08 May 2015
Trends, like erratic weather patterns, are constantly changing. Usually they last for a long while, other times just for a couple of weeks or even days. But what is important to constantly keep in mind has already been mentioned. I know, but I want to emphasize it:the change. Even social media trends, for instance, do change. Therefore, it’s absolutely important to keep in mind that what was “in” last year, today is more or less “out”. Or like totally out. Alright, I’ll stop beating around the bush and start talking about what social media trends we can expect to change the rest of 2015 for us:
The Rise Of Effective Strategies That Use a Mix of Social Channels:
Up until now, social media didn’t really help with acquisition. It was used to build brand loyalty and keep people engaged with the brand, but many business owners and marketers kept complaining about the lack of real results.
Instead of focusing on vanity metrics like followers, likes, RTs, etc., start focusing on the unique visitors that you get to the content you promote across social media streams. Bring visitors from social media to your site, and then convert them by using tools like Sumome.com (developed by the folks of AppSumo).
Use a mix of “Perfect Hours” (the best hours at which you can publish your posts), Hashtags, Quora Questions of types A and B, Communities, Groups, CrowdFire and Circloscope.
If you want to learn about this mix that will help you get 300 unique visitors to every single piece of content you’ll publish:
Emotion will be included
Oh, it’s weird to start with this one. Like, what does emotion mean? Making people cry about their pets, lost friends and nostalgic memories or making them laugh? Well, I guess it can be both.
Among all the future social media trends I will write about here, I want to first talk about this one. Nowadays, Internet consumers, and not only, are immune to everything advertising incorporates. That means that you, as a small brand, might not get the chance to play with the big guys if your approach is medicore and cliché. Try to look for new, appealing ways to address your audience.
For instance, non-profit organization WATERisLIFE’s social media campaign was inspired by humorous memes. The company, who are dedicated to bringing clean water to the Third World, produced a clip of the poor alongside captions of common First World complaints. An example is illustrated below and you can find the video here.
Think about relevant content
What is important to notice about this year’s social media trends is that you need to be innovative. Besides awakening an emotion, you need to come up with fresh content, otherwise you’ll bore your audience. You can say bye-bye to any potential future customers as well. It doesn’t necessarily have to be evergreen, but tasteful at the very least. A couple days old is ok, but anything older than that won’t fare well.
Storytelling: another must
This one is a very important part of the social media trends nowadays and it goes hand-in-hand with emotion. Don’t be concise and don’t be cold or rigid. Create a scene and try to use at least two senses (visual and hearing) and if you can evoke the other three as well, then my dear Sir, you just won the jackpot.
Real time social media marketing
In other words, if your business has a social media presence, you will be almost literally glued to your smart phone or laptop because one of the most important social media trends of this year is continuous engagement. Basically, you will have to answer your customers in real time and identify their needs as soon as possible in order to convert the engagement into sales. Keep in mind that just because it sounds tough doesn’t mean it is.
Seize the trends!
I’m referring to the social trends that appear on Twitter. For instance, remember the “white and gold” and “black and blue” dress debate? Or the hysteria caused by the fact that the iPhone 6 could bend? Well, there are some brands that saw the opportunity and took it:
For instance, Salvation Army:
And KitKat:
Of course, nobody asks for a full marketing plan, but it’s good to be aware of what is trending at the moment and be able to post something about it. After all, you never know when your interpretation will become viral.
Video will rule the world
Well not really, but we have noticed that in 2014 video became more and more present in our newsfeeds and lives. Yes, Facebook noticed this and that’s why it enabled the autoplay option.
What’s great about video is that you can explain something in a shorter amount of time than you could in a blog post, thus ensuring it will most certainly get more shares. And you have plenty of option when it comes to uploading videos:Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Vine and even Instagram.
Blogs won’t stay too far behind either
Besides increasing your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and, therefore, your Google ranking (oh, by the way, just a small off-topic, did you know that Squirrly has a great tool for SEO? No? Well, keep reading, we’ll reach that point too). The latter loves fresh, newmeat content being published regularly, meaning you will get higher in the Google search. Also, a study from Hubspot found that 60% of businesses who are constantly blogging acquire more customers. The importance of blogging will continue to grow in 2015, so if the idea of a blog makes you cringe, you might be left behind.
Oh! I almost forgot! You know what I mentioned about SEO stuff and Squirrly? Well, we don’t want to brag or anything, but thanks to our SEO skills we reached 300 individual readers per day. And you know what’s awesome? We want to help YOU reach so many as well, maybe even more. We’re also glad to help you with your social media engagement. We won’t mind.
Social media trends demand more money
Aw, snap, this is a shot through the heart. With all the algorithms Facebook changed the past year, I bet we all hoped it was going to end. But no, unfortunately, you will have to pay more in order to get more exposure. Not only on Facebook, but on Twitter andLinkedIn as well. That being said, Google+ anyone?
But there is a bright side as well: Investing money will offer you access to more metrics. You will be able to measure the impact and the reach your marketing tactics have in an easier and more accurate manner. However, keep in mind it’s important to choose the right social media platforms when doing this.
Influencers will be more important
A slight trend started to take form in 2014, a trend called Influencers. What are they? We already wrote on this subject. Why are they important? Because with the fall of the social media reach, influencers will be the best way of spreading the word in a friendly, fashionable manner.
Slowly but surely, going mobile
Even though the market is full of smart wearable accessories, most people still prefer their mobile devices when it comes to getting their daily dose of social media, entertainment and news. Why? Because they’re always handy, small and easy to use. So what should you do? Optimizing your website for mobile devices needs to be your first move. It’s extremely important in this day and age.
The rise of the social shopping age
Or year, for that matter.
Facebook and Twitter beta-tested the “Buy” button, which allows you to purchase whatever you want with just a click. What’s awesome about this is that it will end the merchant’s dilemma about “How to get customers knocking on your door”.
Surely this will be visible, because both platforms are “chatty” and you can always try to convince people to give a shout-out after purchasing an item.
Photography remains important
Aside from video, photography remains one important topic that cannot be ignored. In other words, platforms like Instagram and Pinterest will rise even more than before. FYI, if you have a physical store and you do the shipping too, you can aim for these two platforms to promote your stuff. Upload some awesome photos and you’ll be set for life.
New social media platforms rise, but will they stay?
From Ello, a platform launched in March with promises to never sell user data (yeah right), to Yik Yak, which allows users to exchange anonymous posts with those who are physically nearby, and tsu, which promised to share ad revenue with their users based on the popularity of their posts, social media platforms continue to rise. But how long will they be around?
Will they be able to beat Facebook’s popularity? G+ encounters the same problem right now. Well, maybe they will, maybe they won’t, but it’s well-known that marketers will change their perspective about it in the future.
So, these are the social media trends we predict for this year. Not sure how many will come true and how long they will last, but, until then, we can sit back, enjoy and tweet all year long!
