5 Social Media Marketing Trends in 2016 and what you should do to stay ahead of the curve

The world of social media is a living organism that continues to evolve and brands that wish to stay on top of their social media marketing game should always be ready to modify their strategies in response to these changes.

Quality over quantity

Google has long begun placing value on a post’s relevance rather than the time it was published and social media is following suit. In fact, Facebook and other platforms have changed their newsfeed algorithms to show updates based on what they think the users would like to see. Individual users are also showing their preference for quality over quantity by choosing hyper-relevant, real-time content to recycled updates that may have just been reworded to look new.

Another aspect that social media targets when placing value on quality over quantity is customization. In the past, users were bombarded with posts and updates that do not concern them but as they exercised the power to choose what kind of content to see, platforms have picked up on this and have created personalization algorithms so the updates specifically target the preferences of users.

The endless possibilities of live streaming

The success of Snapchat, Periscope, and Facebook Live is proof that real-time engagement with users is an essential part of one’s social media marketing strategy. Apart from humanizing your brand to make it more accessible to users, live video streaming offers a lot of benefits, such as the following:

• It makes video marketing more interactive.
• It is cost-effective since you don’t need to invest in additional equipment. A good camera that can shoot in HD as well as a stable internet connection, which you most likely already have for video marketing, are all you need.
• It gives the users easy behind-the-scenes access to how companies do their business, which is essential since more and more customers value transparency.
• It helps create a community for your brand as users can interact with each other through real-time comments. This improves user experience making customers more likely to promote the brand.
• It takes away the pressure on content creators to produce top-quality videos since the quality of live streams are not expected to be high.

Some of the ways to use the video streaming feature is to hold a live Q&A with your fans or show them a peek of the preparations for an upcoming event.

Integration of “Buy Now” button

Social media advertising is nothing new but the recent addition of the “Buy Now” button by sites like Pinterest and Facebook has increased the opportunity to reach target markets and increase conversion. And this new feature benefits not only the brand but the users as well since buyers no longer need to leave the website or the app to make purchases.

Social platform diversification

There was a time when Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn were all the social media accounts to maintain for your social media marketing but this is no longer the case. In order to reach a larger segment of the market, and the younger generation at that, you need to add Instagram and Snapchat to the mix. In addition, you should already be on Reddit, Inbound.org, or Medium to spread awareness of your brand or content.

Domination of mobile sites and apps

In 2014, mobile users have exceeded the number of desktop users’ worldwide, reports Smart Insights. In response to the trend, companies made sure that their websites are optimized for mobile. Otherwise, they risk losing their customers to competitors. Google’s Mobilegeddon update is a reminder that mobile is still king in 2016.

Another mobile-related trend that companies need to focus on is the growing use of mobile apps as they tend to have a better functionality over mobile websites. Hence, developing or improving your business app is crucial in increasing your chance of achieving marketing success.

There is no one formula for a successful social media marketing campaign as platforms are constantly developing and implementing changes that keep brands on their toes. The good news is, if your past marketing strategy didn’t work you have the chance of improving it in the future with brochure printing Uk and other media marketing channels that are known to render results.