Social Media Trends to look
forward to in 2018
Social media is
one of the most dynamic industries out there with new cutting-edge technologies
changing the game, or an old idea (e.g. virtual reality) gaining viral
popularly. With social media giants investing in creativity and innovation and
acquiring start-ups, there is going to be a lot to look forward to this year.
Here are some of the trends to look out for in 2018.
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More authentic content: As more and more
people are turning to the internet as their main news source instead of TV,
newspaper, or radio content needs to be checked for its authenticity. There’s
been a rise in “fake news” from sites that deliberately publish and circulate
inaccurate information about current events. The 2016 presidential election saw
numerous incidents of fake news about both candidates shared widely across
Facebook, Twitter, and other social platforms. Now, Facebook is already taking
steps to curb fake news appearing on the site. Facebook is working with five
fact-checking organizations – ABC News, AP, FactCheck.org, Politifact and
Snopes – to launch the initiative. This will ensure more reliable news reaches
the readers.
·
Live videos: Social media
is increasing ways by which it can offer content in real-time. YouTube was built on the idea to capture real,
unfiltered moments. Twitter’s Periscope and Facebook Live have gained immense
popularity. Even news sources are citing Facebook Live videos when covering
major events. The world of media is changing thanks to live video. Instagram is
now testing their own live video option, and they won’t be the last platform to
implement live streaming video. Social media is becoming fascinated with live,
authentic content. Millennials love video content and are the most active video
viewers of any age group.
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Augmented Reality: Snapchat selfie
lenses brought the idea of augmented reality into the social sphere. Pokémon Go
(arguably a social media app) turned it into a sensation in 2016. Many other
social platforms will look to jump on this bandwagon in 2018. Mark Zuckerberg
has confirmed that Facebook is already experimenting with augmented reality
with their recently acquired company, Masquerade - a live filter and selfie app
for live streaming video. Augmented reality is actually an old technology
that’s started to go viral thanks to social media. Just like live video,
augmented reality create new opportunities for brands to connect with their
audience by sharing experiences.
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Growth of search: In Facebook’s earnings
report, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook now sees 2 billion searches per
day. Google still leads the way in search, with 3.5 billion searches per day.
But with Facebook showing strong growth in this area, it may not be too long
before we see Facebook pursuing the ad dollars traditionally reserved for
Google. Search could also prove to become a key part of increasing your reach
on Facebook and driving attention to the content you post on the platform.
Other social media platforms will also look to leverage on the strength of
search.
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Business tools: Instagram is getting
serious about businesses that use Instagram.
Instagram worked with hundreds of businesses to understand what was
needed to enhance their Instagram experience, and three key needs became
clear—stand out, get insights and find new customers. And the release of
Business Tools brought with is business profiles, analytics and the ability to
create ads from posts directly within the app. As Instagram continues to enhance
its ad product alongside Facebook, we are likely see business profiles and
tools continue to evolve in order to make it easier for businesses to drive
traffic and revenue from their Instagram profiles. Other social media platforms
will also strive to improve analytics features and offer better insights to
businesses.
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Dunkin Donut's Snapchat Geofilter
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McDonald’s Snapchat Geofilter
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Improved ad product:
Snapchat opened up sponsored geofilters in 2016, enabling businesses of all
sizes and individuals to create and sponsor their own filter in a location of
the choice. And in 2017, we’ll see Snapchat double on its ad product to enhance
targeting and analytics for its advertisers. We’ve already seen some signs of
this, with Snapchat and Foursquare announcing a deal to power geofilters with
more data so that marketers can use to pinpoint where their ads are served –
this enables advertisers to be far more specific with the locations their
geofilters will be available.
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