Top 10 Social Media Marketing Trends

Each year, the social media marketing trends change. As new developments come into play, platforms become more or less popular, and users engage in different ways.  It isn’t adequate to stick to the same social media strategy year after year. The year 2018 is no different.

If you’re looking to revolutionize your social media strategy to fit what is popular in 2018, there are few things you will need to take into account. Here are 10 of the biggest social media marketing trends for this year:

Trend 1. Live Streaming

The desire to live stream to friends, family, followers, and customers is continuing to grow. While things may have started with platforms like Snapchat or Periscope, bigger social media names have gotten in on the action. Facebook’s “live” broadcasting option is quickly gaining popularity, with companies and industry leaders using the new platform to provide everything from quick updates to full webinars.

If you’re already using live streaming for things like webinars, consider doing them on a social media platform. Live Streaming could be an easy way to draw in more customers and potential clients.

Trend 2. Short, Sharable Content

With more and more blogs popping up and more items being shared, individuals aren’t going to spend their time reading a lengthy article. Instead, they want something they can easily breeze through and share with their friends and family if they enjoy it. That means companies and businesses need to be considering the length of their posts as well as the ability to share the content.

Trend 3. Influencer Marketing

The fact of the matter is that potential customers trust the people on social media that they look up to more than they would a company. When an influencer posts about a product or endorses a company, the individual is more likely to make a purchase than they would if the post had just come from the business itself. As the influencer marketing trend continues to grow, so does the need for influencer marketing.

Trend 4. Video Services

The transition from text-based posts and articles to video-style content is continuing to gain popularity. We see an increase in video services from the major social media platforms, including the live streaming options we had discussed earlier. The popularity of video services can also be seen in what social networking platforms are continuing to grow, like Snapchat and Periscope.

Videos also share the rule of needing to be short and to the point. Just like people aren’t willing to sit through an extremely long blog post, they aren’t going to sit through a very long video. Keeping the video to just a few minutes (or less) increases the chances people will sit through it.

Trend 5. Wearable Devices

With the introduction of the Apple Watch, the move towards wearable technology is continuing to grow. This means that social media platforms are adapting to meet the needs of those who view the platforms on the smaller screens and different devices. To keep up with the changing times and new needs, companies and businesses will need to consider how their posts are viewed on these different, smaller screens.

Trend 6. Instagram and Facebook Advertisements

Many of the top social media platforms are actually making it much easier for companies and brands to target their customers on their news feeds. Recently, Instagram introduced a carousel of images that brands can use for their advertisements and made it easy to link to specific web pages or promotions – something that was previously unavailable to company pages.

Facebook also made it easier for companies to advertise to their target audience. With “call now” buttons and more space for advertisements, customers can easily contact the company and purchase the services they are looking for.

Trend 7. Social Media and SEO

With Google finally choosing to add social media posts into their search results, it means you need to be optimizing your posts with SEO keywords. While they shouldn’t read like a string of keyword-infused gibberish, choosing to find ways to implement your SEO targeted keywords can help push your posts to the top of your intended search result.

When creating your SEO and social media marketing strategies, be sure they play into each other in the proper way. They should work together to increase your exposure and gain more attention to your business. Bill, Linchpin.

Trend 8. Mobile Priority

As more and more people choose to use their mobile devices to browse their social media accounts, it’s just as important that websites are modified to meet mobile needs. If you’re using social media to push out links to blog posts, articles, or products and the site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re probably going to lose some customers.

Non-responsive sites are usually too difficult to navigate on a mobile device. Unless your potential customer really wants to read your article or buy your product, they will probably immediately close out of your page once they realize it doesn’t meet their mobile requirements.

Trend 9. Private Interactions

The communication on social media sites is becoming increasingly private. Rather than individuals posting directly to their friends and family, more and more users are choosing to discreetly send links or messages through the chat options offered through the social media service.

Begin looking at certain groups on LinkedIn that include your target audience. These groups give you direct access to the individuals you are looking to communicate with.

Trend 10. Platform Specific Visuals

Many companies already do this, but if you’re not using different visuals that fit the needs of each social media platform, you’re falling behind. There are different sized viewing windows for each different platform, with different specifications on how the images should appear. Be sure you are sticking to guidelines to gain the most attention by your audience on each page.

Social media marketing trends are always changing and if you’re not doing everything you can to stay on top of the game, it can be easy to fall behind. Be sure to consider the many changes that come with each year, including these tips for 2018.