With every passing year, social media trends come and go, but alongside the sometimes passing fads, real, effective strategies begin to emerge.
2017 will be no different.
If your business aims to stay ahead of the curve this year, the time to implement some fresh social media strategies is now. It’s always be worth experimenting with unique social media approaches, but to really make your mark in 2017, here are a few strategies that are predicted to go far this year.
Go Live
Statistics show that video is the current reigning medium for reaching your audience. Video has grown enormously in the past several years, and in 2016 its relevance was more apparent than ever. Instagram capitalised on the popularity of video by incorporating Instagram stories into their photo sharing app. They’ve even begun to roll out live video in recent months. Facebook, too has emphasised video this past year (and plans to do so even more in 2017), promoting the live feature most heavily. And with good reason. Facebook reports that users spend 3X as much time watching live videos compared with traditional videos. Live video has an immediacy and authenticity that can be highly successful for brands and businesses, and it’s one social strategy that should be fully embraced in 2017.
Connect via Messaging Apps
Social media updates can be beneficial, but the most powerful way to reach your customers in 2017 may, in fact, be through messaging apps. OTT messaging programs such as Kik, Whatsapp, and Ping are major players—used particularly by the millennial generation. If your customer base includes these younger consumers, you can’t ignore the impact that direct messaging can have. And many brands are taking advantage of chatbots to streamline their customer service via these messaging apps. Two billion users are projected to be users of such OTT apps by 2018, and currently, 62% of millennials claim to be more loyal to brands that interact with them via messaging and social media. In 2017, consider how your business can take advantage of this potent and personalised marketing strategy.
Continue to Prioritise Mobile Optimisation
It’s no secret that mobile devices are leading the way. Mobile usage has increased continuously over the past several years, and recently even surpassed laptop and PC access. This is important for businesses, not only with regards to optimising websites for mobile devices, but for developing the right social strategies to best reach a primarily-mobile audience. Messaging programs are one effective method, as discussed above, but creating brand-based apps may also be a helpful approach. This means, too, that all visual content (and especially videos) must be optimised to work well on mobile. Keep pushing towards full optimisation in 2017.
Utilise Influence
Influencer marketing is only continuing to grow in 2017. On many platforms, such as Facebook, brands are finding it harder and harder to reach their audience. This is simply because the volume of users and brands on platforms effectively “clogs” the feed. To be seen, it has often become a “pay to play” situation. Paying for Facebook ads may be a wise social media strategy for many businesses, but influencer marketing is another smart move to consider. Influencers have exactly that: influence. Their updates and posts tend to reach their highly engaged audience organically. For a brand, partnering with an influencer on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or another platform allows you to piggyback on the relationship and trust they’ve already built with their audience. Their opinions and suggestions are heard and heeded, and for a business, influencer marketing can be a tremendous way to boost sales, web traffic, and brand recognition.
Ready to tackle 2017 head on? We can help. Get in touch with our expert strategists here at Webics today and make this your best year yet.
