Social media are becoming more and more important part of our lives. We take a photo of our dinner, although we do it ironically. We sit on Facebook and cry over the paradise lost of the pre-internet era when human interactions used to be more spontaneous and direct. There is no contradiction here: it only shows the power of social media and their ability to engulf and absorb their critics.
Many of us have a love-hate relationship with SM, but still – we can’t live without it. Social media create our habits, shape our emotions and define our relationships, and they form shopping patterns. Its impact on the area will grow in the next years, so marketers should get ready for it. Which trends will influence marketing most?
1. Content consumption in social media
Do you still believe that social media are about funny cats and people violating their babies’ privacy? Nope, we’re way past that. As Pew Research Centre report proves, users treat SM as the news platform and source of knowledge on both what’s happening right now and on more general content. In other words, they become a live streamed personalized journal. No need to watch the news, if you have a custom-made collection of information.
It entails many difficult questions about the future of journalism and society itself; if each of us lives in the bubble of personalized news, we could be really misinformed and easy to manipulate, not to mention the lack of common ground or objective information we could all relate to.
What does it mean for marketers? As the content consumption in SM will grow, they will be forced to produce more of it to be still noticeable in the messages overload. Such demand for the massive amount of content might result in machines and software overtaking the task when human creator will turn out not to be efficient enough.
Also automation of social media, as well as integrating it with Marketing Automation Platform, will be vital.
2. Precise targeting thanks to data
In social media users share astonishing amounts of data. We talk not only about demographic but also about all the actions: like, shares, check-ins, time spent on reading given material. That invaluable marketing knowledge will help tailor ads precisely to particular user’s needs.
It will also help, as Sophia Solanki points out, react in real time and act on micro-trends in customer behavior.
3. Social video
More and more platforms for creating and sharing video emerges, as Vine, Snapchat, Instavid… Video as such has many advantages from marketer’s viewpoint: they’re more engaging, and it’s easy to track user’s reaction: did she watch the whole piece? When did she stop?
Marketers will have to get used to producing more and more of video content (and micro-content) on a regular basis. It will introduce a new way of presenting brand’s narrative.
4. Social media become search engines
Will there be any social media-free spots anywhere in the future? Difficult to say, as SM keep on taking over more and more areas of life. For sure they will play the role of search engines, especially for customers looking for a product.
The shopping process, John Rampton says, is based on reviews; 80% of users declare that reviews influence their decisions. Instead of reading brand’s leaflet or website, we prefer to watch real person using it and talking about her experience, because we perceive such content as more reliable. The trend of strengthening bonds between shopping and social media will also grow with more and more platforms introducing “Buy” button.
5. Emergence of numerous small platforms
SM aren’t static area with defined leaders. Now Facebook serves older users mostly while millennials happily abandon the Titan to find smaller portals that offer more privacy or suits their needs more (as anonymous gossiping app Yik Yak). Or they do so because of a fad or fancy. These platforms will be more ephemeral and less stable, but for marketers they can become a great asset. Little, niche companies will limited resources will be able to enter such less crowded area and address the very precise group. However, it will demand more agility.
And what do you think? What is the most important trend in social media?
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