What Is Happening With Social Media: 2017 to 2018
2017
It is estimated that in 2017 over 2.4 billion people used social media every single day across the world. The year saw updates and improvements across current and new channels. We saw Facebook introduce stories and live video, Instagram’s new multi-picture posts and twitters increased 280 character limit.
These updates and changes have introduced new ways for businesses to connect with their customers and increased the use of influencer marketing significantly. Businesses have become more open with customers by showing behind the scenes live streams. Many have used Twitter’s increased character limit to improve their customer service and interact further with their audiences. As well as improving the quality of marketing materials now using a photo/video alongside 280 characters. Not forgetting that businesses can now showcase more products per post on Instagram.
Did you know? Tweets were originally 140 characters because in the early days you could text to tweet and texting had a 160 character limit.
2018
So 2017 saw the 3 main social channels introduce new features but what online marketing trends will change in the coming year?
Instagram has over 800 million active users each month,1/4 of which use Instagram stories daily, since the feature was launched in August 2016. The rapid growth of the feature is set to continue into 2018 so Instagram for business is sure to get even more exciting this year. Into the new year businesses should be thinking of different ways to exploit Instagram stories, flash sales, behind the scenes shots and product demonstrations. Many users may not take the time to scroll through their entire social feed however taking a few seconds to tap through their recent stories is more likely. Remember Instagram isn’t the only social media that has introduced the stories feature, Facebook and Snapchat also offer similar features that you should be optimizing in your business .Instagram is also testing a new regram feature, similar to retweeting on Twitter, people will now be able to regram other users posts onto their own feed. This new feature will be able to further connect businesses with their influencers and posts will be able to reach larger audiences much quicker and more efficiently.
This year also saw those brands invested in traditional advertising methods lack engagement with social media users. Brands who invested in influencer marketing were however able to connect with new customers and improve engagement with existing audiences. Platforms like Instagram are beginning to bring paid advertising tags into influencer marketing. This means that influeners are beginning to choose fewer brands that are willing to pay higher prices for social posts. Consumers can see when an influencer is being paid which could swing both ways. Studies show that 3 out of 4 people consult social media and influencers they follow online before purchasing a product. Businesses will need to find the influencers that will help them grow and the advertising platforms that will target their specific audiences. Investing in influencer marketing should be on every business to do list.
There are so many imminent changes for social media channels in 2018. You need to ensure you always have an eye on new channels and updates so that your business stays on top.
