Social media trends you need to be on top of right now

Social media continues to play an enormous role in society in general and for small businesses in particular. Staying ahead of the curve with regard to what is happening in social media land will help you refine your social media marketing strategies so that you can take full advantage of the shifting landscape out there.

  • Perhaps the most astonishing trend is that the Facebook demographic is getting older and will continue to do so. According to some recent research from AdWeek, Facebook is in the middle of an 8% rise in users who are over the age of 65 and the older demographic, those over 50, continues to increase. Meanwhile, the 20 something’s are decreasing their availability and online presence at the world’s largest social media platform. The 25-35 year old demographic still seems to have the strongest presence at Facebook but other platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr all trending toward the younger audiences.
  • Handheld apps are taking the world by the proverbial storm. Recently, the top four messaging apps garnered more users than the top four social media platforms combined. These new apps are being used to consolidate a users experience on their mobile devices by allowing them to text, search and store all of their favorite sites so as to be used anytime, anywhere. Tapping into these apps and putting together a marketing strategy to drive those users to your site needs to be a major priority for you for the rest of the year.
  • Plugging in to the huge storehouse of data now found out at the social media platforms means that you have instant research and instant access to the big data you need to craft and shape your future social media marketing campaigns. Many of the larger companies have been diligently working to deliver their services and products directly to their target audience via many of these apps. As their importance picks up, it will only be a matter of time before small businesses jump on that traffic driving train.
  • Finally, most younger users, under the age of 50, are more inclined to be using their mobile devices rather than desktops and laptops. In addition, their cell phone are becoming search engines and they are aiming directly for such sites as YouTube and Facebook as well as popular app sites like Yelp. Now is the time to start putting together an effective social media marketing plan for the rest of the year and to take immediate advantage of these trends to drive more traffic and make more conversions.

-Written by Kevin Sawyer