Top 5 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2018

Social Media Marketing Trends you need to adopt for 2018 content marketing, the year has come and gone, now it’s time to start planning a great social media marketing strategy for 2018 because, without a good strategy, there is really no way you can grow leads and achieve the kind of results you want from your marketing activities. According to wearesocial  there are 2.80 billion global social media users in 2017, equaling 37% penetration; just imagine having a small fraction of the total percentage! That’s some really cool numbers…so having a great strategy is key and creating awesome social media content will help put your business in front of potential customers.

Here are our top 5 Social Media Marketing Trends that are sure to dominate in 2018.

1) Video Content: The world of marketing keeps changing and thanks to social media, businesses of all sizes are able to reach new customers directly on their mobile phones, tablets, and laptops any time of the day with smart marketing tactics by adopting great Social Media Marketing Trends! Gone are the days when businesses used to rely on mainstream media to get people to know about their brands/services. These days brands are able to speak directly to prospects and customers through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter etc. Any brand that is not harnessing the power of video content on these platforms is really missing out big time.

So why not try video content for 2018 and see your sales increase. There are different kinds of videos you could create, for example: Product reviews from customers, Product demonstrations, a new product, your brand culture stories, how-to videos etc…just have fun creating awesome video content for your customers, then sit back and watch the results, you will be amazed, but if you are too busy and don’t have the time well you can easily outsource the task, there are tons of freelancers and agencies willing to help create awesome content, so don’t miss out on taking the opportunity to grow your sales.

2) Keep your eyes on Generation Z: These are probably your biggest market segment, they are always connected and smartphone-dependent. They are very active on social media platforms, you have the opportunity to have a two-way dialogue between your brand and them, that way you can easily turn feedback you get from them into action. This group has a different outlook to eating and shopping habits, and putting your products on social media platforms gives you bigger exposure, take for instance their food habits, most of them can only eat food that looks really good so they can take photos of and share on Instagram. Also, generation Z are more likely to respond to short edgy videos than traditional marketing.

3) Invest in influencer marketing: This is becoming an increasingly popular trend globally, big brands invest in influential people to help promote their product. They identify individuals that have a strong influence on their potential customers and orients marketing activities around these influencers. Let’s face it, mainstream media ads are very expensive and most brands sometimes get rejected after spending loads of money to create an ad, they often get declined or pulled out due to some controversial comment or picture. So setting aside a budget for influencer marketing will help solve that problem and boost sales, as followers of the trust of the influencer when a product is recommended to them than traditional mainstream media ads.

4) More Live Streaming: Here is another interesting trend that is growing in popularity, most of the social media platforms allow live streaming and potential customers are more likely to watch live videos from brands, so you are likely to have more eyeballs on Facebook live stream than old videos ads and get people to buy your product online. This works well for most small businesses that are trying to generate buzz and sell products online.

5) Chatbot: As more social media messaging apps usage grows, so will chatbot continue to increase. Businesses are looking for ways to offer clients more value and creative channels of personalized communication. Most e-commerce owners are adopting chatbot to make the shopping experience simple and hassle-free. Sephora chatbox is a perfect example, see below video

The chatbot is easy and anyone can do it, shopping bots are the future of online shopping, they are user friendly, it is just like texting and the bots would ask some questions in other to offer you the best accompanied with images and even tips on how to apply the product afterwards you are directed to the website to buy the product, this is a sure way to drive sales! Don’t be left out, get started with your Social Media Marketing strategy for 2018.