Social media trends in 2018

With the advent of social media, marketing, advertising and promotional activities have evolved significantly in the modern business environment. The internet now offers many exciting opportunities for brick-and-mortar businesses to reach potential customers, and the use of social media platforms has helped countless business owners to manage customer contacts and promote their products and services in a highly targeted way.
Before we look at some of the social media trends that businesses can utilise in 2015 to increase sales and manage communications, it's important to look at the statistics available on the use and benefits of social platforms and how to harness the power of such networks.

Use of social media

Facebook, Tweeter, LinkedIn, YouTube and blogs are the most popular networks in the social media community. The use of the individual platforms varies, and so do the benefits. According to research conducted by Google, around 90 % of smartphone owners have at least one account with a particular social media site. This means that sites like Instagram or Twitter are home to millions of internet users who are essentially potential customers, and the fact that businesses can communicate with customers from all parts of the world is no longer a new concept.

Inc 500 records show that 94 % use LinkedIn, while the reach of Facebook and Twitter is 80 % and 79 % respectively. A large percentage of each organisation's customers also regularly access social media sites. The use of social sites has increased exponentially in recent years, and the impact on your organisation's bottom line is huge.

Trends to watch out for in 2018

For small and medium-sized enterprises, social media platforms are a cost-effective way to
interact with a wide range of potential customers, initiate marketing campaigns and promotions and increase sales figures. Trends in 2015 that can help businesses take advantage of social media and realise its full potential include:

• Facebook

Facebook is simply the most popular and most used social media website. According to the company, it has more than 1.39 billion monthly active users. Facebook has a community and reach that is unrivalled by any other social platform in existence today, and it will continue to trend in 2015.

Most businesses already recognise the opportunities available to them. However, remember that most Facebook users are more interested in information about family, friends and social activities than your adverts, and the posts that get the most 'likes' are the ones that appeal to users.

• Effects of Facebook - The main benefits of this social media platform lie in advertising, marketing campaigns and capturing customer metrics through interaction. By targeting messages to your chosen demographic, you can learn a lot about customers' reactions to situations, speculation and users' experiences with your products.

• Tips for using social media - Set up a presence on Facebook and complete the profile with descriptions, images and links. Be professional in all your communications, but leave out the corporate marketing jargon - users don't like it because it doesn't allow them to interact with you on a personal basis. Corporate jargon is confusing, and most people will simply click away if they feel disconnected from your message.

With Facebook, you also need to ensure constant interaction and frequently distribute high-quality content to attract customers and colleagues. To take full advantage of Facebook, you should create fan pages and Facebook ads and make good use of images, memes, videos and surveys, as well as offering giveaways or discount coupons.

• LinkedIn
  Since 2012, this medium has developed into one of the most powerful social media profiles for small businesses available today. Its usage increased to 94 % in 2014, and its reach is expected to increase even further in 2015. By using this platform, your company presents itself as a reputable professional who is both a skilful businessman and a competent service provider.

• Effects of LinkedIn - For brick-and-mortar businesses, LinkedIn represents the core values and benefits of professional connections. Any company can use the medium to expand contacts with other service providers in the same niche. It also facilitates contacts with suppliers, potential employees and customers.

• Tips for using social media - To maximise the use of LinkedIn, a strong, complete company profile including employee profiles must be created. Then ensure that profiles are optimised with targeted keywords and messages that attract relevant/desired companies.

It's important to join relevant groups in the niche you serve, as this will allow you to gain more insights from your peers and position your business as the best. Also, you can utilise presentations like SlideShare to provide illustrations and publish leadership content through the platform. This basically helps to improve the perception of your business by potential customers through strategic positioning and marketing.

• Twitter
  Twitter is another social media platform that has long been recognised as a powerful communication and marketing tool. The network allows your business to create a profile and upload images, post short messages about your customers, respond to questions and even use it as a real-time customer support site.

• Twitter applications - Twitter is the best platform to increase the reach of messages as it has almost 288 million users (as of March 2015). With short, targeted messages (160 characters), you can engage your customers in any way you want and, most importantly, start meaningful conversations.

• Tips for using social media - Tweets have a very short lifespan, and Twitter relies heavily on traction/attraction (your followers and those you follow). You should use Twitter to engage with potential customers and connect with reputable businesses by following them and retweeting their messages. As established brands tend to have many followers, by engaging with these brands, your Twitter account will be seen by the same customer group you are both targeting. This can prove to be an effective and cost-effective way to reach potential customers.

When tweeting or retweeting, use relevant hashtags (#) to increase visibility and reach. The use of images can also increase reach and arouse customer curiosity.

• Blogging
  Blogs are not only a powerful marketing tool, they are also inexpensive and very effective at getting your message across. They are basically websites that act as a social media base where your company has unlimited opportunities to publish content, include links, network with peers and executives, invite guests for interviews, describe, promote or review products and services, and inform your customers about your products.

• Effects of blogs - Blogs put you in control of all content and interactions, as well as how you present and market your brand. However, you need to update quality content regularly, and this requires resources and time to achieve. Blogs should therefore be approached patiently and with caution.

Many blogging platforms like Blogspot and WordPress also don't allow blatant ad copy on their platforms. This can be easily remedied by purchasing a domain name and hosting your blog on your own web hosting server so that you have 100 % control over its content.

• Tips for using social media - Optimise the blog for search engines to improve visibility and ranking, and make sure you include links that direct customers to useful content. You can additionally benefit from promoting other partners and appearing on their blogs as well to increase reach. As a gateway linking to other websites, you can publish a variety of content aimed at specific audiences.

Conclusion

There are many other social media trends from 2014 that are even more promising for 2015. These include creating high-quality videos and publishing them on YouTube so customers can learn more about your business. Others include Pinterest, Google+ and niche forums, all of which host a variety of internet users and potential customers. The aim of using social media is to holistically design and create content in conjunction with expanding the reach of the business/brand - so make sure you involve the whole team and build a fully optimised online presence on most, if not all, social media platforms.