So you've finally taken the plunge and decided to thrust your business/organization into the wonderful (yet ever-changing) world of social media marketing. You're learning what platforms your target audience is engaging with, the right content to publish, and the pitfalls of what happens when your content doesn't align with your audience's goals. Perhaps 2017 was a year filled with those types of social media learning lessons. Well this year, our resolution is to stay on top of the social media rollercoaster. Social media can be a beast of its own kind, so we'd like to break down some of the trends that have been identified so far for 2018!
- Live video content will only continue to grow - with Facebook's new algorithm changes it's a sure fire bet that live video is the only way to go to make sure your organization stays relevant in the eyes of your audience. With new features such as "Watch Party" coming soon, it's even more imperative to make sure you're recording your events live, as "watch party" will significantly increase the amount of traffic those live videos will recieve after the LIVE video has ended.
- Messaging apps will become a critical communication method - This is already being utilized by companies like Hyatt Hotels, and clothing companies such as Shein and Romwe. Using apps like Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp to automate your communication, making it available 24/7, will help those messaging you know that you care. Getting quick and thoughtful responses to their questions and concerns will ultimately make them feel more of a relationship with your brand. The opposite holds true for those that have been put on hold when they needed customer service, especially after normal business hours. Communication is key!
- Virtual reality will find its way into more and more marketing experiences - If you're a nonprofit organization this is your time to shine! You probably already know the value of showing your constituents the impact that they (your donors/volunteers) are making. With Virtual Reality (VR) Marketing you can physically show the actual impact and/or processes in which their donations and volunteer work are causing. Who wouldn't love that?
- More channels will make it difficult to monetize (and therefore, weaponize) content - In lieu of the recent presidential election and the channels that were shown to be influential in the outcome; platforms like: Youtube, Facebook, and Google will make the process for monetizing content more difficult. The Result? High-quality content geared toward the right audience getting most of the attention.
- Voice search and AI will change the way users discover brands and content - With AI and voice search creeping it's way into every facet of our society, it's pretty important that you begin to change the way your company publishes content. People will begin to search for things in a completely different way. Think: like you, human. So, in regards to your organization's voice, you need get your persona and tone ready.
With this knowledge in hand, your brand can take or leave whatever information it wants but keep one thing in mind: social media marketing is ever-changing and to keep up you must make adjustments to stay in the game. It can be a taxing role and a hard job to implement especially for nonprofits who perhaps don't have bandwidth in manpower or funds to hire a full-time employee(s) to manage all of this. We can understand that struggle, and for those reasons exactly, we're here for you!
