The year 2016 is half way through but there are still plenty of goals pending to be achieved and a lot of work that is yet to be done. Social media marketing continues to rule the world with new players entering the market every now and then.
Old social media sites on the other hand have made some of their own changes such as Instagram newsfeed algorithm, Snapchat vertical video channel and Facebook simply keeps changing its algorithm randomly it seems. All these changes had made it necessary for us to keep adapting and stay on top of things. With that thought in mind, here are social media marketing predictions for the remaining part of the year 2016.
Social Media Marketing Predictions
Private messaging to go big
Private messaging options are going to appear in higher numbers as people become more sensitive to data theft and privacy issues. Snapchat exploded onto the scene and saw tremendous growth in its initial years because of the fact that it allowed users a platform to chat in a more secure and private way. Messages on the platform are available for a limited period of time after which they are automatically deleted. This means that more and more apps are going to offer similar facilities to gain users’ trust and confidence.
Unique visual content format
Instagram has proved that visual content is the next big thing. It continues to ride the wave and users are hooked onto the platform. Images and videos are getting highest number of views and maximum attention because they are visually more appealing and a treat to look at. Taking a cue from this, almost every social media app is providing these features which means that the user is now going to look for something little extra. Something unique in the visual content arena and whoever offers that will steal the show.
Newsfeed algorithms
Newsfeed algorithms started shifting in the first half of 2016 and it is going to continue to do so for the remainder of the year as well. Twitter started the trend when it launched a new algorithm that sorted its time based posts into an order that was dictated by perceived relevance. Instagram followed with a similar update within a few months. Most social media apps are now trying to replicate the model in order to show homogenized results in order to better serve the user.
Live video call
Streaming live video content is slowly picking up with more and more apps offering some form of a feature that allows users to stream live content from their smartphones. Periscope is one such app but there are others too. User adoptability of these apps remains a question, but in the coming months things are going to change as more people join these platforms and start streaming and sharing live content. This is going to take time and this area of social media will not see the explosive growth that others have experienced.
Social commerce will become more viable
Pinterest started this trend by rolling out buyable pins that came across as a hybrid between social media and ecommerce. The result was pretty astonishing with the result that the feature was really successful. A lot of people rely on Pinterest to make their buying decisions and buyable pins just takes advantage of that fact. Other social media sites are yet to join the bandwagon and it seems this is a good time to roll out this feature.
Let us know your views.
