Techssocial | Social media marketing is one of the key forms of digital marketing that every business owner needs. There are people of all ages, class, and ethnicity remotely connected to social media. The experts on Writezillas suggest that social media marketing is cheaper and more targeted than most of the other forms of digital marketing. However, social media marketing trends change regularly. So, the methods that may have been effective two to five years ago are now obsolete. If you want to keep enjoying this effective marketing tool, you need to pay attention to current trends.
5 Social Media Trends You Should Pay Attention To
- Quality Over Brand
In the past, the news feed on social media promoted posts from public figures, reputable brands, and influencers. Even content that didn’t have a lot of user engagement appeared on the first page. At the beginning of the year, however, social media networks like Facebook started making changes to their algorithm that would prioritize contents with the highest engagement. So, the more your family and friends comment, repost, or like your content, the more visibility it will get. That is why you need to focus on generating content that adds value irrespective of the popularity of your brand. Your content should be engaging. Don’t use plain text alone, use colorful pictures and videos to complement the text, and arouse the interest of the audience. - Live Broadcast
Live streaming is another feature on social media that can be used to build a relationship with your audience. Unlike regular uploads, the content is posted in real-time, and it disappears after a given period. If you sell a product, you can share a live video of you or someone else using the product along with tutorials about using the item. Viewers may be more propelled to believe in the authenticity of the product if they view a live feed of its use. All the key social media platforms now have the live broadcast feature. Facebook launched its live feed feature in 2016 and has had more than 4 billion live broadcasts since then. Twitter and Instagram also have a live broadcast feature. You don’t need to post a live feed every day. You can do it once a week or once a month. The key is to ensure that you stick to a specific date. That way, your audience will be prepared for each broadcast. - Social Listening
Social listening involves using marketing tools to pay attention to what people are saying on social media. Each time a person says something related to your product or service, you’ll get an alert allowing you to pitch your product to the person. It is a good tool for lead generation. Apart from simply pitching your product, you can use it for a broader campaign. For example, if you run a travel agency and someone is asking questions about a trip to one of the destinations you offer, the social listening tool will alert you. Rather than simply offering your service, you can offer the person a free or discounted trip to the destinations to generate social media buzz and gain exposure for your business. - Messaging Apps
The rise of messaging apps has been rapid over the last decade. From Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Messenger to direct messages on Twitter and Instagram, businesses need to build a strong presence. While email and telephone channels are still active, most prospects and clients prefer to quickly send a message through the popular messaging channels than through email. So, you need to be ready to respond to complaints and inquiries as soon as possible. One thing you should keep in mind is that not responding to direct messages can give your brand a bad reputation on social media. Your prospects can quickly gang up against you and make your business trend online for the wrong reasons. - Keep Things Personalized
Personalization is important in social media marketing. While you can launch a campaign that ensures that only targeted viewers see your products, you need to make sure that you add a personalized touch to everything you post. There is nothing that provokes users more than seeing posts that pitch products or services that they don’t need. While you’re trying to personalize the content, make sure that you respect the privacy of your prospects. With all the data compromise scandals that have been occurring lately, users are worried about the privacy of their personal information online.
If you ever need a prospect to provide personal information for a campaign or something, make sure that you take additional measures to keep that information protected. Research by Breach Level Index revealed that in 2018, 4.5 billion data breaches were recorded. Out of this number, 56% was from social media. Make sure that you’re transparent during the data collection process.
The prospects should know why you are collecting the data and who else will see the data. They must agree to the terms and conditions of data collection. This way, you will not be held accountable for stealing data like Mark Zuckerberg was last year when he reportedly made billions selling personal information of users without their consent. Facebook still hasn’t restored its reputation since then, and thousands of users vowed never to use it again.
Conclusion
Social media marketing is an affordable alternative to other traditional marketing techniques. However, you need to tread with caution. Just like you can get a major boost for your business on social media, you can also suffer damage to your reputation.
Hemant is Digital Marketer and he has 6 + years of experience in SEO, Content marketing, Infographic etc.