Here it is, part 2 of Team Crowd’s social media predictions for 2018. Read on for valuable insights to help you properly prepare for the road ahead. With 75% coming true last year, it’s fairly certain that most of these are likely to become reality (whether that’s virtual or not).
Laura:
360 Instagram Videos - Facebook has pretty much mastered the art of 360 video content and having ownership of Instagram, we think this will be a new feature to the platform in 2018. The app introduced a new interactive level in 2017 in which it allows users to upload multiple photos in one post, and we think this is just the start of a train of new features in the upload functionality.
New Instagram Story Features - The story function for Instagram was a new feature that was implemented in 2016. Since then we have seen major progressions in the functionality. Although we are not sure what they might add to make our stories even better, we have a serious intuition that there will be yet more updated in 2018.
Change in Influencer Marketing - We have seen influencer marketing change dramatically year after year. This in terms of how we use them and where we find the most effective influential marketing. In 2018 it is likely that more micro-influencers will be utilized due to their key community value. Micro-influencers tend to have a much higher engagement rate in relation to their follower count, creating this ‘community’ model. Consumers trust these influencers a lot more than the ‘big guys.' For this reason, the rise of micro-influencers will be super important for social media strategies in 2018.
Even More of a Focus on Mobile - Most social media activity currently takes place on mobiles, fact. With apps such as Instagram and Snapchat being mobile-focused, we feel that other platforms will jump on the bandwagon and focus on the mobile experience when it comes to social. This is really important in social media marketing as all content and promotions must be most appropriate as opposed to desktop.
Video Subtitles - A key trend that has emerged is video subtitles - the majority of users will watch videos on ‘autoplay’, meaning audience retention will be higher if the user does not have to physically click on the video. Although a lot of brands already address this opportunity, 2018 will see a huge takeover in this space on social media.
Carmi:
Snapchat’s Final Attempt: With projected Bitmojis and high-quality filters, I’ve seen former snappers using the app purely to save snaps and upload their masterpieces to Instagram Stories. Maybe Snapchat will revert to being an editing tool - part of the process, never the end result.
Instagram - The Good, The Bad and The Time-Constrained: Visual searches (on account of image recognition) instead of hashtag searches and shopping tags on pictures (especially handy for influencer marketing) are on the horizon. But don’t get too excited - rumor has it the four picture grid is also on the cards for 2018. Think of all the news feeds! Lastly, I expect to see a higher rise in ephemeral content - which will continue to engage and incentivize customers to come back for more.
Hello - it’s Twitter - How Can I Assist?: I expect Twitter to become more customer service focused. With its quick turnaround and response capabilities, Twitter has the potential to be a useful communication tool when it comes to dealing with aggrieved customers. However, with its 280 character increase, Twitter is sure to have an earful.
Video Me Some LinkedIn: As we’ve all pointed out - video, video, and more video. But let’s talk about promoted content. With no equivalent to FB’s page promotions on the platform, we can only expect that video ads will similarly serve our objectives in 2018. Finally - more advertising options! Oh, did we mention the video is coming?
Carmi's Overview
An Influencer Marketing Paradox: On the one hand, Instagram is casually trying to promote transparency within its community. Especially with its ‘Paid Partnership’ subheading and the #ad trend. On the other hand, we have influencers trying to keep promotions as low key as possible. Products almost fade into picture backgrounds. It will be interesting to see how these two meet halfway in 2018.
2018 - One Big Overlap of Platform Features: In my 2018 social media predictions I expect to see a further overlapping of social channels. When it came to Stories - Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook jumped onboard. This will be no different in 2018. However, I look forward to seeing brands position themselves accordingly. Knowing your optimal reach, audience and value proposition on each platform is no longer a market differentiator, but a requirement.
The Marriage Between Chatbots and Mobile Applications: Almost all applications have an accompanied chatbot these days. I see the gap between chatbots and applications closing up. Until the point where chatbots outsmart apps with its value-adding data insights and overall simplicity.
That's a wrap. If you have any questions... or if you have a problem... and no one else can help... and if you can find them... maybe you can hire, the Crowd Team.
