Best Social Media Marketing Trends in 2018

Another time around the Sun and a new year, time to plan the next year and what you need to start the new Social Media Marketing campaigns. Looking ahead to 2018, and planning your online Social Media campaigns, lets keep an eye on social media marketing trends. As we all know there is always a very small window of time to grab the user´s attention. How can your business get ready and start building new social media ideas that work. Here are the key trends we have been looking at that will have the biggest impact on your social media strategy in 2018.

Augmented reality on the rise.

With virtual reality becoming increasingly popular, watch for augmented reality to change some aspects of social media marketing.
Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are “augmented” by computer-generated or extracted real-world sensory input such as sound, video, graphics, haptics or GPS data. 2018 and Apple announce the launch of iPhone 8 and iPhone X which provides users with new augmented reality experiences. Therefore its likely more social channels will plan on introducing new ways of integrating AR into their platforms. Augmented Reality on mobile devices provides a niche and engaging way for marketers to reach their target audience – it’s quick, easy and very interactive.

Social video keeps growing.

Spending on social media video advertising went through the roof in 2017  with no sign of stopping in 2018. While social media video marketing is effective, businesses need to make sure they’re creating content that actually reflects their business objectives. If the social video your business produces is not tied to any real metric or measurable business value, it’s time to rethink your strategy. The key is to capture your audience’s’ attention and we can’t emphasise enough on how important visual media content is. Statistics are everywhere proving that social media video content is more engaging and has a greater effectiveness than non-visual content.

Instagram Stories.

Instagram Stories in particular will be relevant from a marketing perspective, compared to other social media video platforms, Instagram metrics are eminently trackable. Instagram, and Facebook stories have increased 10 fold popularity. Most social media content is shared for up to 24 hours and then disappears forever. Businesses are now creating great content for their social channels as well as having a separate strategy for their ephemeral content marketing. In a mobile media comes first culture, social media video is our main consumption. In 2017 nearly of all content shared by users on social media is video. The challenge now is how you can capture your audience’s attention in the first 3 seconds. Use these tools such as Facebook Live and Instagram Live to create new and exciting content.

The expansion of Live Streaming

The best social media marketing trends of 2017  and will be on the rise in 2018 will be live streaming video.  In fact, 2018 is likely to see an expansion of live social media streaming. Sharing information live with followers and interacting through coverage is a great social media marketing tool, and you have a chance to take advantage. Get a live stream schedule and stick to it. Be on the watch for the latest social media tools that make live streaming with multiple participants in various locations. Social media moves so fast that even a single year brings significant, unpredictable change.

The leader will be a good Content Marketing Strategy

Content Marketing Strategy will always be at the heart of effective social media marketing in 2018. We need a social media strategy, a strategy to compete now that everyone knows about the importance of quality content.  I think social media content will continue be an evolving media, and businesses are now fully invested in social media content for marketing, having extinguished all doubt about the effectiveness of the medium. Most businesses are constantly  experimenting with their social media and content marketing strategy by embracing the latest trends. If your branded content doesn’t resonate with your targeted audience, you have failed. it’s important to remember that good content is good content.

Chatbots and messaging platforms

Most people use messaging platforms globally, but most businesses are still primarily focused on connecting with consumers on pure social networks. In 2018, expect brands to invest more time and money in connecting with consumers on messaging platforms. Chatbots were one of the big innovations to become mainstream in social media marketing in 2017 and are on the rise in 2018, and a lot of companies take advantage of both their utility and their compatibility with social media marketing. Chatbots give businesses the chance to interact with their audience in a way that feels personal. As bots become smarter and more human-like you can customise your brand voice and send personalised messages directly to users. The need for social media marketing messaging platforms is as strong if not stronger in 2018. Is what will matter to consumers, excellent service and quality products that make their lives better.