Significant Social Media Marketing Trends for 2018

Social media marketing abbreviated as SMM focuses on attracting and reaching potential customers through various social networking websites. Frankly speaking, not all succeed but people, who manage to achieve their marketing and branding goals, use this powerful internet marketing form smartly.

The word ‘smart’ carries a lot of weight. Smart in the sense, being with the trends. Staying on the trend should always be your agenda. It might be the development techniques or marketing strategies, if you want to be one step ahead of your competitors you should always keep up with the trends because that is where masses will train their eyes.

We have stepped into 2018; it will be a very long journey until next year. So, make this year a successful one for your social media marketing efforts. To assist you in your efforts, I will be taking you through the best social media marketing trends, right in this blog.

Now, let’s not hurry. I know everybody likes to make themselves a part of the super-dynamic landscape like the internet market. And social media is a part of it, so why don’t you understand a little bit more about the subject.

How important is Social Media Marketing?  

According to Pew Research Centre, a decade back, 7% of the U.S population used one or more social networking sites, today the figure has increased to 65%, almost tenfold. It doesn’t take much to deduce that consumers can be easily influenced if they are approached at the right time, in a right way.

Marketing through social media brings a huge number of opportunities. For instance, very soon Facebook will have around 2 billion monthly active users. If you look into other social networking platforms, the numbers are quite impressive. But being a part of the crowd will not give your business those most desired benefits.

You should have a good strategy. Without one, it’s a complete waste. So, here is Social Media Marketing Strategy that should be a part of your campaign, always.

• Set Goals
• Know your Target Audience
• Use the right Social Media Platform
• Focus on appropriate Social Network with a strategy
• Constantly measure and test your campaign

You develop content for the audience (I hope), share it on some platform, expect people to appreciate and acknowledge it.

But do you know the hard reality?

They won’t unless your efforts reflect some purpose. So, let your marketing campaign have some defined strategy as I explained.

Now, open your eyes if you have closed and sit straight because I’m going to let you through the social media marketing trends that will rule 2018.

1. Video Content will Continue to Dominate

From the time television sets came, commercials have been a part of the life. Like it or not, those few seconds, the advertisements that play will have some degree of influence on its viewers.

Subconsciously, people will remember about that product because the brand was presented to them in some kind of story.

Now, it took so many decades for our dumb marketers to realize the importance of a video marketing. So everywhere its video now and no, the effect has not died down, but it’s growing strong. Websites with videos are having good traffic and better conversion rates.

Did you know?

51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide has named video as the type of content with the best ROI?

It’s not just a belief, because, top 5% of videos retain an average of 77% of viewers to the last second. (blog.hubspot)

Be it a product video or live one, consumers appreciate action rather than words, so don’t forget to make video marketing a part of your campaign.

2. Going LIVE still appeals the Masses

Not just videos, people are fascinated with LIVE videos. Want proof?

• Facebook Live has over 360 million users (regularly).
• YouTube Live has over a billion subscribers.
• Instagram Live stories have approximately 200 million regular users.

LIVE streaming is nothing but video marketing, but the difference is, your content will be fresh and your content piece will create urgency and suspense among the viewers.

Red Bull, for instance, had 362 million views within first 30 days of publishing. Brands all over the world are using this approach because it’s still the trend and people are looking forward to seeing more.

So, a word of advice for you, start Live Streaming your campaign, today!!

3. Instagram Stories, People are loving it

You are creating a deadline, urgency, pushing your customers to share or do something; obviously, this will create higher brand awareness.

SnapChat was the first to introduce this, but today Instagram has more viewership after it imitated the feature. I’m not bothered who is doing what, but I’m certainly with that channel with a high viewership, so it’s Instagram.

If you are planning to run your social media marketing campaign on Instagram, then do not forget to create stories. It’s a trend followed hugely by the young population, and being a part of it will give your business or brand, or whatever a huge push.

4. Social Media Influencers, they are never out of the Limelight

Social media influencers by default will have a huge loyal fan base. Getting a social media influencer on board for your marketing campaign will only amplify your brand authority.

Brands struggle to connect with the audience; it’s not something we are not aware of. No matter how influencing your marketing campaign may be but some way or the other you will fail to have that influence on your target audience.

In such scenarios trust these social media influencers. From hair-growth pills to weight loss programs to aerated drinks, influencers will guarantee better sales over traditional marketing practices.

5. More Emphasis on Personalized Content Creation

I call it a personalization trend and trust me people fall for it.

You have to experience it yourself if you want to know how influencing the tactic can be in your marketing campaign. No doubt it increases conversions, make the process easier, because you don’t have to put any effort to make them listen to your words and you will further nurture their interests in your brand.

So, right now if you are getting confused, I’ll help you a bit.

You go to this restaurant every weekend; the guy remembers that you always order fish chips and mushy peas, so instead of giving you the menu card, he’ll say “the usual”?

Obviously, you will feel more at convenience; because it’s nice to be remembered, don’t you think?

And the same happens in online marketing. If you are into an email campaign, you can greet your customer by his/her name, remind him of his previous action and build the conversion around your new campaign.

This way, they will feel more comfortable connecting to your brand and the campaign, of course.