Social media is one of the cornerstones of a digital marketing strategy. In fact, it is hard to imagine a brand succeeding if it has no presence on social media.
Of course, given the size of social media marketing, it is necessary to identify what is trending so that businesses can create tailor-made social media strategies and benefit from them.
The purpose of this article is to provide you with the most recent social media trends, which should help get more out of SM platforms.
Giveaways and Contests
Let’s start with giveaways and contests. Ever since the inception of social media, various businesses have been using the technique to attract more followers.
The giveaways can range from various knick-knacks to significant prizes. Be it discount coupons, vouchers for free shipping, custom merchandise like personalized tank tops or hoodies, movie or concert tickets, or digital goods, such as e-books; consumers will jump at an opportunity to participate in a giveaway.
It is common to ask interested participants to join by liking and following the page and commenting on the giveaway post.
One thing to note about the giveaway method is that you should not fake it. Some pages announce winners, but in reality, those are fake accounts. A giveaway should be legit. Otherwise, someone might get the hang of your tricks and expose the brand, which would damage the reputation.
User-Generated Content
User-generated content is an interesting trend that more brands should take note of, particularly if their current content feels outdated or is stagnating.
The introduction of content variety is one thing, but you also have to consider the fact that involving the community is a great way to boost engagement on social media.
Showcasing user-generated content is what attracts interest. If someone wishes to expose their work to an audience, they will jump at an opportunity to show it, courtesy of an established brand’s social media page. In other words, both parties benefit, so it would be a waste not to take advantage of an opportunity to collaborate with a social media audience.
Rise of TikTok
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are the big three in terms of social media platforms. However, it would not be a stretch to suggest that TikTok is slowly becoming another big player.
Looking at the platform and what it does, figuring out effective marketing methods can be a bit difficult. Nevertheless, there is still the option to create ad campaigns, collaborate with content creators, and utilize other features of the platform to promote your brand.
According to Wallaroo Media, TikTok has roughly 1 billion active monthly users. For comparison, Facebook is around 2.9 billion, and Instagram is around 1.4 billion.
Considering the numbers and how fast TikTok is growing, this platform should be on your list of priorities as far as social media marketing goes.
Short Video Content
Continuing with the point of TikTok, one of the reasons why the platform is so popular is the form of its content—short videos.
If you were to look for various tips on how to approach social media content management, a video would usually be at the top.
Having said that, videos are quite intricate. You cannot just create whatever comes to mind, particularly length-wise.
An average consumer has a pretty lackluster attention span. Just because videos are easier to process than text, do not expect that someone on social media will bother watching long videos.
Shopping Directly on Social Media
Direct social media shopping should not come as a surprise. People spend a lot of time on social media, so it was only a matter of time before the platforms decided to cut out the middleman.
Instead of having brands redirect leads to a landing page, social media sites should let the transaction take place directly on the platform. Facebook is one of the recent examples. The site introduced Facebook Shopping.
It might take a while for brands to set up stores directly on social media sites, but the trend is unlikely to disappear, meaning that so long as a brand has a presence on an SM site with direct shopping features, it needs to make the necessary preparations.
Influencer Marketing
The last trend to mention should be pretty obvious. Influencer marketing is one of the most popular forms of advertising.
These days, consumers are more likely to trust the words of personalities they follow on social media than they would big corporations. The fact that influencers exist should be a good enough indication that the method works.
Establishing long-term relationships with influencers should be a goal for most brands, though a one-time promotional campaign is quite common as well.
Finally, if a brand does not have the budget to collaborate with S-tier influencers, it should not chase them. Instead, it is better to stick to micro-influencers who have fewer followers but are not as demanding.
Follow Techiemag for more!