Social media marketing for long has been considered as the underdog. Since the early days of social media when marketers were skeptical about the effectiveness of this platform and it faced a lot of criticism, we're now embracing social media as a solid platform that uses advertising options and plenty of free opportunities to make the content public.
The social media sphere is constantly revolving, and so there are many changes happening in the dozens of platforms on a frequent basis. These drives the companies to stay ahead in the race with new features and innovations. If we go by the history of social media marketing and what the future holds for social media marketing experts, social media is proving to be a very hot trend in the social scene.
Here are some of the trends in social media that are predicted to dominate in the year 2016:
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The popularity of in-the-moment updates: The nature of social media is already in-the-moment, however, there are posts that define "in-the-moment" better than the others. Live videos or videos of something that has just happened tend to spark curiosity and get more attention, rather than recording the video now and posting it later. Instagram and Snapchat post that are on-the-go that speak about the moment. If this fever catches up the brands, you could forget about scheduling the company's social media posts in advance.
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Buy buttons that will take over: Facebook and Pinterest have gained a lot of attention in 2015 by adding the "buy" feature for advertisers and users. Mobile users of Facebook and Pinterest who see a product like the one in a sponsored post could now use just one click to purchase it, even without leaving the app. By the end of 2016, most of the major social media brands will feature a kind of buy button naturally as the main element to advertise campaigns.
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In-app functionality will become viral:Facebook is slowly emerging as the ruler of adding new functionality. They have already introduced Instant articles which is a great way to publish and in-post search engines and the videos that play instantly in your news feed. The latest from the house of Facebook is that they are developing their own digital assistant. Close to the steps of Facebook are Twitter and Instagram who are looking to expand the functionality to the same degree, thus preventing the users from leaving the app. This trend is predicted to become the hottest trend in the year 2016.
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New publication options will be available: Publishers who are already hooked with the Instant Article program could publish full-length articles for Facebook users, without having to link to an external source. As social platforms are getting more intense and competitive and are using all the measures to keep the users hooked with the app for a long time. There will be enhanced forms of publishing for businesses and organizations.
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The privacy concerns of users will be at an all time high: After one full year of high-profile security breaches, the users will be more concerned about their online privacy. One of the major reasons why Snapchat is such a hit is because user demand has become more private and a secure method of communication and engagement. Facebook is now introducing tools that supports privacy awareness and it is indeed a smart move as there are lots of concerns revolving around online privacy, and this is the right time to provide this with a social media platform.
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There will be an increase in competition for organic visibility: As more and more businesses get engaged with social media because of it easy accessibility and as the ROI of social media marketing will become more stable, the competition for organic visibility will only be at an all time high. Facebook has already been choked in organic visibility, thus making people buy advertising. With the increase of business in the market, that choking factor is only going to increase. The cost of advertising too is set to rise over the course of the next year.
Conclusion :
These trends will dominate the sphere of social media marketing in the year 2016 across all the multiple platforms and audiences. You could already notice popular social media networks inclining towards these trends heavily, however, businesses who will adapt to these changes are the ones who will benefit the most. Prepare for these changes and overtake your competitors from the middle.