Current Trends in Social Media Marketing

As social media continues to evolve and become a dominant force in the digital world, marketers must pay attention and be aware of some of the key social media marketing trends, if they hope to be successful.

• Rise of Micro-Influencers – As the trend of influencer marketing continues to grow and more brands recognize its effectiveness, so too has the rise of micro-influencers. Increasingly, businesses are realizing that greater doesn’t always mean better. And more importantly, they do not have to pay millions to a very popular influencer to still have an effective influencer marketing strategy. Research has shown that the right micro-influencer in some cases can be more effective than an influencer with millions of followers. It’s all about brands recognizing their specific need and identifying the right influencer for their target audience.

• Transparency & Credibility – As some of the biggest social media platforms face major backlash due to data security concerns, influencer fraud, etc. more and more individuals are finding themselves wary of various brands on social media. This has led to a push for brands to be more transparent to consumers, thereby establishing their credibility.

• More Video Content – The power of video is a trend, which has steadily been increasing for years and this is only going to continue. Experts predict that soon, 80% of what we consume online will be video content. From live streaming, live video, IGTV, etc. video is critical to any business’ social media marketing efforts.

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• Rise of Stories – According to Business Insider, Instagram Stories have drawn nearly 400 million users. Easy to create, engaging and fun, Stories, which originated via Snapshat but has since been surpassed by Instagram, has become one of the most popular types of social media content. And the trend is unlikely to stop anytime soon. Even Facebook has gotten in on the Story train.

• Social Listening – No matter how great your content, if it’s not what appeals to and attracts your customers, you’re wasting your time. And the only way to truly know and understand what appeals to your customer is to pay attention to what they’re saying. That’s the power of social media listening. And as the competition for social space and attention continues to grow exponentially, executing an effective social media listening strategy becomes increasingly significant.

• Using Social for Inbound – The power of social media has grown far beyond simply engaging with customers in real-time communication. Many social media platforms are now equipped with enough capabilities to be an effective lead generation and social selling tool. This means that we are now seeing a growing trend of social media as an inbound marketing tool, thus increasing its importance for businesses.