As the saying goes “Nothing is permanent”, change is inevitable, be it lifestyle, technology, or even small chores. The great human mind has leveraged this new world to completely different heights. One thing that I always keep in mind is not to stop questioning and not to explore something new and that is the reason why innovative minds prevail and innovation has its reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the basis and the foundation of marketing.
Marketing is one solid pillar that supports the economy as a whole. Just think about that, Every small event is jacked by a strong marketing campaign. Be its presidential elections, tourism promotions, or a small university reunion if it is not backed by good word of mouth, the chances of it gaining success will automatically become slim.
What can one expect from Social Media Marketing in the upcoming days?
The foremost reason why digital marketing degrees are becoming more prominent and in demand is because of the ever-increasing rise of digital marketing platforms that continue to revolutionize and uproar the industry.
Shifting from passive to private communication
There has been a significant shift from what used to happen in traditional marketing v/s what is now happening in digital marketing. People are passively consuming content and communicating more privately with their inner circle instead of sharing publicly as often as they once did on social media.
Using social media for business is not limited to just posting once a day and checking back in regularly. No. It needs a full patronage strategy focused on content, association, correspondence, and transformation which I refer to as the four pedestals of a social media strategy. Facebook, which now owns Instagram, has created some significant feature updates and enhancements to its stories, and live video, and included a new Facebook watch toolset, why? So that it can empower its users to improve the quality of native storytelling within the platforms. Be it algorithm update or the addition of new features and emerging platforms, the world of social media is evolving continuously.
Facebook has three new features to use, which will help you stand out and rise above the digital noise, which is IGTV by Instagram, Facebook Watch Party, and LinkedIn Live video these are the recent update that Facebook made to its app so that it creates added human value.
Let me enlighten you with the various trends that one should not dare to ignore.
Unassailable trends in the field of Social Media Marketing.
- The immense power of Live video: Videos and social media are a match made in heaven that fits perfectly with each other, that is why a video marketing strategy is an inseparable part of every social media marketing strategy mix. Be it the year 2023, or 20 years down the line video will still dominate in social media as more devices and platforms support video format and particularly, live video. Many platforms have welcomed live video with open arms and had updated this feature in their existing app as video captures the attention of every user more effectively and efficiently. A major platform like Facebook has seen massive success when it comes to living videos; the massive population that Facebook has, with more than 3.5 billion present on Facebook, Live broadcasts have rolled out since its inception in 2016. In terms of popularity and engagement, as they are, the authenticity and short-lived nature of live videos empower brands to increase the perceived trustworthiness and relevance of their brand, a trend which we can all expect to continue in the future year
- Exclusive Tactics for Evanescent Content: As ironic as it may sound, evanescent content such as live videos and Stories is staying for a longer time, maybe longer than the time since dinosaurs have been extinct. Not much like traditional videos that have to undergo a series of pre-productions processes, and post-production processes so that they can ultimately be delivered on social media sites, the recent trend in live videos and stories has broken all the stereotypical myths that were related to traditional videos in the past. Now, people create and upload videos in real-time, giving, and adding more authenticity to them. Although the content shared on live videos is mostly raw that being said, the live videos that touch the holy land of the internet are spontaneous yet they still require some planning for them to be executed at the right time and with the right concept. That is why it is best advisable to first have a robust and solid plan drafted properly and then use this marketing for the greater good.
- The rise of alternative platforms: The era of Myspace is long gone. People allege Twitter is fading. Facebook is under thorough scrutiny by the government, and now even Instagram has massively become overrun with commercials, scams, and an algorithm to defeat. Being a marketer it’s up to us to know what’s out there in the digital world, what our competitor is doing, and how we can utilize the tools and technology available to reach our customers and prospects where they are and what are the things that keep them attracted the most on these social media platforms.
- Authentic Influencers: Influencers are the ones that influence other’s people’s choices and buying decisions. If done right influencer marketing through social media platforms is the most crucial and one of the most beneficial tools that one could ask for. Though it may appear easy to incorporate influencer marketing and conducting influencer marketing for either your brand or your branding, one should always remember that before jumping into the ocean of influencer marketing one should always conduct thorough research and conduct experiments.
- More advanced, dynamic, and direct social ads: Let’s be honest, the main purpose behind social media marketing is to promote and spread the word about your product to the world, and with the streamlined marketing approach that social media platform offers to everybody, we can now carry out direct social advertisements without any hassle and make sure that the correct message is delivering to the correct audience. Social media gives us many social campaigns which one can choose and throw their ads dynamically deriving higher results.
- Stories aren’t slowing down: Story consumption has shown tremendous growth that none can imagine and have thought about. The story concept was first conceptualized by the app called Snapchat but later major players like Facebook and Instagram adopted that feature into their apps, and since then the growth of stories has skyrocketed. It would be quite a shocker that on Instagram 90% of the users skip your post but they don’t skip stories. The promoted reach of story ads is 3 times more than the average post reach. This is why Stories will dominate in the upcoming year.
- Rethinking which social platforms deserve your attention: As we all are aware of the famous quote “The most successful men work smart, not hard,” indeed the presence in all social media platforms has its perk but recent times have seen a strategic rather than jumping straight away to the bandwagon. The one trend that will help any business player in their marketing strategy is to choose and pick the platform that best fits.
- The rise of Social T.V.: One of the best updates that Instagram brought was in June 2018, we saw Instagram roll out the latest feature in their platform the IGTV
Many experts believe that this will enable general and corporate users to broadcast their content just like they say ay how traditional television used to do but Online.
This app will enable people to upload vertical videos for up to 1 hour through the app. Right now this feature is only used by celebrities and influential people and Instagram hasn’t made it apparent to the general public yet now. Though this feature can be used by another app which is called the “IGTV app”. Once this feature of Instagram will be available to general people the impact that it is going to have will be astonishing. - Niche Social Platforms Will Perform Well: The largest and the most popular social media platform Facebook and Instagram have long dominated the world. However, There’s an emergence of several other niche social platforms in recent years, that have shown a significant rise in fame and gained popularity in a heartbeat.
TikTok is one such example, not more than 3 years have passed since TikTok’s inception and the popularity it gained is something skyrocketed mostly among the youth. So, whosoever wants to target that sector of the economy (youth sector) knows where they have to go.
LinkedIn is more professional-oriented so B2B companies prefer LinkedIn for their social media initiatives, while twitch is perfect for the gaming community. Many such substitute social media platforms are achieving popularity and will continue doing so in 2020 and beyond. - Social Commerce Will Expand: Brands have explored these Social media platforms (Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook) to sell their products be it brands have long partnered with this social channel to sell their products. The rise of these social platforms, it had led to the opening of new retail avenues for brands and this trend is only going to get stronger. and that new avenue is known as Social commerce.
With other mediums like websites and offline stores, Social commerce is well on its way to becoming a mainstream retail channel on par. This trend will strengthen and will hold the pillar of Sales further with more and more social networks introducing pro-selling features like shoppable posts.
Be it shoppable posts to Instagram Storefronts, These social networks are continuously evolving to become retail platforms. Brands, influencers, and marketers are continuously leveraging these and incorporating social commerce in their sales strategies.
Conclusion:
With all these things it’s best to keep in mind that Social Media Marketing success doesn’t happen overnight. Because of its ever-changing nature, It will take an incredible amount of hard work, thorough research, understanding one’s targeted audience, and proper utilization of the platforms to fully leverage social media channels for making your business or your brand more competitive
So, keeping up with this shift and changes is, therefore, a good start if you are planning to take a high road in the field of Social Media Marketing.
Courtesy: Trilogy Digital Pathshala – Best Social Media Marketing Certification Training Course in Nepal