Social media marketing has been one of the jobs that have been sought-after in recent years. It refers to the process of increasing the attention of potential customers through different social media platforms. Efficient social media marketing will increase the traffic to the website, which in turn would increase the sales of the company.
While having a career in social media marketing (SMM) takes skill and training, we cannot deny that the fruits of an SMM marketer are priceless. For instance, a social media marketer helps reach the audience as far as brand and large companies are concerned. They are the people that would connect people with one another through interaction and creativity. They do these by representing the brand in a good way.
To keep up with the ever-changing cyberspace, SMM marketers need to keep up with the trends. Aside from adopting various techniques including SEO (Search Engine Optimization), there are also other ways that these marketers have to do or engage in so that social media marketing will stay trending this year, and for the years to come. In this article, we are going to list down some of the ways how SMM marketers will stay in trend this 2018.
1. Using smartphones a lot more
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According to a 2017 study, there are an estimated five billion smartphone users in the world. With the increase in mobile phone users, social media platforms such as Facebook has already seen an increase in the number of users. As of 2017, there are more than two billion active Facebook users. With these data at hand, it would only seem proper for social media marketers to utilize mobile phones to stay trending.
Many of the platforms have already released call-to-action button on their mobile applications. These buttons could help generate more conversation than the primary platform. Hence, marketers should use Accelerated mobile pages (AMP) to have more conversions on their landing page, reducing the rate to a significant extent.
2. Utilization of live videos
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The use of live video has increased in terms of popularity in 2016 when Facebook Live and Periscope Live, among others, have taken the limelight. Recently, a 360-degree video could also be done by users of Facebook Live as early as 2017. Because of the increase of social media applications having live video features, marketers could benefit from this feature by allowing them to share immediate updates and announcements, ongoing events, or promote their brand on the spot.
Being a recently released feature, the extent of the Live video has yet to be reached. But come 2018, it is expected that brands will make use of this feature more efficiently than ever before.
3. Use of Multimedia Applications with Video Snippets
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Snapchat is one of the most famous apps that allow people to shoot a video that runs a short duration. Just recently, Instagram and Facebook also adapted this style with their Stories and My Day, respectively. This is a significant move for social media marketers since they could these short clips could be an excellent avenue to campaign their brands.
For a matter of fifteen seconds, they could create a simple advertisement or a sponsored clip that would more or less give the gist of the what the brand is trying to sell. Not only is this less pricey, but it could also appeal to the vast majority as well since almost everyone is already using such features.
4. Increased use of paid content and advertising
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Some social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter have already changed their algorithm, prioritizing posts which come from your friends and family. This is brought about by the people's resistance to ads on social media platforms. Hence, advertising brands online could be a little difficult already.
Because of this radical change, companies should be more creative. For social media marketers, it is only proper to keep your content personalized. It should be tweaked in such a way that the audience could relate. They could also resort to paid social media marketing so that their sponsored posts could appear in one's feed.
5. Put Focus on Centennials
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In a recent study, the Centennials, or the Generation Z, is more valuable than millennials as far as organizations are concerned. The oldest of the said generation is already 22 years old. This means that they are already ready to find their jobs, allowing them to increase their buying power. Because of this, brands will begin to take note of this phenomenon. Soon after, these brands will shift their social media strategies as well according to the nature of the Generation Z.
The Centennials are known for loving social platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. Hence, it is but proper for social media marketers to focus their attention on such sites.
6. The emergence of virtual and augmented reality
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Both virtual and augmented reality are seen to change the way we handle our apps. While both of these are still being applied in mobile gaming, it is assumed that social media sites will also look for ways on how to integrate such technology as well. When platforms such as Twitter and Instagram will allow augmented reality in their features, the social media marketers will inevitably project their products using such technology.
Facebook has already launched Spaces which allow people to connect in virtual reality. This fact has already been considered by many marketers so that they could incorporate such technology into their brand.
Final Thoughts
It is 2018, and the possibilities in making social media marketers trend are boundless. Whether an individual is hired to do the responsibilities surrounding the social media platforms or you are doing it yourself, you have to take note that there are many ways to how to keep your brand visible. It is worth noting that these methods would work efficiently if they are being combined accordingly.