In recent years, companies have turned to social media and content marketing as powerful tools to gain a broader and more engaged audience. With new technologies and apps, social media is now embedded in almost everyone’s daily life, however common or complex your lifestyle may be.
In the past few years, we have seen some notable changes from social media giants like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and from relatively new players like LinkedIn and Snapchat. With the influx of even more following suit, these platforms are poised to put an evolving game-face on, with no signs of stopping.
This year, Apple revealed the iPhone 8 and iPhone X with astounding upgrades like the A11 Bionic, which critics regard so far as the smartest chip making privacy, sharing, gaming, shopping and other processes better compared to its iPhone predecessors. Google is also aiming for its “next billion users” by way of Google Go.
As these new technological advancements go mainstream, social media companies and businesses are yet again expected to get another facelift, thus making the coming year even more exciting for marketers. As we dive into 2018, new social media and content marketing trends are about to unfold with distinct features we may have never seen before. But before we tackle these trends, let’s take a look at some marketing hurdles most companies face:
Marketing Challenges
The ability to keep up: With a growing myriad of tactics and tools without a single rulebook to follow, businesses are becoming overwhelmed, and most companies find themselves fatigued with too long a list of content formats, game plans and tools.
Understanding which platforms work best for your audience: Think of social media as a race where every marketer is geared to have a share of the pie. Even among social media channels, the chase toward which platform has a greater share of influence is an unpredictable battle. For example, Twitter failed to grow its numbers considerably in 2017, and though it's closed the year with a steady and positive revenue, its rate of growth in terms of number of followers has slowed down compared to its rivals.
Measuring ROI: There's now an added pressure on marketers to prove the effectiveness of the strategies employed thus far and to attest a positive impact on future investments. Marketing teams now need to re-evaluate the impact their efforts have on overall business objectives, versus a focus on monetary investments made to bring those campaigns full-circle.
Oversaturation: The increased spending on gaining higher click-through rates both in search and video advertising on social media has grown to new heights but has reached a considerable level of saturation in terms of content quality. The challenge of coming up with relevant but shareable and interesting content among a pool of video ads is now a challenge.
Now that we have a clear understanding of today's marketing challenges, let's look at what trends will shape the year ahead.
Heightened Attention To Social Listening
To better understand and take advantage of opportunities, companies will have a more heightened consideration of social listening, the process of collecting and monitoring data from customers and competitors by way of tracking social mentions. A 2017 study shows that there is a considerable increase of searches containing the phrase “Can anyone recommend?” This shows that 2018 will be more about finding the right social media and content tracking tools that can aid companies to come up with more personalized offerings to customers.
Volatile Content And Social Media Influencers Will Be Bigger
Short-lived content like Instagram and Snapchat Stories will continue to gain popularity. Why? Ephemeral content is more authentic, and since it is limited to mobile, it is able to reach a wider audience.
The same trend goes for social media influencers. For example, statistics show that nearly 40% of Twitter users claimed to have made a purchase as a direct result of a social media influencer’s tweet. Its counterparts, like email marketing, paid searches, display advertising, content searches and affiliate marketing, have taken a backseat as the growth of influencer marketing comes at full speed. Companies like Nikon, Mercedes-Benz and even the Super Bowl have reaped the benefits of influencer marketing and reached a bigger audience much to the dismay of other companies that opted for traditional advertising.
Companies Will Focus More On The Segmented Millennial Market
Millennials are the driving force of social media as they cover the majority of users who rely heavily on the internet for information and connection. In 2018, the trend points toward Gen Z, the younger millennials born around the mid-90s. The oldest of Gen Z is currently 22 years old, fresh out of college and is starting to work to earn their own money.
Mobile-Ready Content Will Become The Norm
In 2018, the number of smartphone users worldwide is projected to be around 2.53 billion. With the world getting busier and apps becoming more accessible, people will be turning to their smartphones to do the tasks that used to only be limited to desktops — say, online shopping or booking flights. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat being the leaders of the social media game right now have noted nearly 80% of their users accessing social media channels through their phones.
The demand for mobile-ready content has never been more unrelenting. Likewise, social media channels will continue to incorporate new technologies such as providing users augmented reality (AR) experiences, and social video content will likely be more mobile-friendly.
No matter what industry you belong to, what size your company is, what products or services you sell or how knowledgeable you are with upcoming trends, you always have to put your best foot forward. In light of the latest advancements in technology, no one is an exception to the ever-evolving influence of social media any longer.
