Today, it is undeniable that social media marketing is one of the most important ways to advertise your business. Businesses and individuals are going the extra mile to use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and a host of other social media channels. These channels don’t only provide a great place to reach customers, but it also assisting entities to boost their sales and conversions.
However, like other things, social media marketing is experiencing significant changes. These changes are due to technological advancements, changes in the behaviors of customers, the introduction of new features on social media platforms, etc.
Nowadays, you cannot just post generic content on your social media pages and get amazing results. The changes in social media marketing have necessitated businesses and individuals to be more intentional with their marketing strategies.
In view of these, we will highlight what you need to know about changes in social media marketing and how to prepare for them.
Video content is now the king for brand engagement
If your target is to engage as many consumers as possible on social media channels, you should never overlook the importance of video content. This is because many social media users will always prefer videos over infographics, word and image posts, and other content. Additionally, the attention span of most social media users is short; thus, they don’t want to read long posts or images with cumbersome messages. Therefore, you must create videos as they will be more appealing to your consumers.
Now, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc. rank video content above others. Therefore, take advantage of this change to get more Instagram likes, Facebook viewers, YouTube subscribers, and so on.
Influencer marketing is taking the center stage on different channels
A crucial way through which social media marketing is changing is the increased importance of influencer marketing. Simply put, influencer marketing refers to the process of marketing a business/brand via influencers. Notably, influencers are individuals with massive followings on one or more social media platforms. These influencers can market a business or brand to their millions or thousands of followers.
Some years ago, no one took note of influencer marketing. However, it has grown to an essential part of social media marketing today. Regardless of the size of your business, you can use influencer marketing to reach out to some would-be or existing consumers.
It should be noted that influencers come at different levels. Based on the size of their followings on social media platforms, we have big influencers, micro-influencers, and nano-influencers. Consider your budget and choose dependable influencers that can promote your brand.
Live streams are crucial
Due to the importance of live streams, most social media platforms have added live streaming features to their apps. Whether you are using TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, you can now join live streams. Without a doubt, live streams are perfect for people looking for increased Instagram views or views on other platforms.
Despite the essence of this change to social media marketing, live streams must be planned properly to be successful. The live streams must only be done at some specific times and days that most of your consumers will be willing to view them. Also, the subjects of the live streams must be captivating enough to retain the attention of your viewers. For instance, you could promise and provide special discounts, free products, behind-the-scenes content, tutorials, tips, etc. in your live streams.
Social app commerce is important to get more sales
In the past, you could only use your social media pages to redirect your consumers to where they can buy your product or service. However, things have changed significantly as consumers can now buy directly via social app commerce.
Factually, many social media users don’t have the patience to leave social media and buy products or services on another page. They want the product or service instantly on social media channels. Therefore, you must use this change to your advantage by allowing your customers to shop on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms.
For instance, a brand can create a Facebook Shop that allows consumers to buy its product or service directly without leaving Facebook. Besides, you can also buy Instagram followers and promote your products to reach more consumers. This will likely increase the number of people that will buy your product directly from this social media channel.
Stories now get more viewers
Basically, “Story” refers to a content format that Instagram, Facebook, and many other social media platforms have nowadays. Unlike regular photos and other posts, stories are automatically deleted after a particular period, usually about 24 hours.
According to some surveys, Instagram Stories get more than 500 million interactions each day. Other social media channels also get several millions of interactions from their stories daily. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that more than 50% of brands used Stories in 2020, and we can only expect an increase in the number in the coming years.
Therefore, this change can play a paramount role in improving different areas of your business. As a brand or business owner, this is an important change you must never overlook.
Humanization of your social media marketing is a must
Another critical change that cannot be overemphasized is the need to humanize your brand. Most consumers don’t want to interact with a brand that sounds like a robot. In other words, they want you to feel like they are relating to humans.
Therefore, you must not hesitate to personify your social media marketing. Also, be original and transparent. Like real humans, show your vulnerability and join trends. When possible, create videos and show your faces for your consumers to know that a real human is behind your social media pages.
User-generated content has a massive advantage over traditional ads
An average internet user is exposed to thousands of advertisements daily. You can come across these ads when watching YouTube videos, scrolling on Facebook, Instagram, etc. or just opening an app. As the result of constant exposure to ads, many internet users are somewhat used to traditional ads. Apart from becoming less drawn towards ads, most consumers find traditional ads too salesy and annoying.
However, user-generated content tends to perform better than traditional ads. Generally, user-generated content has a real user of an advertised service or product. Such content often gets the attention of the viewers; hence, it is more effective for marketing your product or service on social media channels. So, consider user-generated content for ads.
Customer service is now online
A paramount factor that is changing social media marketing now is online customer service. Social media users want solutions to their challenges now without leaving social media channels. Therefore, businesses are now taking their customer service online. Many small and big institutions are opening accounts on Twitter, Facebook, etc. to provide customer services to their consumers.
Instead of expecting your customers to call a number or visit a brick and mortar store when having a problem, use social media to communicate with them. With the aid of chatbots, you can answer your customers 24/7. For more dedicated customer service, you should consider hiring the services of a customer service manager for your social media accounts. For more crucial subjects, you or your employee can provide a solution. Also, you can capitalize on this particular change to answer FAQs and provide tutorials. Also, social media can be used for describing the special features of your products or services.
In addition, online customer service allows collaboration among you and your employees to deal with issues facing your customers.
Augmented reality is here to stay
Augmented reality is one of the relatively new changes in social media marketing. In fact, only a few businesses are using it. However, you must not wait until everyone is using it before joining the trend.
In general, augmented reality allows your customers to try out a particular product virtually. This feature can play a key role in altering the decision of a customer to buy a product. Currently, Instagram is one of the few channels using the feature already AR to improve customer experience. But we expect more platforms to join as Facebook introduced it some months ago.
It should be noted that augmented reality will not only change the way we use social media for purchasing products, but it will also make it more fun-filled and appealing to many consumers. Based on its numerous benefits, we expect augmented reality to usher in lots of improvement to the world of social media marketing in the future.
In a nutshell, you should take the time to learn about the ways through which social media is changing. Also, you should understand how these changes can affect your business now and in the future. Afterwards, go an extra length to prepare for these changes.
After taking all these steps, you are bound to take your brand to the next level with the help of social media marketing.
