Ten years ago, having a strong presence on social media wasn’t important. Now, consumers visit Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages in droves, paying close attention to marketing campaigns and interacting directly with company posts.
As social media changes and expands, trends are born. Companies and marketing experts follow these trends closely, as they change from year to year and have a drastic effect on the success of future campaigns.
Here are the top social media marketing trends of 2018:
Little Slowdown, Little Growth
According to the Global Digital Report of 2018, there are 3.196 billion active social media users, a whopping 42% of the global population. While these numbers are staggering, the past two years have actually shown a general stagnation in the growth of social media.
Growth continues to be steady, but we haven’t seen any significant entrants to the market.
Influencer Marketing
The idea of influencer marketing isn’t new – but it’s not going anywhere, either. The majority of brand owners are looking to tap into this market, which relies on popular social media users and celebrities to promote their product.
More than ever, consumers want honesty from influencers. Marketers that carefully choose influencers based on their popularity, sphere of influence, and general character will find a boost in engagement. Those lazily choosing any social media user with more than 10,000 followers will be met with resistance or outright dislike.
The fear of abuse and scandal has also heightened in 2018. Marketers must be more cautious than ever about their selection of influencers. Moreover, they must be willing to drop an influencer that does something inconsistent with the values of the brand they promote.
Facebook and Twitter Crackdowns
Thanks to significant privacy concerns, social media platforms are taking a stand.
The creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, dropped a bombshell in January when he announced that Facebook would remove a large amount of brand content from its news feed. The goal was to provide users with more access to posts from friends and family, but the campaign goals of small and large businesses alike took a hit.
Twitter, in turn, has cracked down on bulk posting. Both users and third-party applications are now banned from posting the same tweet to multiple accounts, mass-liking, mass-retweeting, and creating auto-engagements in bulk.
Augmented Reality
We live in a world of constantly evolving technology. On smartphones and other mobile devices, companies are launching applications that center on Augmented Reality (AR).
Snapchat, for example, allows users to project images onto themselves in the real world. Pokémon Go, a nostalgic phenomenon, makes it possible for players to capture creatures on their sidewalk, desktop, or dining room table.
Experts anticipate brand names will soon begin projecting their products into the homes of social media users with special filters, giving them an opportunity to see what they’re missing.
Contact Inquisitek for Assistance
Are you looking for assistance with social media? The experts at Inquisitek can help. Contact our experienced digital marketing team for more information on how we can help your business.
