Social media is an ever-evolving world where the same laws of attraction never prevail for too long. As new players venture into the field and their older counterparts rush to introduce new innovations, the result is a constantly changing environment on most platforms. Brands thus need to watch keenly and take note of new developments while investing resources to keep up with the emerging social media marketing trends.
Instant Updates
As the obsession with instant updates and live streams continues to grow exponentially, more and more apps are now battling to catch the audience’s full attention. This also means that more users are now seeking channels that satisfy their crave for full immersion into an event. Though old school platforms still do a good job of keeping their users constantly updated, they struggle to provide live content that streaming apps offer.
It’s thus the high time for those who haven’t jumped on the visual marketing bandwagon to do so. A marketer needs to show the human face of their brand and come up with ways to provide instant updates. This could involve real time Q&A sessions, exclusive sneak peeks into upcoming products, short webinars and tutorials as well as showcasing their staff at work with behind-the-scene snaps.
Social Networks are Morphing into Search engines
While conventional search engines are still being used to find information, some opt to use social media sites for this purpose. About 80% of consumers now pay more attention to online reviews, feedback and comments posted by others. The trend could also be attributed to the mainstream shift from text-heavy search results to visual content like videos and images. These are more likely to be found on social media.
While SEO isn’t going anywhere, it’s crucial that brands now start to think of ways to increase their visibility on both social media and search engines as well. Various platforms can be used to offer special discounts, channel-specific promotional codes and feature actual testimonials and reviews from users. A brand also needs to utilize social media influencers in a bid to boost their online visibility.
Social Shopping
For years, marketing experts have been debating on social commerce, which is the act of trading via social networks. If recent developments are anything to go by, this trend will likely increase in the near future. Most platforms now have buy buttons that allow users to shop without having to use third party websites.
In the past, there has been some traditionally wired brands have been reluctant to take social media marketing seriously, with some even viewing it as a distraction from their bottom line. This needs to change. A brand now needs to give its customers a reason to talk about their products on social media in order to influence others into making purchases.
Leave a Reply