Social media platforms are a major resource for both small and big businesses that are looking to promote their brands and connect with customers on the Internet. As social media continues to increase in popularity among the public, it's not just a useful tool but a necessity  to help ensure businesses growth. As social media dominates the business world, it's important pay attention to latest social media marketing trends. 2016 housed several trends that shaped the way businesses use social media and has lead to the rise of newer trends businesses need to follow. This post discusses the social media trends to look for as the new year approaches. 

Videos Are More Popular Than Ever

Videos have steadily become a popular tool among digital marketing. Now more than ever, videos are dominating the social media world and it's time for businesses to jump on the bandwagon. Therefore, with videos on the rise, this trend proves to be the most dominate way people want to process information. In fact,  "between April 2015 and November 2015, the amount of average daily video views on Facebook doubled from 4 billion video views per day to 8 billion. Additionally, Syndacast predicts 74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video" (Source).

Improving views on social media means you are creating more prospective customer relationships. Therefore, the more you connect through the popular outlets of social media, the more opportunities you create to grow your business. Although videos are a powerful communication tool, it's important to make sure the videos you create will intrigue your targeted audience. Whether it's a fun or informative video, remember who your audience is and be sure that all your videos are captivating and motivate viewer interaction with your business. 

Another rising trend hitting the video social media world is live streaming. With video stories becoming popular on platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram, Facebook offers live streaming that shares "in-the-moment" experiences. Not only do videos provide business personlization but people can really connect with a business when the videos they are viewing are streaming in real-time. Unlike traditional Facebook videos, the "Facebook Live" feature allows businesses to create and share content that doesn’t require scripting or editing and is followed by an added notification when the live stream is occurring. 

Decline Of Organic & Rise Of Paid Ads

With more and more businesses realizing social media is a necessity, it becomes even more challenging to gain followers and enhance interaction. Social media platforms are flooded with content and therefore it can be difficult for businesses, especially ones new to the game, to have their posts found above the rest. For this reason,  social media paid ads and boosted posts have arisen. Additionally, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms are removing chronological timeline updates. This unfortunately makes you invisible unless you are willing to pull out the credit card. Social media is just becoming another paid media (Source). 

However, as many businesses may be hesitant to open their wallets, right now Facebook ads are affordable and can be customized to fit your budget. The longer you wait though, the more you will pay as predictions indicate prices will go up the more popular paid ads become. Do a little research, analyze your target market and try romoting or boosting posts that will draw people in.  

Focus On Emotional Posts

Informative and useful posts have been a popular choice to capture consumer attention. However, what businesses can look forward to are emotional posts becoming the way to drum up more followers. Emotional and imaginative posts spark inspiration and have a higher probability of spreading virally. These posts typically have a powerful message and captivating visuals that incite and inspire. Mixing these types of posts in with your daily informative posts will bring people in and keep them interested to learn more about your business. 

Some Social Sites Fade While Others Dominate

Although it's time to jump on the social media bandwagon, it's important to know what social platforms are on the rise and which ones are fading out. Social media platforms are constantly coming to life while others are fizzling out. For example, Facebook has been around for 12 years accumulating over a billion users and continues to be one of the most popular platforms As sites like Facebook and Snapchat start to rise, other popular sites like Twitter are declining. According to Forbes, Snapchat has transformed user expectations and major trends in the social marketing world. Expect big things from this recently-renamed company (Snap) in 2017, and huge marketing opportunities to go along with them. While Twitter isn’t doing so hot and people have been predicting the death of twitter for the past few years (Source). 

It can happen suddenly. One site dies while another rises. People can predict a social media platform's demise but you never know when the innovators of the company come out with something new revitalizing the platform. In conclusion, it's important to keep on track of current trends, not only so that you can optimize your time spent across various channels, but also so that you can test the barometer of public interest. 

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Implementing a social media strategy is not always a simple task, and can take more time than you have on your hands. When properly executed, a social media campaign can generate website traffic to your website, while bringing in new leads for your business, allowing you to connect with prospective buyers. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or would like to begin a social media campaign of your own!