Staying on Top of Social Media Trends

Like any technology, social media is constantly changing and evolving. How people use social media today is vastly different from a decade ago, even from last year. Here are some recent trends that are proving to have some staying power and that could transform the way you handle social media marketing for your company.

Short videos are exploding.

While short videos have always had a place in social media marketing, popular social networks have not only embraced this form of online video but emphasized it. YouTube set up an entirely new section of its website devoted to YouTube Shorts. Instagram Reels average between 15 to 30 seconds long. Even though TikTok seems to be favoring longer videos of at least three minutes in length, they’ve always showcased short videos and were part of starting this trend. Studies are showing that short-form videos are preferred by consumers and garner more engagement than longer videos. Research firm Wyzowl found that 73% of people surveyed prefer short-form videos to search for products or services. Sprout Social put out a report stating that short-form videos receive 2.5 times more engagement than long-form videos.

Social ecommerce is transforming online shopping.

Leveraging social networks and social media apps and tools has been turning online shopping from a solitary activity to a more interactive one. Popular social networks have integrated shopping features into their channels. If you sell products and can ship, you not only have the ability to sell products through your Facebook Page, but you can also set up a TikTok or Instagram Shop and push product sales through their shopping ads. Consumers can click on shoppable posts or product tags and go through the checkout process without leaving their favorite social network.

Beyond online shops integrated into social networks and ads to promote and sell products, companies are demonstrating and selling products through livestreams. Think of livestream selling as an interactive version of QVC where you can not only show a product, talk about it, demo it, and offer it for sale, but you can also interact live with your audience as you’re streaming.

AI is driving content creation.

Like it or not, AI has infiltrated every aspect of content creation. If you are looking to write any type of content - from press releases to articles to scripts - AI tools can handle ideation, research, composition, and editing. AI-driven tools can produce graphics and even photographic images such as Canva’s free AI Image Generator, DALL·E by OpenAI, and Adobe’s Firefly app. Google’s AI-powered NotebookLM can generate an entire podcast episode including the script spoken by different personalities’ voices from content you upload to it.

As with any new or emerging technology, take special care to review the content produced through AI tools. Use these tools as starting points for inspiration and content development but still take time to go through and add your personal touch. Don’t become overly reliant on tools to handle the human aspect of social networking.

Niche communities are on the rise.

If you’re spending all of your time on the largest social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, you could be missing out on reaching some highly targeted and receptive audiences elsewhere on the Internet. Smaller social networks with a more niche focus could be a surprisingly fruitful place to reach prospective customers.

Smaller doesn’t mean tiny. Reddit is a social network with over 400 million users that consists of conversations where users submit content to start discussions, forming communities or "subreddits" based around topics. Content ranges from travel to cooking, exercise, car repair, medical conditions, parenting, pop culture, and so much more.

Similar to other social networks, Reddit offers the ability to create a business account and to purchase ads to reach their users. Knowing who is using which network is important. Reddit users are predominantly male and in the 18-29 age range.

Nextdoor is a hyper-local platform for communities based specifically on neighborhoods. With only 4.6 million users, one might think it wouldn’t have a significant audience to reach, however, if you are doing business locally, having a presence on Nextdoor can bring in customers. Nextdoor does offer ads

Finding your audience online involves a number of tactics including surveying your current customers, setting up branded presences, actively engaging within relevant communities, and advertising. Other networks and channels you may want to explore further include Discord, Yelp, and Quora. There may also be extremely niche online communities out there that could help you reach exactly the right audience, such as Ravelry for knitting and crocheters.

Identifying and analyzing social media marketing and Internet trends can be a full-time job, however, not paying attention to what is currently popular can mean missing opportunities for online engagement and growth.