Social media where is it headed

But more notable is the number of businesses which saw increased sales through social media efforts. The level of experience respondents have with social media also plays a role. More experienced social media marketers those who have been using social for more than 2 years exhibit an above-average tendency to derive improved sales and increased exposure from their activities. Instagram use, on the other hand, has grown. Beyond this, B2B and B2C marketers vary in their use of social platforms.

Just as in past years , Facebook remains far ahead of other platforms for paid social media. Marketers may be ignoring any personal misgivings about the platform: while concerns about data privacy and security have curtailed their personal use of social media, advertisers still believe it is a great way to get results for their clients , per a recent webinar presentation from Advertiser Perceptions.

Sponsor Permissions : Check this box to agree to receiving communications from our Sponsors, where applicable, as per our Privacy Policy. As social platforms introduce new features and change their algorithms, social media trends likewise undergo an evolution.

Take Instagram Stories, for example. Now, over million people use the feature daily on Instagram, and more and more platforms are adding equivalent features. These rapid changes present a whole new challenge for brands and social media marketers as they have to constantly review their existing strategies and pivot to add new types of content to their repertoire.

Marketers continually have to keep an eye out for the latest trends influencing the future of social media and evolve accordingly. The global health crisis of saw many businesses going digital however they could to maintain social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID Face-to-face meetings turned into Zoom conferences and live concerts turned into live streams of artists playing from their homes. For instance, the number of views on Instagram and Facebook Live doubled there in just a week.

While the situation continues to evolve in , people have gotten used to being able to interact with brands live without ever leaving their homes. So live streaming will continue to gain popularity and should definitely be a part of your social media marketing strategy.

As highlighted earlier, more than million users interact with Instagram Stories every day. More importantly, the use of video as Stories will increase since they appear to outperform photos. A SocialInsider study found that images in Stories have a 5. Tap-forward rate is the number of people who saw your Story and moved on to the next one before finishing it. The same analysis also found that photos in Stories had more drop-offs than videos, showing that people tend to spend more time viewing videos.

Amid the stay-at-home orders and the need for social distancing, people are seeking more meaningful interactions virtually.

Virtual reality VR is one of the current technological trends that can provide them with those interactions. This is the exact kind of experience that people need at a time when they have to socially distance. Take Facebook Horizon, for example. As of early , Facebook is leveraging the Oculus VR platform to beta-test a virtual world that allows people to explore, connect with others, and play games. Similar to virtual reality, recent events have accelerated the adoption of Augmented reality AR experiences, including in the social space.

Brands are quickly buying into this latest social media trend by creating AR filters to promote new products or encourage fan interaction. Instagram You may remember Instagram testing the removal of likes in several countries, including Australia, Japan, Italy and Ireland. How can they show businesses how popular they are? How will they demonstrate engagement? Twitter Tweet. Facebook Share. Stay Connected Join over , of your peers and receive our weekly newsletter which features the top trends, news and expert analysis to help keep you ahead of the curve.

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