brand is capable of. Despite a growth in social media ads, content isn’t going to be going anyway fast, so brands shouldn’t be shying away from creating fun, unique content on their social media platforms in the future.

As the year progresses it’s important that businesses keep up with the changing trends that are happening within the social media world, letting you figure out how exactly you can take these developments and make them work with your own social media strategy, letting you keep up to date with current trends, but also letting you achieve the success you really want!