Top Social Media Trends of 2018
Phew! What a year it has been. And for Social Media, more so.
2018 saw a lot happening in the ever-changing world of Social Media. Trends, hot topics, new strategies, opportunities and what not, everyone made the most out of it.
Being dynamic as always, Social Media saw a host of trends that were followed throughout the year. Some of them hit the mark while others faltered. Now, with the year coming to its end, let’s have a look at the top trends that shaped the 2018 world of Social Media.
Video Content
It’s a fast-paced world and the marketers know that really well. Keeping up with the pace, we saw a rise in engaging video content.
According to hubspot, 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool -- up from 63%, the number reported in 2017 survey. “99% of those who already do use video, say they'll continue to do so in 2018”, they further added.
Live Streaming
Live video streaming has come up as the champion of 2018.
Social Media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat have been promoting live video streaming for quite sometime now, but now in 2018, it has really kicked off.
According to mediative, video streaming accounted for 75% of all internet traffic in 2017 and is expected to jump to 82% by 2020.
Augmented Reality
Pokemon Go and the Snapchat face filters (literally changing our faces), are the best consumer centric examples of how Social Media incorporated the AR feature in our daily lives.
Facebook, seeing the popularity of this feature launched its own advanced version with the filters responding even during live-streams.
We also saw businesses moving towards AR for promoting their goods and services. For example: L’Oreal created AR apps that let users test out makeup and hairstyles before they purchase anything. That, boosted sales.
Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Adopting a more customer friendly approach, 2018 saw a rapid increase in brands taking up chatbots for an all-time communicating tool with their customers.
According to a survey , roughly 80% of marketing executives have used or plan to use chatbots by 2020.
Ephemeral Content
People loved the idea of Snapchat stories that were short-lived and disappeared after 24hrs. Instagram decided to adopt the same strategy and introduced its story feature, which was an instant hit.
Sharing milestones, or simply an update, 2018 was a big year in the progress of ephemeral content, making it clear that it’s here to stay.
Generation Z
Those born in 1995 till 2012 are being named as Generation Z and are considered as the true digital natives. Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and other are being used by them.
And so, Generation Z focused approach was seen being adopted by the marketers more than ever, as they are considered the future of upcoming market.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has been the hottest trend for the past few years and kept growing strong in 2018.
Be it a product or service, influencers added their own personal touch to it, making it appear more humane than mechanical. In turn, elevating the chances of their followers becoming potential customers of the brand being promoted by them.
Also, influencer marketing is being said to bring higher conversion rates, otherwise.
Mobile Friendly Content
More and more websites have created their mobile friendly version given to the increasing number of mobile phone users.
The existing ones like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram keep upgrading to be as mobile convenient as ever.