4 Social Media Trends to anticipate in 2018

Social media is one of the, if not best route when it comes to connecting with an audience.
Now days more and more brands use an array of social channels to build a following, effectively distributing content and to generate better engagement.
There is a wealth of possibilities and platforms to use social media to increase brand loyalty. There is built-in analytics which allow you to track your performance and improve your efforts.

In order to plan for ways to strengthen your social media game in the coming year, here are some trends you need to look out for –

Personalized Content will be in demand

  • According to market research, 84% of millennials do not trust traditional advertising
  • Therefore, it makes no sense to write content that is from selling point of view. If it is a brand you love and are trying to interact, the last you need is generic content.
  • Personalization of the content for audience is become a major trend not only in content marketing but social media as well.
  • As social media platforms evolve, their analytical tools and business specific features will glean more information and become more important to brands.
  • This will assist marketers to create better personalized content.
  • Some ways to get more personalized content is knowing your target market and making a user persona’s gender, age, education level, occupation, location etc.
  • Then use a story-telling approach and tell the story in manner that your audience can understand and relate to best.

Short lived content increased popularity

Both snapchat and Instagram stories feature short lived content and video content. It is the best way to reach younger millennials and generation z. This type of content only lasts for 24 hours before getting deleted. This may sound frightening to marketers but offers many advantages such –
  • According to a market research report, the short lived content is thought to be more authentic than spam posts or sponsored ads that push customers.
  • As the content is lost quickly, it raises the fear of FOMO [ Fear of missing out]. It results into audiences taking fast action
  • Ephemeral content catches audience attention, which is one of the most prized commodity on the net today
  • Content can be accessed easily through QR codes.

Platform overlaps will push to be more selective

Just as multiple platforms offer single service, it is necessary for marketers to focus on a platform that speaks with their audience the most and gives them a wider reach.
For e.g. according to a Digital market research report, Instagram influencers see up to 10% of audience number on Instagram stories everyday which is considerably more than Snapchat [ which is more popular among younger users] Therefore, marketers must analyze and consider which platform gives them more relevant audience.

Image recognition and AI will take center stage

The social media trend is rapidly moving towards visual content. With several tools that use artificial intelligence algorithms for image recognition, the brands have the power to search pictures related to their brands on social media.
Marketers will quickly need to capitalize on the visual content trends more, as it undeniable that more people are likely to click on content that contains image.
Furthermore, with AI, it is easier for marketers to find image that do not have keyword text in them.
A lot of changes, like the above mentioned changes are anticipated in the social media arena in 2018, which means the role of social media marketers is also expected to expand and transform.

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