To help businesses keep on top of the ever-changing fads, here’s a list of 6 trends that can be incorporated into their next marketing strategy.
The father of all social platforms to have a digital presence are of course Meta-owned; Facebook, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. Instagram was one of the best platforms for businesses that had them experience some of the highest ROIs (depending on the industry) but the trend is slowly changing.
TikTok was the most downloaded social media app on the Google Play Store in September this year according to Statista followed by Instagram.
Why is business TikTok’s success crucial? To put it plainly, it is the only platform to see staggering and steady growth in the past few years. The short-form video app had only 689 million users in January 2021 and crossed the 1 billion user threshold exactly a year later. That’s approximately 45% growth within the year!
The users on the platform are primarily Gen Z and millennials (aged 10-29) but recent research shows that users aged 30-49 are steadily climbing the ranks.
The search demand for TikTok has also grown by 173% over the last year whereas the growth has only been 22% for Instagram reels.
Maybe your next BTS work video on TikTok will be the next trend!
YouTube undoubtedly is still the king of video but with the rise of TikTok, Instagram reels and the general short attention span of the average internet user, short-form content has proven to be a powerful tool for marketers and influencers.
This not only increases brand awareness, traffic, and brand loyalty but sales as well.
A report by HubSpot revealed that 54% of marketers were employing short-form videos to reach their marketing goals. What’s interesting is that 85% of marketers surveyed believed that bite-sized video content was the most well-received format on social media in contrast to long-form content.
These crisp and to-the-point videos rank highest when looking at marketing options for engagement and lead generation as they significantly increase the chances of going viral.
Magnetic Marketing too experienced a surge of engagement when we posted short-form video content ranging from 8-20 seconds.
Research has also shown that longer videos actually put off users from consuming content, especially on social media. It was also brought to light that the ideal content length for Facebook, Instagram and TikTok ranges from the 15-30 second ballpark.
Using a social platform to achieve marketing goals has been around the block for some time now. What’s new is that users can now purchase items without leaving the platform. Instagram and Facebook launched the Shops feature back in 2020 to make purchasing a frictionless experience for buyers.
The prospect of selling and buying without leaving the platform is going to become immensely popular. Research by eMarketer predicts that by 2025, the social commerce industry would be worth $80 billion in the US only.
The go-to method of vetting a business or its product is already social media for the modern buyer. About 54% of social media users use these platforms to find information about a product and check its reviews and the brand's representation.
The fashion industry would be a great social commerce example of an industry that has successfully cultivated a loyal audience.
By offering a shopfront and checkout option right there and then, businesses can capitalise by making shopping hassle-free for their audience. As of yet, the platforms that offer social shopping experiences are Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok.
Social media poses to be a gold mine for insights and analytics that companies can use to refine their social strategies. This is where social listening comes in. The activity pertains to identifying growth opportunities and then strategizing according to insight determined through monitoring.
While social monitoring is certainly the foundation for social listening, the two serve different purposes. Listening to conversations around a brand means that they engage with it in a way that dictates adjustments in their strategy based on insights.
Businesses can join in conversations with customers or respond to questions in real time. Doing so can help them understand their customer’s preferences, take charge of the message being put out and avoid PR mishaps.
The market is full of social listening and social monitoring tools that offer marketers much ease to tap into valuable information. By attuning to a social conversation taking place around a brand, marketers can successfully gauge the efficacy of their efforts, get an understanding of the audience’s sentiment and ultimately increase the value of their organisation.
Did you catch the pun in our subheading just there? User-generated content is exactly what it refers to. Content created by users for the users. Along with the video, user-generated content keeps appearing on the list of social media trends.
Modern consumers look for originality and authenticity over perfection now. Gone are the days when an overly edited image and a perfectly curated feed made a business reliable in the customer’s eyes. They now want content that is real and relatable.
The popularity of BeReal and TikTok can be attributed to exactly these. The need for real and filter-free content. Statistics show that campaigns that incorporated UGC in their strategies see 50% more engagement. Adding to that, 79% of social media users say that their buying decision is heavily impacted by user-generated content.
Employing such content in a strategy can have a business appear authentic and the general market sentiment is that people want to work with real brands. The success rate is 29% more when compared to campaigns that do not use it.
The modern consumer expects the brands they give business to chime into environmental issues, and political and social justice. This could be either sincere involvement or a marketing tactic only.
One of the biggest markets, GenZ specifically likes to engage with “ethical brands”. This not only means being conscious of how a business presents itself online but rather how things work on the backend too.
Only recently, Adidas was forced to drop Kanye, after the singer made antisemitic remarks. The show company lost $650 million after letting the rapper go. Nike, also engaged proactively in social issues as a part of its marketing.
Brand activism also in turn humanises a business and may result in increased brand awareness and customer loyalty. Nike’s initiatives bore fruit and the brand experiences a significant number in sales. Brands only need to be careful about how they take on a sensitive topic and need to align their approach to resonate with the sentiment of their target audience.
Social media trends are always changing, which is why brands need to keep their ears close to the buzz. While it may be difficult to follow every trend on our list, we suggest starting slow and incorporating what seems doable in your strategy and focusing on it.
Also, paying close attention to what your customers say is an approach that goes beyond trends.
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