Before your bellies are full of turkey and pie, please have a seat and take this blog for a ride (see what I did there!? OK let’s move on)
Over the next few days you will likely been rehashing funny family stories, sharing the history of your families with new generations, and scrolling through your social media feeds to see spreads of holiday food and dinner table selfies. What you are likely not doing is reminiscing on the past year of social media changes and preparing for 2018 - that’s where I’ll come in.
At the beginning of 2017, Forbes made a few predictions about the changes that would take place in the world of social media. While not all of us can confidently say we can predict the future, I’ll give Forbes credit for doing a pretty great job.
Here is a quick recap of the social media trends they predicted for 2017:
Social messaging: This one puts the focus on social networking vs. social networks. Think apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, etc.
The fight against “fake news”: Remember the debacle concerning fake information spreading during the 2016 Presidential election? Sites like Facebook have become major news sources for people and the fight to maintain truth on the platform will continue.
Authentic content: Lights, camera, action. Live video was predicted to continue growing throughout 2017 with platforms such as Twitter and Instagram launching their own versions of live streaming.
Augmented reality: 2016 brought us the phenomenon that was and is Pokemon Go, and there’s more where that came from.
Chatbots: Robots aren’t only in movies anymore. Chatbots were predicted to take over as communication methods between companies and customers.
By taking a look at that list, we can already see how these 5 trends were predicted to take over 2017, and definitely did. Facebook ads began to bring you directly to a brands page, opening a chat box to begin the conversation. Sites like Facebook began cracking down on “fake news” by banning certain inaccurate news platforms from posting on their site. Live video has now become on the most important and successful branding strategies for all industries.
People love to see personalities come to life and get behind the scenes looks at how businesses really run.
Augmented reality has taken off with video games, virtual reality headsets, and the iPhone X which offers facial recognition technology and more. And last but not least, chatbots have changed the game. It has been found that 53% of consumers prefer to use email, chat, text etc. over phone communication for customer support. In terms of CRMs *wink wink Jarja Media* you can communicate with your contacts quickly and not leave them waiting for a busy customer service rep.
It’s important to reflect back on the year we just had and look at all of the social media trends and experiences that came to life. On the other hand however, it is also valuable to look out for what’s to come in 2018 - or as much as we can predict that is. Take a look at the list that Entrepreneur created for us to keep our eyes on. Let us know in the comments which trends you would like to see come to life!
Augmented reality: It took off in 2017 and is expected to do nothing but grow.
Instagram stories: After only being around for about a year, Instagram stories have about 50 million more viewers than Snapchat.
Influencer marketing: Putting a big face in front of your brand gets it in the eyes or new users every day.
Generation Z: Cue young children, teenagers and those in their early 20’s. This generation doesn’t know life without cellphones, wifi and social media. Tailoring to their needs will be a new challenge for 2018.
Social messaging: Forming better communication skills via social media, rather than solely focusing on marketing with social posts.
Live streaming: Video sells. Facebook Live videos are watched 3x longer than videos that are not live.
Twitter: You might think this platform has died out, but rumors are that Twitter plans to revamp its business plan. Stay tuned.
Digital hangout: Group hangouts go live.
Facebook Space: No, not outer space. Facebook is planning to launch the first Virtual Reality social media product, allowing friends to hangout in augmented reality.
Social media policies: No bullies allowed. Platforms will be looking into ways to stop brands from being criticized on their sites, as well as preventing inaccurate information from posting.
Have anymore predictions? Comment below or send us a message on any of our social platforms on www.connectwithjarja.com.
- Alicia, Marketing Assistant
