(Newswire.net — August 29, 2018) — All social media platforms continuously update and make changes. That is how they stay relevant and updated for their users. This also presents a challenge for marketers, however, as they need to remain up to date with all those changes across all the different platforms if they are to remain up to date. Social media is now one of the most important marketing platforms and, according to Ahmed Nashaat, 2018 will bring about some very significant changes on how best to use them.
Ahmed Nashaat’s 5 Social Media Marketing Trends
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Video will be even more in demand. This is obvious when you consider that a billion hours of video is watched every single day on YouTube. Facebook, meanwhile, plays 8 billion videos each day and 82% of Twitter users will also view videos. There are lots of different types of videos as well, which is a good thing for marketers as it means that they can use various strategies. Of importance, however, is that the videos must be available on mobile as well.
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Social media influencers are the ones to watch. The concept of social media influencers is reasonably new, but it is taking the world of online marketing by storm. Consumers look for brands that collaborate with influencers because these influencers have no loyalty to anything other than their own opinion. This builds a huge amount of trust among consumers, but it is very difficult for brands, who are afraid their celebrity spokesperson will drop them in an instant. The inevitable result is that, in order to keep the influencers on board, they must continue to go above and beyond themselves.
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GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which is an EU rule, has come into force. As a result, many people in the European continent are no longer able to access sites in other parts of the world because of the way those sites collect their data. This may feel restrictive, but users actually like it because it protects their online identity. The result is that those who operate online have to ensure they comply with GDPR rules if they are to remain visible.
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Social media bots, or chatbots, are becoming more and more important. They have developed as AI (artificial intelligence) has become stronger and more relevant. Today, a lot of customer service is left to chatbots, who can answer the vast majority of questions based on recognizing certain keywords. Chat bots are available 24/7, and consumers now therefore expect to be able to reach customer service departments as and when they require it. Hence, online businesses will have to either develop chatbots or increase the working hours of their customer service staff.
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Storytelling is the next big thing. Think Snapchat and you will have an understanding of how it works. Facebook has also come on board already. This is about showing something for a short period of time, capturing the imagination and increasing attention and interest.