Here at Social Media Beast it’s important that we’re always on top of the latest in social media and technology for our clients. Make sure you’re ahead of the curve with these popular trends.
Video & Visuals
It’s well known that video is popular, but it will soon take over as the main format for social media content. In the last few years, visual platforms like Pinterest and Instagram have surged in popularity. More recently, videos have gained traction on platforms like Facebook, as they are the simplest way to share experiences. There’s been a growing trend of making videos that feel casual and natural, rather than polished. Social media users find these spontaneous smartphone videos more relatable and engaging.
Niche
If you think about social media, you might realize you spend more time using it as a way to connect with smaller groups and communities, such as Facebook groups. With the increasing challenge of getting noticed in Facebook’s crowded news feed, more and more people are turning to more focused social media networks, such as Snapchat, that allow users to target a specific social media audience. According to Social Media Today, Snapchat is growing at a rate of 56% a year. Everyone craves an authentic community, which means more and more people are flocking to those Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, group boards on Pinterest and yes, even Google+ communities. That’s because the best communities are those that focus on sharing content and helping each other instead of being about promotion. If your brand can build trust as someone who brings people together and guides them to share and support each other, you’ll build relationships with the people who matter most to your business without giving “reach” a second thought.
Influencers
Have you ever looked at the people you follow on Instagram? Do so and you may notice YouTube and Instagram users are achieving celebrity status, and brands are taking note. There is a boom in brands partnering with influential Instagram users and YouTube stars that create content around niche topics like fashion, luxury lifestyle or travel. With 74% of consumers relying on social media to inform their purchasing decisions (Simply Measured), brands are starting to pay influencers to publish a photograph of their product on Instagram and/or mention the brand in YouTube videos. Or they even pay them to take over their Instagram feed for a few posts or several days. According to an article by WERSM, using influencers sharing your content can lead to 3 to 10 times increase in conversion rate! We’ve all known for a while that celebrity endorsements and influencer marketing is effective, but as regular everyday people start to build audiences that rival pop stars and models, brands will start to realize how powerful these Instagram and YouTube influencers can be.
Want to learn more about the latest social media trends your brand could be diving into? Contact Social Media Beast today.