Online influence is just like a surfer surfing at the ocean, if you are able to time your ride with that next wave you are going to feel how it lifts you up, carries you forward and takes you way into the next wave. Trends are very similar to these oceanic waves when taped into at the right time can take businesses or individuals to new heights. We have had internet for over three decades now and we have had social media for over a decade and what has happened because of that is that regular individuals have been able to reach hundreds or thousands of people, more people that you can perhaps reach through the TV or maybe the Radio or even newspapers and magazines.
Today social media has become so powerful that it reigns supreme in any marketer’s marketing mix, and boy are they using it wisely. It is reported that the total global spending for social media Ads has exceeded $40 billion this year and only is the U.S. the revenue generated through social media marketing is roughly $33 billion.
Social media marketing relies on the latest trends and current events that the world witnesses. This marketing strategy is the usage of a wide verity of social media platforms in order to provide continued value addition to your business. Here in this article we will look at some of the prevailing trend that marketers are using to gain the maximum user attention and also analyze what is in store for social media marketing in the future.
Current Social Media Trends:
Deeper Social Engagement:
For far too long marketing teams have used social media has a tool solely for advertising and the end user is bored now. What matters now is to engage consumers on a more real level. It is commonly observed that people like to do business with the party that they trust, so it is essential to build relationship that have potential. So to build this trust consumers have to be now engaged using deeper social aspects.
Personal data can be tapped into effectively by marketing teams to build connections on a more personal level. Sending out content that has the ability to touch the consumer on an emotional level is a great tool. Delivering new and exciting content frequently keeps the consumer updated about the organization rather than advertising new product offerings which seems to be pushy. Generally talking to the consumers and slowly working your way ensures building of stronger and long-lasting bonds.
Stories:
Recently we have observed the introduction of “stories” most popularly on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. So organically engaging the consumers through the creation of stories can helps marketers give out frequent, fresh and visually attractive content. Stories have become such a huge trend in recent years that only Insta Stories are said to attract 400 million users daily.
Interactive Games and Quizzes:
Marketers instead of using push marketing are creating experiences that invite the customer towards them. So interactive experiences like quizzes and games have taken the advertising world by storm, with tools like Buzzfeed Quiz Generator and Float IQ sales are being derived by engaging the consumer in the fulfillment of other needs. By designing interactive activities marketers have been able to successfully generate consumer interest as the quizzes present the opportunity for consumers to think about themselves.
Going Live:
The most successful content medium on social media is visual content. With the availability of features like Facebook live marketers are able to influence the present online consumer with whatever is going on in the organization. The pros of going live is that the visual does not seem scripted and feels authentic and the consumer craves for authenticity as it develops trust by showing the real picture.
Online influencers also measure the performance of their live videos to gain more knowledge about the audience as it offers a real feel about the likes and dislikes of the user at a very fast pace.
Being More Real:
In the past we saw businesses when advertising seemed god-like creatures who do everything perfectly but that is changing as the customer of today craves more reality. So being real is the way forward, now marketers are creating content that possess a touch of reality which helps in creating a more humanly image in the mind of the targeted audience to with they can relate to easily.
What does the future hold?
More Video Content:
By gauging the popularity that video content has gained we can see more of this concept being applied. Visuals are a great tool that can be used to provide real time information about the quality and working of the product or service in consideration.
With using pictures there is always a possibility of consumer complaining that the product does not look like the pictures but with video content marketers can use pin pointed content with the help of situations in which the product performs, this has proved to be a greater way to gain the trust.
Micro-Influencing:
Through social media we have seen normal individuals like us using the platform to gain popularity in terms of followers. Marketers now can use these influencers to market products, the trust gained by these celebrities can prove useful as the brand itself does not have to the hard work of reaching out to consumers themselves. This trend has worked a lot in the past and we can see it only being used more frequently in the future.
Artificial Intelligence:
We will see more and more incorporation of artificially intelligent tools used in social media marketing. AI has the ability to gather large amounts of data and processing it to give out unique information which put to good purpose provides a leverage over the competition. Now we are observing AI systems being employed with the ability to psychologically assess the targeted audience. Every step that the consumer takes online is stored in large AI systems that are capable of creating unique customer profiles.
This aspect of the AI gives marketers the opportunity to create pin point accurate strategies that targets the consumer on the basis of the actions that they take online. AI features such as Chatbots are expected to become more human and will effectively engage the consumers reducing marketing costs and human resource training.
Author Bio
Elizabeth Mailey is a digital marketer and e-learning in reputable firm. She has expansively written for different type of App Design Company and Game app Development blogs. She believes those enrollment agencies need to focus on behavioral skillful of the candidate instead of just looking at their resume. She loves to writing and mostly time spend social media.
