Getting Ahead as Social Media Marketers by Studying Future Trends

Social Media is an excitingly dynamic subject that keeps surprising us with every new change. There are algorithm changes that happen which enhances the user experience, new features that make the platform more entertaining and a whole lot of updates which are hard to keep up with sometimes.

According to experts, it is not easy to stay on top of things at all times when it comes to social media regardless of how good of a social media marketer you are. Trends are all about what is happening right now. It is about what elicits excitement in the most amount of people at any given time. It may be something that was completely unheard of two weeks ago and fully disappeared in two months from now.

However, as social media marketers, it is our duty to always keep an eye on these trends and leverage them to market our product, service or the brand. We need to also anticipate any new trends that may arrive in the future even before they become main stream just so we can stay ahead of the craze and use it to our benefit. It will give you a competitive edge against your rivals, and often give more credibility to your brand since you recognized an industry trend before it even occurred.

Investing in Social Media Advertising

It has now been concluded that social media should definitely get a high priority in your marketing budget. A decade ago this phenomenon was not even thought of, but right now, it is almost impossible to stay aloft in any industry without a solid social media marketing plan. A few years ago, it was actually possible for a brand that delivered good content to organically grow their audience in social media. Nowadays, the algorithms make it almost impossible to get your message out to a good audience without a little ad boost unless you are a huge celebrity or a big brand.

Micro-Influencers

Influencer marketing was one of the biggest buzzwords last year among digital marketing circles. When looking at the future of this phenomenon, however, the safer and more effective bet is not on the mega influencers with millions of followers out there. It is all about smaller “micro-influencers” with smaller but targeted and engaged audiences. They are more affordable and come with better conversation rates and ROIs than expensive mega influencers. They give a more authentic and personal experience for their audience when compared to bigger influencers who often seem unauthentic when they promote products or services that are obviously not a part of their lifestyle.

Advertising on IGTV and Stories

It is true that Instagram initially faced some backlash for copying the “Stories” feature from Snapchat, but currently it is one of the most popular and most used features in the platform. In fact, it should be noted that Stories often get even more visibility than regular posts on Instagram. This is, therefore, a feature that marketers should not ignore. Putting your ad or collaborations in stories will also give them a more natural and authentic feel rather than an overly staged post. IGTV is still quite new, but this is also a very effective marketing tool that brings many possibilities with its long-form video content. 

Authenticity

While it is somewhat ironic to expect authenticity from social media where everything is highly curated, more and more users are looking for real and authentic content rather than highly edited pictures or videos. While it may sound a little contradictory to the above, being authentic means maintaining a genuine personality in social media. It means that you do not need to do everything that is “on trend”. Do what is right for you and your brand rather than following what everybody else that – and your audience will love you for it!

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