3 trends happening on social media right now
Whether it’s Facebook, TikTok, or LinkedIn, social media has become an important part of our daily lives and routines. On average, each person spends 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media and messaging services. It is a location for consumers to congregate in online communities to discuss and share on a wide range of topics, in a variety of forms.
Given the importance in our lives, it is no surprise that many brands are looking to connect with their customers through these platforms. However, it is important to stay up to date with the latest in social media developments to ensure your brand will stand out with their content.
Here are some of the latest updates and tips to help you refresh your social media strategy.
1. Video content continues to dominate engagement
Whether it is short-form videos for TikTok, or long-form content on YouTube, video has and will continue to dominate. According to a recent study, by 2022, 82 per cent of all online content will be video content. This coupled with the rise of ephemeral content, something that is only available for a short period of time, means we will continue to see video as a main component of a brands social connection with their target audience.
Noting this, LinkedIn has recently expanded the roll out of its LinkedIn Stories to Australia. The new, vertically-aligned, temporary status update option is similar to Instagram and Facebook, allowing users to upload or take a photo, decorate with various stickers, tools, and frames.
Stories, like those mentioned above are an efficient way for brands to communicate quick updates and achieve higher engagement from their audience. Video-based ads can also help engage users as they scroll their feed, prompting them to stop and consider your material.
2. Social advertisements are more advanced and direct
Consumers prefer their social feeds personalised with more meaningful content, including the advertisements (ads) they are served, as they become more comfortable shopping through their social networks. As a result, ads are becoming more advanced to ensure brands can achieve direct business from social media customer engagement with the right people. For example, Facebook’s Personalised Ad Experience, uses machine learning to automatically deliver a more tailored ad experience to each person. It combines data and signals from the platform, with insights you share, in order to make predictions for who the right audience is for a given message.
Instagram and Facebook is also testing a range of new, in-stream shopping tools, including Shops and the expansion of shopping tags. This will allow brands to connect their Instagram posts and ads directly to the shoppable product page and provide them with more information about the people they should be targeting.
3. Influencer strategies need constant reflection
Influencers provide an opportunity to demonstrate your product or service in an authentic way, but it is important to continually review your influencer program. With the rise of fake influencers, and the removal of likes as an engagement metric, influencers will need to relook at how they deliver value for a brand across a variety of social channels.
Recently, YouTube also rebranded their influencer platform YouTube BrandConnect as a place that supports and drives revenue for creators, providing measurable campaigns for brands, and reaching viewers with authentic and relevant content. Positioning individuals as creators, they will need to have at least 25K subscribers to have access to the platform, and will ensure brands are using official approved influencers. This is similar to Facebook Brand Collabs Manager and TikTok Creator Marketplace. As influencer marketing evolves, it’s important to look at whether it’s a viable option for your business or if it will bring the returns you’re looking for.
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