Like everything else in business these days, social media continues to change and to evolve on a daily basis. If a small business decides to stand pat and not revise its social media strategies, it will soon be left behind. There are a few signposts out in social media land that are morphing into hard trends and will begin to dominate social media strategies going forward into the coming year.
- Both virtual reality and augmented reality have begun to make their impacts felt and will only grow more dominant. It is estimated that within the next five years, augmented reality and virtual reality will explode in a $300 billion market. The facial filters being used out at Snapchat are one of the premier examples of augmented reality going on out there. Your social media marketing strategies need to begin to take advantage of these platforms as a way to extend brand awareness and to develop closer relationships with customers and potential customers.
- There will be a major focus by businesses large and small on Generation Z (1993-2003). This generation is media savvy, has begun to enter and shape the work force, and is currently 25% of the population. Those businesses that haven’t begun to seriously market to them are already behind. Pop up events in retail outlets are proving to be hugely popular with this demographic and they will go where the customer experience is the most inclusive and intimate.
- Video, of course, has been bursting its way onto the seen for quite some time now but social media will be flooded with it the coming year. It is all about personalizing the customer’s experience with a company and video is great at doing that and reaching out to where you need to reach out to. Content will continue to reign but user generated content will have a huge influence in the coming year. Getting your customers involved with your business is a great way for them to also reach out to their own social networks.
- Finally, messenger apps and chatbots are where your social media marketing needs to go for the future. They have begun to appear everywhere and are hugely effective for boosting those conversions. In the video vein, podcasts as well as live streaming have already proved effective with regard to gaining and retaining customers. The future of social media marketing is already here. Are you ready?
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
