In the past year social media has been expanding at record rates. Every platform has to have its own live-streaming, memories and messaging features, not to mention an array of interactive and innovative advert options to try and tempt brands.
Any brand worth their salt is then tasked with coming up with a marketing strategy that manages to stay on top of it all. Taken artsy photos of the office? It’s not going to get as much engagement as going live. Painstakingly edited your message down to Twitter’s 140 characters? Too bad, the limit has now doubled.
This isn’t going to slow down either: if anything, platforms are innovating faster to gain the competitive edge as more and more of us use social media in a borderline addictive manner. Here at Chorus we want to be quick off the blocks for 2018, so these are our ones to watch:
Post only for a day
Short-lived or ephemeral content is steadily expanding out of Snapchat, with both Facebook and Instagram now utilising their own story features. While stylized photos show your brand is professional, mixing in some ephemeral snaps and videos give a sense of authenticity.
Go Live
Likewise, we can no longer get by on selfies and food photographs – going live is the new business must. Though of course, we would never encourage an overshare! Find something that will generate some genuine interest, such as a quick tutorial, Q&A or behind the scenes tour. Don’t worry about high production value either, the point is to be relatable so that the audience can feel a part of what’s going on.
Invest in influence
Social media stars are one of the quickest ways to reach a demographic. A little research can go a long way, so build a relationship with your chosen influencers and get to know their style and content for more natural sounding, integrated promotions. Remember, a blogger knows their audience, and that audience will be able to spot a disingenuous change in tone from a mile away so avoid being too prescriptive and making an expensive mistake!
A New Generation
It’s unlikely we’re going to meet someone from Gen Z who doesn’t know their way around at least five different social media channels, having been the first to grow up with smartphones. Therefore though the youngest, they may well be the first to see through any nifty marketing tricks. The best current approach is word of mouth appeal – have a product that will stand the test of reviews, then try and take it viral.
AI Integration
As technology improves, 2018 should finally be the year we can rely on chat-bots to provide 24/7 customer service with the assumption they will be able to answer everything on the FAQ list at the very least. They won’t replace that human touch, but can still be personalised, and Facebook and Instagram are presently offering integration for business pages.
Now the challenge is to get on top of the next season’s trends before they even start, but Chorus Comms reckon we have it all under control!