With 2017 fast approaching, we've looked back at the recent developments in social media to help us work out what to expect in the future. So here are our top 11 predictions for the social media trends of 2017.
1. Pay to Play
Many social media platforms are starting to prioritise content that comes from individual users and cutting back on the organic visibility of brands. Brands are having to pay more if they want to continue achieving the same level of social reach. Eventually, social brands may see their organic visibility cut so drastically that paid advertising becomes the only way to achieve meaningful reach.
2. The Future of UGC
70% of consumers place user-generated-content above generic written content or brand advertising. UGC ads get 4x higher click-through-rates (CTR), 50% lower cost-per-click (CPC) and 50% lower cost per acquisition (CPA) compared to traditional ads. With an increased profit and lower marketing costs, the future of UGC is bright and will continue to grow in 2017.
3. Dark Social
Untraceable analytics are becoming even more of a problem for marketers and without a solution, this will only become more challenging next year. The popularity of messaging apps and the fact they are encrypted makes it impossible to identify the exact source and this has a knock on effect for optimisation and creativity. Will there be a solution in 2017? We hope so!
4. The Future Of Twitter
There has been a lot of talk about the ‘death of Twitter’ in 2016, with trending hashtags predicting the demise of the social network. Algorithm updates and news of extended character limits angered passionate Twitter fans and the platform suffers from a growing population of ‘users’ who don’t do anything on it. We expect there will be plenty of Twitter related news in 2017, focused on app updates and ‘behind the scenes’ business decisions aimed to increase growth.
5. Focus on the Niche Influencer
Traditionally, marketers could target communities based on a limited selection of characteristics: sex, age, marital status, and income. Brands now have access to highly specific information about their customers’ behaviours and interests, and can easily connect directly with these communities online. Smart brands will stop categorizing their demographics based on too-broad categories that encourage stereotyping, and instead hyper-target their consumers from health-food nuts to nerdfighters.
6. Cultivating Communities
The slogan ‘Content is King’ has guided the efforts of social media marketers for years, creating billions of pieces of content each month- but are users finding them? . Despite 92% of brands run 2+ social media accounts, just 44% of Facebook users and 50% of Twitter users follow brand accounts. To get social media users to engage with brands, marketers need to start focusing on connecting: reaching out to influencers, celebrating brand evangelists, and sharing content from strategic partners.
7. Could Musical.ly be the Next Big Social Video Platform?
Musical.ly is a DIY music video platform that allows users to create their own mini music videos, either by singing themselves or lip-syncing along to a song or audio clip. The platform is actually quite unique in its offering. Combining three distinct elements – music, video and social networking – together it offers an experience that makes users want to stay. So far, Musical.ly has amassed 80M registered users (including a host of new social media stars) and earned a valuation of $500M.
8. Focus Turned to Messaging Apps
Over the past couple of years, social media usage stats show users migrating from popular social networking sites such as Twitter and Instagram, to messenger apps such as Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp. This is the perfect opportunity for brands to jump on the bandwagon and market to their audience through these channels. We predict that Whatsapp marketing and advertising will soon be in your feed and it will be the creative brands that can best harness this – so watch this space!
9. Instagram Scheduling
This may be more wishful thinking than a prediction, but it’s a feature that we can guarantee any social media marketer NEEDS. With the launch of Instagram analytics for business in 2016, we are hoping that the app will follow up this update with a way to schedule posts. This will make content publishing a dream for all brands that currently market on Instagram.
10. Virtual Reality 2017
Virtual reality will open big opportunities to improve customer experiences and change the way how consumers communicate with brands. Traditional social media will likely transform to virtual interactions between brands and customers for more dynamic experiences. It will be a strong medium for those who are looking for new ways to tell a story and engage their audiences.
11. Brands Go Live
A massive increase in live video as brands embrace the now and start to build further content. Shot in a casual way we see this gives brands instant access to customers and conversations.
These are some of the most important trends that we forecast for social media in 2017, but as you know with social media, it has the ability to surprise! Who would've thought that this time last year Snapchat (now Snap) would release some spectacles?
The joy of social media is the fact that it's dynamic and exciting and it's important that we guide our clients through the ever changing maze.
