Whether we like it or not the new year is well and truly a thing of the past. When it comes to 2018 social media trends for eCommerce stores, trust me, you don’t want to get left behind. Sharing content in places where your audiences already thrive and engage is key to building a strong social marketing campaign.
Thankfully, most platforms allow you to market and track your efforts at all times. But some of them are stealing the spotlight in 2018! So lean back, get comfortable and learn how you can apply them to boost your 2018 social media strategy.
1. Social analytics are providing more opportunity for tailor-made content.
There’s nothing more annoying when you’re habitually scrolling through your BuzzFeed and you come across a post for laser hair implants! With hair you consider to have been blessed with, you can’t help but wonder how this company figured due to your following of amazing hair products, that this was right up your alley! Let’s face it, nobody enjoys coming across completely irrelevant content, to the point that we actually become irritated. But soon this won’t be the case, if utilized effectively, social analytics will allow for audiences to be more content than ever before.
Anyway, back to the point I was trying to make with social analytics. We’ll be experiencing improved personalization during our time spent on social media, and this one guys, is a major trend for content marketing. Another point to note is that no one platform will be exempt from being able to provide this new and improved user experience, it’s just a matter of their business and analytical tools developing in such a way that it’s geared for it.
Social media is making marketing for businesses so much easier with these tools, because no longer do they need to sit and scratch their heads over what content to distribute for the 20-year-old-vegan-girls-who-seek-independence-and-can-be-found-at-rock-concerts-in-their-spare-time, vs the 22-year-old-student-and-animal-lover-who-reads-autobiographies-for-fun.
There are all sorts these days when it comes to individuals and being an individual, so to understand the psyche of your audience can no longer be narrowed down to pure simple demographics!
TOP TIP: Improve your 2018 social media strategy by determining the best time to post updates and post during your strong hours to avoid important content getting buried!
2. Choose your social platform wisely when it comes to features for marketing
If we take a look at social platforms, we can see how they copy ideas from each other when they see something working amongst audiences. Take Snapchat for example, their main game is disappearing video and live stories, and when Snapchat started capturing the attention of every single youth out there, Instagram and others all made a decision to jump on the proverbial bandwagon and incorporate these features on their already thriving platforms.
However, even though Instagram stories are wildly addictive and watched every day by users, Snapchat still has the bulk of the youth using their platform. With more and more platforms overlapping features, businesses are going to have to make calculated decisions on their social media strategy for 2018 to target their audience where it really lives and use the desired feature through the most relevant platform for their audience and marketing benefit.
3. People are asking questions! Listen and embrace this social listening opportunity!
Web monitoring is proving to be a super handy tool to establish just what your audience is in need of when it comes to their day-to-day lives. The number of online searches on a daily basis is bordering on unnatural! And while we all believe people are typing searches along the lines of “what happens if you hold your breath for longer than two minutes” or “how bad is it for me if I wash my hands 50 times a day?” Well, let’s just say you’d be right to believe it. There are some very naive people there, as well as adventurously curious! But that’s not all. Through the data we’ve mined, we found that in one month there were close to 14,000 online searches that opened with the phrase “Can anyone recommend?” and a further 30,000 with “Where can I buy?” Now you tell me if that doesn’t SCREAM opportunity!
Audiences are giving feedback and asking questions, and all that data can assist businesses when it comes to understanding the likes and dislikes of their followers. This type of data will be invaluable when it comes time to develop a marketing strategy. Businesses can now begin responding, and that right there is taking advantage of the “social listening trend”.
4. Video killed the “radio” star, and so it will continue
Why read it when you can watch it? Video content has grown in leaps and bounds around the world of social media and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that this is still the leading way forward when it comes to marketing and brand awareness.
In 2018 this will not change, in fact, it’ll just become more and more valid when it comes to audience reach. If you have a look at the video marketing statistics on social media platforms, you’ll find some outrageously interesting numbers! Just as an example, did you know that men watch about 40% more online video content than women? And on Youtube alone, over 500 million hours are watched per day! It’s no wonder that marketers are investing all their energy and budget in marketing through video content. Definitely, something to look into on your 2018 social media strategy!
5. Facebook is on its way to fully being used via mobile
By the second quarter of 2016 Facebook was being accessed via mobile only by 56.5% of all Facebook users. That number has since climbed and now the in the US alone its forecast by 2020 that 59% of its users will access Facebook solely through mobile. Wild right?
So, what does this mean for marketers? If Facebook was pretty much the only social platform that wasn’t exclusively mobile, then when it is, marketers will have no reason not to optimize all their design campaigns exclusively for mobile.
6. Chatbots are taking customer service to new heights
We’ve all been on a website where we’re researching something or other, whether it be the latest prices on new products or perhaps functionality of some sorts, and all we want is someone to talk to! I just want to ask a question, is there anybody out there? Where are the contact details on this website? Ah screw it, it doesn’t matter, and you click on another website and forget about making any second attempts.
Well, thankfully we’re not still stuck under that annoying rock because it’s slowly started to become a thing of the past with the familiar speech bubbles in the bottom right-hand corner we’ve started seeing of late. Filled with text displayed as “How can I help?” or “Have a question, ask me!” So kind of you to ask, as a matter of fact, I do…
While interacting with chatbots might be a new experience for you, don’t be nervous. Having information at our fingertips has largely become the most highly valued facet of our daily lives. This instant connection, which these wonderful “conversation agents” aka chatbots offer, where a question can be asked and responded to within 5 minutes (if not instantly) is fast becoming the latest edge in customer service for companies online.
TOP TIP: To make your bot great, consider giving it a quirky persona. Build in the functionality that allows the audience to engage with your bot in a fun way with witty replies!
With this interaction being personalized and helpful to the target audience, individuals are left feeling content and inspired to use this means of interaction more and more. There’s a reason that roughly two billion messages are exchanged between brands and their audiences via this fast-growing feature each month. Make sure that you aren’t left in the dark ordering additional phone lines in your customer relations department. Especially when you could have just been a part of one of the next best trends to action on your social media strategy for 2018.
Well, there you have it. Our list of the hottest social media trends coming up, further developing and rolling out in 2018. Social media is changing at a rapid pace and you have an obligation to keep up and adapt as you go along.
Don’t forget to let Pixc optimize your product shots for social media.
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