Evolution is necessary for anything to stay relevant in an ever-changing and ever-growing world. The same is true for the digital age and social media. Think of where computers started and how far we have come in 2018. The needs of technology will evolve with the needs and the intellect of the people using it. So, this means that social media will not always look or function the way that it does today? Think about social media just 10 years ago, Myspace was the primary social networking site and we didn’t have the capability to use these social media applications on our phones. There were some common themes in 2016 that really have shaped the direction that social media is in and is going to continue to head in. For instance, many consumers had privacy concerns, were also concerned with the abundance of business posts and lack of posts from family and friends, and the evolution and popularity of video content. All these trends or implications have some foothold in how social media will change in the future. Let’s look at each a little more in-depth to see just how it will change social media strategy:
Privacy Concerns
In 2017 alone, there were enough privacy and identity breaches to scare anyone away from the internet for good (ie. Uber, Facebook, and Equifax data breaches; this is just to name a few) According to CMO of Medly, Chirag Kulkarni, “privacy concerns have plagued social media since its inception and are only getting more pronounced. So businesses/brands should expect future social media companies to offer more advanced network and profile privacy than ever before (2017). The major takeaway from this change for businesses and brands wanting to use or gather consumer data need to stay honest and transparent about the reasoning behind collecting data and not be so invasive and in the consumers face.
Adopting Influencers
Another evolution of social media that we will start seeing is the use of influencers to market to consumers via social media. This is already happening now, but it will grow in the years to come because consumers are tired of seeing advertisements posts and want to see more of their friends and families posts instead. According to Ben Lee, Cofounder and CRO of Rootstrap, “consumers are 88 percent more likely to trust a peer review online than a company product review or advert (n.d.). Brands need to embrace this change and focus less on pushing their products through advertising and more on aligning with the right influencer. With millennials craving authenticity, it’s essential to select influencers that are truly genuine advocates of your brand.
Video Marketing
Another essential trend and change we are seeing in social media is the growth and popularity of streaming and video marketing. I would like to present you with some statistics that indicate or show the popularity of video online and on social media (Lister, 2018):
- One-third of online activity is spent watching video
- 85 percent of the US internet audience watches videos online
- Over half of video content is viewed on mobile
- 10 million videos are watched on Snapchat per day
- 51% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best RO
- By 2019, internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic.
After looking at these statistics it can be said that video marketing and video content on social media, in general, will have major implications for social media and how consumers interact with social media in the future. Also keeping this information in mind, I think that most companies and brands will start to either form video marketing strategies or combine this strategy with their existing social media strategy. No matter how a company or brand decides to integrate a video marketing strategy into their marketing plan, the major takeaway is that they need to have some plan because video is the future.
References
Kulkarni, C. (2017, August 03). 11 Ways Social Media Will Evolve in the Future. Retrieved July 8, 2018, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293454
Lee, B. (2018, March 05). Social Media Is Changing. These 3 Things Are the Key to Staying Ahead of It. Retrieved July 8, 2018, from https://www.inc.com/ben-lee/heres-what-an-evolving-social-media-landscape-means-for-business-owners.html
Lister, M. (2018, May 1). 37 Staggering Video Marketing Statistics for 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018, from https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/03/08/video-marketing-statistics
Vaynerchuk, G. (2016, January 25). The Rise of Video Marketing on Social and How It Affects Your Business. Retrieved July 8, 2018, from https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/the-rise-of-video-marketing-on-social-and-how-it-affects-your-business/
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