Social Media Marketing Trends You Need To Look For In 2018

7 Social Media Marketing Trends To Get Ready For In 2018

1. Increasing importance of augmented reality

At the very first event hosted at Steve Jobs Theater, the iPhone X and iPhone 8 were announced by Apple. A new chip is incorporated by both devices that enable the phones to offer users incredible augmented reality experiences. Although the initial impact that augmented reality will have is on mobile gaming, most likely the social media platforms will be finding ways to also incorporate this new technology.

2. Instagram Stories Increasing Popularity

Every month more than 280 million individuals use Instagram stories. That is over 50 million more individuals than use Snapchat – and it is only one year old! If it keeps going at this rate, almost half of all Instagram users by the end of 2018 will be utilizing Stories. That means that brands that want to connect with Instagram users will need to master Instagram stories and integrate it into their overall social media marketing.

3. Continued investment into influencer marketing

More than 90 percent of all marketers who use an influence marketing strategy consider it to be successful. Companies such as Rolex, Hubspot, and North Face use influencer marketing strategies that are social media-based for connecting with new audiences and improving engagement with existing audiences. This year we witnessed brands that were opting to use traditional advertising strategies struggling to make connections with social media users. It is more likely that by next year an increasing number of brands will be embracing influencer marketing to connect with audiences who have a tendency to ignore traditional advertising strategies and methods.

4. Focus on Generation Z

It was concluded in a recent study that for most organizations that Generation Z was a lot more valuable than millennials. Currently, the oldest Gen Z’s are 22 years old. They are just started to enter into the labor force and are going to have increased buying power for a long time.

5. Brand’s increasing use of messaging platforms

More than 2.5 billion individuals use messaging platforms all over the world. However, brands are primarily focused still on connecting with consumers using pure social networks. However, in 2018, we should see brands starting to investment more money in time with connecting consumers using messaging platforms. Chatbots, voice assistants, and artificial intelligence will allow brands to provide personalized shopping experiences through the of messaging platforms such as Kik, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

6. Live streaming expansion

At once time live streaming was a novel gimmick but it has turned into an important mainstream aspect of social media. These days, both small and large brands have start to use live streaming for capturing their followers attention. The backpack manufacturer Goruck, which also organizes extreme endurance vents, is an example of a brand that has increased it through the use of live streaming interesting content on Facebook. During a recent endurance race, thousands of followers watched their 48-hour coverage.

7. Rethinking Twitter

In 2017, Twitter failed to significantly grow followers. Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn all have more followers than Twitter. Also, Twitter this years loss access for streaming NFL games, with Amazon winning the rights. It is likely that in 2018 that Twitter leadership will be having to rethink how its platform operates. Potential changes to Twitter include revamping its advertising options, including a subscription element to the platform, or selling it to private investors.