The information in this blog post was obtained from Hootsuite, Hubspot, and Sprout Social.
Years ago, social media marketing started as a trend. Now it is an essential part of practically any marketing plan. Businesses with the strongest social media presences all keep track of current trends on social media. Keeping up to date with the best marketing trends helps resonate best with followers. Here are some of the best strategies you can use to keep up with what's going on.
What is Going On Anyway?
You're probably already aware of the popularity of TikTok. It is now the 4th most popular social media network and growing. 45% in 2020, to be exact. The younger generation is quickly adapting to TikTok, with older generations following. Businesses are beginning to notice this trend and are starting to adapt to the platform as well. 38% of companies want to increase their investment in TikTok, and 24% consider TikTok to be the most effective social media for reaching their business goals. That is a whopping 700% increase from 2020. If your business isn't doing anything with TikTok, now is the time to start.
To expand on this further, businesses are beginning to spend more money on smaller social networks such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Pinterest. Many users report ads as more inspiring and enjoyable, leading to greater awareness levels. The success of advertisements on these platforms is likely because of the smaller amount of ad dollars thrown into the platforms compared to giants like Facebook and Instagram.
Social commerce is another trend that is on the rise. Social commerce is using social media platforms to sell products. Social media users are already following and viewing products and brands they are interested in, so selling through the app they use makes purchasing even easier. In fact, social commerce is predicted to be an $80 billion industry by 2025. This is $53 billion more than it was in 2020. If your business has no shops set up through social media pages, you may want to consider creating one.
How do I Keep Up With Trends?
As you already know, there is quite a bit going on with social media. Keeping up with trends might seem impossible, but you can rest easy knowing that several successful methods are already being used. One of these is through a process called social listening. Social listening uses online tools to track specific keywords and industries. Google alerts is a great tool to alert you anytime the keywords you choose are discussed online.
Another option is to look through Instagram's explore tab. The explore tab allows users to search keywords and pull up the top related posts. Useful keywords could be things like "social media marketing," "dog videos," "TikTok dances," or it even has suggested searches for you based on what others are looking up. This is a great tool to see what others are posting.
Another great idea is to follow others and do research. Yes, research sounds long and boring, but in this case, you can do it on social media. This can be done through following influencers, joining LinkedIn groups, subscribing to blogs, and listening to podcasts. Make sure to follow accounts that post credible, recent, and valuable information relevant to your business. This is an easy and less draining way of doing your due diligence and staying up to date with current trends.
How to Start a Trend?
Starting a trend can be risky and sometimes intimidating, but it can be very rewarding. There is no straightforward solution; you have to hope the audiences will react positively to the content you are putting out. Luckily there are ways to decrease the risk by creating a social strategy.
First things first, you need to define whom your content is going to be directed towards. Content for 20 to 30-year-olds will differ from that for 50 to 60-year-olds. It is also important to do research. As mentioned in my previous section, this is done by looking at other influencers for inspiration. Draw ideas from influencers and branch off of those ideas to create your content. Once you start putting your content out, look at your analytics to see what worked and didn't. This will allow you to adjust content and put out posts your audience will enjoy.
What's Next?
Now that you know more about trends, it's time to implement what you learned! To learn more about this topic, check out 3 Tips for Making a Viral Reel on Instagram by Ondreaa Lovee. She gives a great example of how to begin creating the next viral trend that can be translated to other platforms as well. Also, make sure to keep following the SMMU for more great social media knowledge.
Resources:
Bernazzani, S. (2018, July 19). How to keep up with Social Media News & Trends. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/keep-up-with-latest-social-trends
Murnaghan, G. (2022, May 2). Social Commerce Trends and misconceptions: What leaders need to consider. Sprout Social. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-commerce-trends/
Tien, S., & Prodanovic, K. (2022, July 12). The 9 most important social media trends for 2022. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-trends/
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