The term social media is well-known and has become a part of everyone’s life. Many people spend most of their time on social media and have become a part of people’s lives. Some are so much addicted to social media in such a way that people check social media feeds as the day starts. Likewise, every business sees a lot of opportunities from social media platforms. Social media has become essential in marketers lives with the hope to connect with the target customers. But the social media platform seems to be overloaded with a lot of content, and the competition is high as well. It is indeed tough to stand out on the various social media channels till you have a clear social media marketing strategy. Every marketer should adapt to social media trends so that the business gains more visibility. You can include a digital marketing team which incorporates the latest social media trends or get in touch with the social media marketing services in Gurgaon who would guide you for it.
Latest social media trends to help a marketer to stand out in a crowd:
Focus on Ephemeral Content – One of the popular social media trends is to place ephemeral content which means that the content remains only for a shorter duration. A few examples of ephemeral content are Snapchat stories and Instagram. In the current days, people have short attention spans and the way people consume content has also changed a lot. Hence, Stories, a content format has become quite popular these days. Stories are short, addictive, and engaging as well where people would spend many hours to scroll from one story to another. So, every marketer should keep this in mind and try to produce short content in a way that attracts and engages the audience.
Focus on Niche Social Media Platforms – Many people visit the most popular social media platforms, and hence every marketer should focus their marketing strategies on such niche platforms. The two most dominated social media channels are Instagram and Facebook. However, over the years, many such niche platforms have emerged and have gained popularity. One such example is TikTok. Also, LinkedIn is yet another popular social media channel that most B2B companies prefer. Most of the gaming companies prefer Twitch channel. There are a lot of social media channels dedicated to a specific purpose and are quite popular these days. So, if you are a marketer who is looking out for many leads for your business, identify the right social media channels that work well for your business. Market on those platforms to get the right customers for your business.
Focus on Social Commerce – Many brands have used various social media platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook to market and sell the products. Social commerce has become a new retail place for brands, and this trend is likely to get stronger. This trend will include more and more social media networks presenting shoppable posts, a pro-selling feature. Going from shoppable posts to the Instagram Storefronts, social media networks are seen as a retail platform. Brands and marketers get influenced by these platforms and focus to include social commerce as part of their sales strategies.
Image Source - Finance
Focus more on Video Content – Video content is one of the most engaging content and is almost dominating the social media over the other content types. Videos are the social media content future. Almost all the online content would be video content. Hence, video content is always relevant in the social media domain. Viewers would prefer to watch a video instead to read lengthy content. Hence, for any business, it is likely to include video content as a part of your content strategy. Also, as we advance, video content would dominate the social media channel, and it would be ideal for any marketer to include video content as soon as possible.
Include Social Media Chatbot Communication – Customer service is essential for every business, and no business would prefer to spend time on generic computerized communications. Hence, chatbots are used that bring quicker resolutions for customer service. AI-powered chatbots understand the exact customer’s queries and concerns and give solutions in a short time. This benefits the business by providing 24X7 service to the customers. When AI-powered chatbots are integrated into social media pages of various brands, there will increase less human dependence, and customers get a faster response for their queries and concerns. So, every business should incorporate AI-powered chatbot to increase their customer service, thereby getting more leads for their business.
Influencer Marketing – Yet another social media trend is influencer marketing that has been on the top. Brands work together with influencers over a series of social media promotion posts. More prominent brands mostly work with micro-influencers and niche bloggers to bring out transparency in marketing efforts. Brands need to be cautious while choosing influencers. To endorse any branded services or products, influencers will post their pictures using the product. Also, influencers need to put equal efforts in brands content creation, how-to videos, photo stories, and demos. Nowadays, social media channels offer monetization options for influencers to motivate them and to secure their future.
Source - Social Media Week
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Technology – Yet another latest social media trend is the AR and VR. These technologies provide an exciting user experience. Many of the online commerce companies have switched to AR-powered shopping thereby allowing users to try-on products before their purchase. This helps customers to make the right decision before spending their money. Various platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook allows users to try on many filters to create videos, images, or share them across that includes updating profile pictures using brand logos. VR is available at a feasible price that gives a gaming experience.
Source - Vakoms Blog
Local Target – Like local SEO, the local target is getting popular and is one of the social media trends that every marketer should check. Local brands tend to connect with the target customers using geotagging on their social media stories and posts. As such, Instagram gives way for people to check for stories and posts available nearby that allows local brands to fit in. Also, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram promotions allow businesses to target a specific locality using IP addresses. In case you are a small business owner, you will look out to reach out to build your brand awareness with the local people. Get popularity from the local people and then go forward from there. During the initial stages, for any small business, it becomes a challenge to compete with big brands. For such cases, local targeting helps a lot and gets maximum ROI. Also, using a local target, businesses can cater to a specific audience by creating specific content for the target audience.
Source - Social Bakers
User-Generated Content – User-generated content is a form of content in any form that is created by social media users. Many brands have started to use user generated content so that the business can highlight the quality of service and products. User-generated content benefits in the following way:
Reduce the marketing budget.
Customers are at the forefront, and they are honoured.
Source - OptinMonster
Social Media Communities – Social media communities are on the rise and are seen as one of the latest social media trends. Here, the brands try to increase their presence by adding customers to the social groups. This enables close interaction and connects with the customers. These groups also help to get customer suggestions, have discussions, understand customer grievances, etc.
Source - Reputation Today
Conclusion
There are a lot of social media trends that can be used in your business in the coming years. It has a significant impact on users and brands. So, it is time to align your marketing strategies with the latest social media trends so that you can stay ahead among the competitors of your domain.