EDITOR'S NOTE

This page is no longer active.

We regret any inconvenience.

More about our terms
Back to Forbes
BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here
Edit Story

The Top 7 Social Media Marketing Trends Dominating 2016

This article is more than 7 years old.

pexels.com

Late last year, I made some predictions about social media in my post, The Top 7 Social Media Marketing Trends That Will Dominate 2016. Now that we’re more than halfway through 2016, let’s take a look at what the dominating trends really are:

1. Less is more, better is better.

Social media is a crowded world already—there are billions of users with social profiles, and they all follow hundreds to thousands of different accounts. On top of that, most platforms’ newsfeed algorithms now sort posts based on a degree of perceived relevance, rather than based on the time of publication (in fact, Instagram just changed theirs over recently). Add in the fact that users are beginning to prefer hyper-relevant, in-the-moment content to regurgitated updates or retrospective posts, and you have a perfect formula for users to prefer fewer, but better posts. Quality has always been more important than quantity, but now social platforms and users are further cementing that fact.

2. A shift is happening in platform dynamics.

Until recently, the three big players of the social media game were Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn—almost indisputably—and all three platforms served similar functions for slightly different niches. Today, those positions have changed and diversified; Instagram and Snapchat are newer players in the game, but each serves a niche role despite having massive user bases.

3. Live streaming is getting bigger.

Video content has seen a huge spike in popularity over the past few years, in part because it has become a more accessible medium, and in part because users are growing tired of older mediums. Combined with the trend of users demanding more “live” and in-the-moment updates, live streaming video has seen a major increase in popularity; especially with the recent release of Facebook Live.

4. Buy buttons are becoming more common.

Advertising on social media has always been around—it’s how they make money, after all—but only recently has the advertising experience become something more akin to a shopping experience. Ads and products available to purchase are starting to work their way into users’ newsfeeds and profiles more smoothly and with fewer distinctions from organic content. These are typically associated with the simple addition of a “buy” button, which leads to an integrated cart to make it easier than ever to convert followers into real customers.

5. New applications are changing social interaction.

The entire motivation behind social media’s existence is the “social” element; these platforms were developed for people to engage with one another, directly and for the most part, in conversational form. Now, forms of interaction are starting to diversify. Platforms like Snapchat are allowing more one-sided conversations, in a more fleeting, temporary context. Platforms like Facebook are launching new communication channels like Messenger for Business, which serves as a kind of customer service wing. Brands and consumers are able to talk to each other in new, more diverse ways, and that range is only broadening.

6. We’re seeing a push for more personalization.

Users are tired of seeing the same types of content populate in their newsfeeds, and they’re tired of seeing posts they don’t care about. There’s a greater demand for personalization and customization, and platforms and publishers alike are doing what they can to cater to that demand. In fact, Facebook was recently accused of having a political bias because its personalization algorithm tended to display stories with a political leaning already similar to its targeted users’ preferences.

7. We’re getting broader app functionality.

Social media apps are developed and owned by companies, and those companies need to make money to survive. They can sell ad space and user data, but they lose attention and user potential every time a user clicks out of an app. To remedy this, social platforms are doing more to keep users involved in-app for the longest time possible, offering peripheral functionality to keep users contented on more fronts. Some of these functions include in-app search functions, embedded content, and in Facebook’s case, even a personal digital assistant.

Some of these trends have been around for a while, manifesting gradually as more consumers have turned to them. Others popped up recently as a response to other developments, or as pure innovations emerging from the ether. In any case, they’re here now; you don’t have to adopt all of them or develop new strategies for them, but you do have to recognize their existence even if you’re only playing defense. These are the shapers of the social media marketing world as it exists today, and they’re forerunners of tomorrow’s developments. If you’re looking for help getting started with your own social media marketing campaign, grab my eBook, The Definitive Guide to Social Media Marketing.