Social media is something that used to be considered only for “young people” for sharing photos and being silly. But, that could not be farther from the truth these days. Over time, social media has evolved into a great tool for marketing and business. Just like other forms of marketing, the social media landscape is changing at a rapid pace and will continue to do so. That’s why it’s important that business owners and professionals keep up-to-date with the latest trends. 


Influencer marketing

Just a couple of years ago if you asked somebody what an influencer was, they would probably stare at you blankly. Today, influencers are the new models, the new spokespeople and more and more businesses are turning to these influencers— people with millions of social media followers, to promote their products and services. Influencer marketing is so popular that is has even beaten print marketing when it comes to popularity on Google Trends. Influencers get paid by brands and companies to promote their products to their massive audiences. Big influencers, those with millions of followers, charge a pretty penny for their services and some small businesses may simply not be able to afford them. So, enter the micro-influencer. This is someone with less followers than big name influencers but they have the advantage of higher engagement among their smaller audience. They also charge considerably less than popular influencers for their sponsored content.


Chatbots and AI

The future really is here. Chatbots are one of the latest trends for businesses. They make it a lot easier for people to reach out to brands on social media and get a response. AI is the future of social media marketing and it allows you to have conversations with customers no matter the hour. Chatbots powered by AI are being used on Facebook Messenger by a wide array of brands to promote their products and they can even troubleshoot and resolve issues that the customers are having.



Video

Video is not a new concept, but how we use it, the magnitude to which we use it, what video can do and where video can be placed and viewed is evolving. 52 percent of marketing professional say that video is the content with the best return on investment, according to Adobe. We spend more time than ever watching videos these days, whether it is a video on a friend’s social media page, a YouTube video, how to do something, video is everywhere in our daily lives. Video can be used in business in the form of product testimonials, behind-the-scenes content, explainer videos and the list goes on. The best strategy video is for teams to create long-form content and then distribute it across different social media platforms. Video content is engaging content that customers have grown accustomed to seeing and love it, we only see video’s role in marketing getting bigger and bigger.


Stories

Stories originated on Snapchat but they are now available on virtually every other social platform as well. These stories typically last for 24 hours and allow for viewers to get a little glimpse of the lives of the people and brands they follow. For companies, stories are a great feature because the opportunities for different types of content via stories is pretty much endless. About 500 million people watch Instagram stories every day. Stories are an extremely engaging form of content and because of their high level of engagement, have become a popular marketing technique for brands and companies. They are also easy to create and don’t require too much production or processing, which is always a plus. Stories are also very quick and to-the-point, this makes them convenient for people to watch quickly as they are on the go and as our attention spans continue to shorten.


Live videos

Live videos have been around for a while on social media but are becoming more popular and we are seeing more platforms hop on the bandwagon and adding live video features. Studies show that 95 percent of marketers planned to add live videos to their social marketing strategies. Live videos allow you to interact with your audience, answer questions live and invite them into your office space by launching products live and having them be part of the fun. Live videos are an especially important component during COVID-19 because a lot of in-person events had to be cancelled but they can still be connected virtually and live thanks to live videos.

Marketing and social media are both constantly evolving but start using these practices today and watch your business start to grow as you get in on the trends and start attracting and engaging with more customers than ever.