If we were to do the same things on repeat, twenty-four-seven in our daily lives, we would soon be bored out of our minds; hence we try to add variants in to keep things interesting. Virtual lives are encroaching on material lives in a big way lately, with people living a significant portion of their daily lives online.
Our attitude to our online/social media worlds is not so different, which is just as well since we’re spending so much time on it. In the same way that we add variants into our daily lives, social media platforms are updated with new features regularly to keep things fresh. We may not pay a great deal of attention to it but Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat etc. are constantly changing, updating and adding new features.
An average user will just roll with whatever new options pop up, while some embrace them wholeheartedly. The people who need to pay more attention to the regular changes are marketers; we are the ones who stand to gain from using the new features properly.
Here are some of the latest marketer-friendly social media trends:
- Live Video Streaming
Video is branching out even further. It’s been ‘all about the video’ for quite some time now, but the latest trend – live video streaming – is standard social media video’s big brother, in terms of impact.
Live stream video through any of the currently available means: Facebook Live, Periscope, SnapChat, or Instagram, means engaging with your audience in real-time. People love to see a face, rather than having to read text on a screen. Real-time video takes it to a new level though – it’s great for all kinds of marketing, from product releases, new on events, introduction to the brand or perhaps a live question and answer session.
- Chat Apps
With more than 900m users, Facebook Messenger has been a massive hit. It has also acquired WhatsApp, which is also one of the world’s biggest apps for chat.
For business users who want to chat, there’s a more formal version. Slack. Although it started out being used for intercompany chat, it is fast becoming a preferred option for prospecting. This personal method of engaging people seems to be very successful, probably because the target audience feels that the attention is on them, rather than that their attention is being directed to a checkout.
Although this personal way of marketing could be more time-consuming than a general broadcast, it could ultimately be a lot more lucrative and encourage much stronger brand awareness. It won’t always need to be so time consuming, though; chat bots will become a marketer’s best friend at some point.
- Stories
Snapchat started it, and Instagram were quick to piggyback on the idea. The story feature allows app users to put together a selection of activities so that followers can keep up with what’s been going on.
The story only lasts for twenty-four hours, but how much time does a marketer need to get a point across? This way, you get to refresh your message every day. That is likely to make your business more interesting for your viewers.
Stories are a highly useful outlet for your creative advertising ideas, and as so many users will be idly browsing through these apps regardless of whether they want to see your marketing material, there’s a good chance they’ll see it anyway. Knowing how to use them can only be a good thing.
- Social Slide Show Adverts
Social slideshows are another new trend currently gaining popularity. This is partly because they’re so simple to put together. Like live video streaming, it’s the visual aspect that appeals to viewers. So, you can use both videos and images in this way to grab attention and wedge whatever it is you wish to promote firmly in your audience’s memories.
Keeping up with trends can feel like a full time job. As a matter of fact, Optimasit has made it one of our top priorities. If you need a little help with your marketing, let us know.