2018 is just
around the corner. Are you ready for it?
The
end of the year is quickly approaching -- the
holiday season is right around the corner and 2018 is just a
few months away. Social media gives your brand an incredible opportunity to
attract attention to your brand, provided you do it right. You either take full
advantage of the opportunity or your competitors will.
It's
a constantly changing landscape, and it's time to start laying out your social
media marketing strategy for the approaching year. In order to
be successful, you need to know what the latest trends are. Staying ahead of
the curve will put you in a much better position to capitalize as we head into
2018. Here are four social media trends you need to start focusing on
immediately.
1.
Chatbots have arrived. You need to master them.
If
you aren't familiar with chatbots, you need to learn how this technology can
greatly benefit your social media marketing. Customer service
has transitioned to phone calls and emails to social media. Consumers demand
instant replies to their questions and concerns, and they now turn to social
media any time they want something.
The
sooner you can reply, the better, as you satisfy the desire for instant
gratification. Chatbots allow you to interact instantly, which is why Facebook
Messenger bots especially are becoming so popular. Setting one up is fairly
simple and you can do it for free.
"Social
media is the hub for customer interaction, and it's becoming necessary for
every business to acknowledge this, even service based businesses. The most
attractive aspect of utilizing a chatbot is the ability to provide instant
engagement that feels personal. Chatbots are there for your customers around
the clock," says James Memije, founder of AccuServ
Heating & Air Conditioning.
2.
Social media needs to be entirely mobile-focused.
Snapchat
and Instagram are mobile-focused social media
platforms, and while Instagram is accessible via desktops,
very few users, if any, use it on anything other than their mobile devices.
Facebook makes 84 percent of its advertising
revenue from mobile -- making it clear as day that the majority
of social media users are on their phones.
"The
content you post on social media needs to feature calls-to-action that have the
mobile user in mind. They already have their phone in hand, so take advantage
of the opportunity and create content that triggers an action," advises
Catherine Jacobs, COO of McQuarrie Hunter LLP.
Facebook
was originally created for desktop use and has evolved to become extremely
user-friendly on mobile devices. The trend of mobile use dominating social
media is only going to increase, so prepare yourself now.
3.
Don't eliminate platforms because of feature similarities.
It's
no secret that Facebook and Instagram copied
Snapchat -- they all now have very similar features, but that
doesn't necessarily make them the same. From the outside looking in, they might
seem similar enough to possibly eliminate one from the mix, but each platform
has different reach abilities and different audiences.
"Snapchat
is still the more popular option among the younger demographic, while Instagram
is the Millennials social network of choice. Facebook is the option the older
demographic is comfortable with, and it now has a 'Stories' feature as well.
So, while these three all have the same feature, they are favored by different
audiences," explains Yosef Adelman, CEO of Falcon Marketing.
This
is going to continue, and while the features might become more similar across
different social platforms, you can't eliminate a social media channel based on
features alone -- doing so can possibly eliminate your ability to reach certain
demographics and audiences.
4.
Video needs to be part of your content strategy.
Everyone
knows that video content is hot right now, and
Facebook ads that feature video are attracting more engagement, which then
amplifies the organic exposure. When done right, there isn't a bigger bang for
your social media marketing dollar.
"Snapchat
is heavily video-content based, as is Instagram's Stories feature, proving how
video is the dominating content format on social media right now. Businesses
that quickly learn how to tell their story through video content will
experience much better social media success than those that ignore it,"
says Brian Gwinn, CEO of Greenview Investment Partners.
I
can already see brands and entrepreneurs start to get more involved with
Snapchat, myself included. They are becoming more influencer-friendly,
which will contribute to introducing it to a much larger group of users outside
of the younger demographic.