The world of social media is constantly changing, bringing new trends, ideas and unspoken rules each year.
It’s important to stay on top of these trends to ensure your social media strategy is as up to date as possible. Learning about new trends will also help you identify what is currently working in your strategy and how it can be improved. Remember — measurement and evaluation is critical.
Here are four key trends worth considering in your social media strategy.
- Video is the way to go
According to some experts, online video traffic is expected to reach more than 80 per cent in 2019. Social media platforms have largely led video’s rise in popularity, introducing features that make sharing video content quick and simple.
Facebook has become one of the best channels to share video content in recent years. Their algorithm puts a lot of focus on videos, providing more reach for this form of content. Recent feature updates, including view count, embedding options and video for website conversion are just the beginning of what’s to come for video. Live streaming functions like Facebook Stories will also bring more demand for video content.
- AI and chatbots are the next big thing
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a turning point for social media marketing. From chatbots to ad optimisation, many big companies are already starting to implement AI into their strategies. One of the most popular ways to implement AI into your social media strategy is through Facebook Messenger. With the ability to reach and engage audiences directly, save time and money and provide round the clock services, this technology is the future of communication.
- Be authentic
Authenticity is in high demand on social media, with users asking for more raw, transparent and meaningful content. One way to easily meet this demand is through sharing more user generated content (UGC). Doing so, helps grow your audience base and helps you connect with your audience. The more people that talk about and share your brand genuinely can also enhance your online visibility and rankings.
If you’re not sure how to get started, hashtags are a great way to access the content that’s been created about your brand. From there, you can share the best posts across your channels.
- Get mobile content right
Mobile phone use has grown significantly, increasing the amount of people using social media through their phones. This means everything you share on social media needs to accommodate a mobile user. If you want a user to click on a link to engage with your post, the link needs to go to a page specifically designed for a mobile user.
Consider user privacy
While not necessarily a trend, the past few years have been interesting for privacy and social media. Last year the GDPR became a law and several high profile privacy breaches came to light. Facebook was put in a tight spot over its data security policies after data analytics company, Cambridge Analytica, harvested personal data from more than 50 million profiles to target US voters. Google+ also came under fire for a data bug that ultimately led to the shutdown of the platform.
Major social media companies are starting to realise they can’t ignore user privacy anymore. In the years to come, data privacy on social media will be a major topic. All organisations will need to reconsider how they collect data and give users a level of control over their privacy.
