SMM isn’t dead. It swiftly conquers new areas, defeating a number of the formerly most effective marketing directions and techniques. How and when did this happen? Right at the moment when billions of contemporary users occupied Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other global social networks. According to TechCrunch, SMM is definitely the point where you can find potential buyers and clients.
However, don’t be naive enough to assume that all these social people are amenable to reading boring, endless texts and enjoy their newsfeeds chocked full of ordinary shots and hackneyed quotes. It’s a pity, but typical videos, infographics, contests, and surveys are becoming entirely obsolete. You’ll never win this way. It’s time to amaze capricious users with fresh SMM ideas and trends that have already proven their broad popularity on the global online market. Wait. I hear, you haven’t integrated SMM into your marketing strategy yet? Hurry up and get your well deserved money in the vastness of social networks before the competition. Get started by using these hot, 2018 SMM trends right now!
1. Smart Assistants Powered by AI
We bet you’ve dealt with Siri or Ok Google at least once. That means you can easily understand what we assume when mentioning AI assistants. These and many other innovative software systems, mostly chatbots, are considered to be your right hand for modernizing customer service. The fact is people value their time; so, it’s nice when they can get important answers or urgent help 24/7 through smart apps.
The use of chatbots and voice assistants really improves the overall quality of communication with busy clients and buyers who want to solve their issue without any extra effort or actions. Moreover, various virtual agents make people’s experience of interacting with your business more personalized, especially when we’re talking about e-commerce. That’s how eBay was the first company to use the advantages of the Facebook Messenger chatbot tool to remind bidders to make a winning bet 15 minutes before the end of an auction. After that successful chatbot integration experience, eBay decided to move on it by adding another smart tool called Shopbot, which helps buyers select the appropriate products to match their requests for price, size, etc, by asking the relevant questions.
Since the moment of launching Shopbot, eBay has drastically increased their revenue, concluding that buyers, who ask questions about certain products via a chatbot app, make purchases with three times the frequency of those who simply browse eBay’s assortiment.
2. More Augmented Reality for a Brighter Reality
What do you think about face filters, also known as AI lenses? They’re still popular and a lot of networks and apps (like Instagram, Snapchat and so on…) continue pushing them in 2018. The face filters have grown in popularity over the years, but today we can use a more innovative version of them. Moreover, to attract users with catchy photos and pictures, try the Design Editor feature in PublBox. This Editor includes 1000+ different templates for avatars, covers, and posts. It’s a great tool to create stunning visuals for your marketing activities.
In addition to common face AI lenses, many famous brands started creating home products through special filters. For example, IKEA developed the “Place” app to make buyers be able to preview the appearance of furniture in their homes before buying. This is a great way to increase your conversions, providing customers with the ability to have an animated picture of how products look in the surroundings of their apartments before they make the decision buy them.
By the way, a worthy example of AR benefits for business growth is the famous shoe brand, Converse. This corporation created a cool AR application which allows virtual trying on of their keds. A user can select any shoe model from the Converse catalog, select the necessary size and see how the virtual shoe will look like on their foot.
Moreover, last year L’Oréal’s created an excellent cosmetic app based on AR. It represents a 3D-model of the face (it can be your face) on which you’re able to test any makeup combinations. Wow, it’s a real paradise for people who love experiments.
Since the AR trend is growing rapidly, people will most likely start feeling like they’re missing out on this innovative world. Snatch up this opportunity and help them become a part of it!
3. Live Streaming & Stories — Catch the Moment
Do you like to be the center of attention and tell your customers about the latest innovations of your products? If yes, this SMM trend is the real deal for you in 2018. In 2018, a lot of different brands will begin to realize the power of live streaming, and probably will incorporate it into their monthly content plans. Just imagine, such big social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and LinkedIn will be sure to follow this trend as they try to capitalize on the trend. But, you should get a hold of this benefit right now.
David Wilding, Head of Planning at Twitter said, “Video isn’t a strategy, it’s a tactic.” Before you dive into video you need a strategy behind what you’re doing.
Moreover, at Social Media Week London, Facebook’s Creative Strategist, Kat Hahn was quoted saying, “Not doing short video is not an option.” Brands which are not yet using video as part of their social media strategy need to start.
Use Instagram for streaming to attract as many users to your brand as possible. This app is the most popular tool for creating stories and live streaming today. Statistics show that 1 of 5 organic Instagram Stories from brands gets at least one direct message from a consumer as a result. That’s some huge potential right there for engaging your audience!
4. Leaders That Convey Their Brands
Are you a business owner, but still don’t present yourself to the world via SMM? By the rules of 2018, it’s a great gap, because one of the hottest trends of this year is leader popularization. Society should be aware of who is behind the wheel, since the company’s leader is a reflection of the company’s values and features.
Your corporation is aimed at developing innovative software or providing useful marketing tool. So why don’t you want to promote your mission and vision through social media where the majority of your customers are now? Keep in mind that being open and transparent to this community, you establish trusting relationships with your target audience. Most likely, a person will create an order if he/she follows you and considers you a respectable influencer whose company does great things, making this world a better place.
All you need is be yourself, sharing your unique thoughts and motivating followers for success by your example.
Strong leader — strong brand.
Hurry up to Hook Your Users
In 2018, you should work with your social media marketing team to get your ducks in a row. A big number of amazing social media trends are accelerating, and it means they will have a great impact on users. It’s a perfect time to get your plans underway to stay ahead of the curve with all these advanced trends.
Given how Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram drive high levels of engagement, brands will continue to amp up stories and generate a stream of content that will hook their audiences.
