What to Expect with Social Media Marketing in 2018
Within the last 10 years, technology has rapidly improved and is continuing to evolve. The advancements in technology have allowed businesses to grow their brands by utilizing media marketing in more ways than ever before. Last year Harlo Interactive posted a guide to social media marketing for 2017, (Read Here) which is very relevant and useful for brands that are new to social media platforms. Yet, things are changing so here is an updated guide.
According to the eMarketer Forecast for 2017, 83 Billion dollars were spent on digital advertisements alone in the last year, surpassing television ads for the first time since 2016. The gap will continue to widen and in 2018 forecasts predict that the dollars spent will only increase (McNeir). Thus, marketing strategies from around the world are suggesting that brands expand their media marketing budgets for the new year due to the increase of sales when their strategies succeed (Jenkins). In addition, within the last year, there have been more obstacles created to reach your targeted audience on media platforms because of changes such as paid advertisements, more competition on platforms, and the algorithms. However your brand decides to market itself on a social platform it is important to remember to be creative, different, and honest.
Here are 5 Social Media Marketing Tips for 2018
#1 Video is still an effective form of media for communicating your brand.
- More than 5 billion video views on Youtube per day.
- 500 million videos viewed on Facebook per day.
- 82% of the audience on Twitter view videos per day.
- Instagram stories, live videos, and videos on feeds and with 500 million daily users allow this to be a very successful tactic for your brand's media marketing.
Video marketing is extremely important to utilize in 2018, but the following tips and tactics are a must.
- Videos must be engaging, start with a hook so the viewer will continue to watch.
- Videos should not exceed 5mins
- Quality cinematography, editing, and audio are a must. The video represents who your brand is.
- A creative content strategy is critical and a team to help accomplish it.
- The time when you post is critical for your brand and your target audience.
- Have a theme, use comedy, be informative or heartwarming, etc. and tell a story.
#2 Ephemeral content is new and creates an authentic feel for your brand that your consumers will appreciate.
The new feature on social platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook are “stories” that feature content that's only available for viewers for a short 24 hours. These can be more personal notes, videos, and pictures that show who your brand is with a more raw feel.
#3 The rising cost of promotional ads on social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram advertising is going to continue to rise.
They are here to stay. In fact, media strategist’s believe they are going to rise this next year. This means, your company needs to now take into consideration budgets for media marketing in the new year. Investing sooner will save your brand money in the long run. Also, researching your target audience popularity on social sites is important, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket but know which basket will benefit from more eggs.
#4 If your brand doesn’t have an Instagram account, you may want to rethink that.
It is now the top platform for brands, and potential clients often will search for your brands Instagram before your actual website. Instagram won’t take over Facebook especially since they are the same company, but it holds more of that ever-elusive brand engagement that Facebook doesn’t which means you shouldn’t ignore the platform. With your Instagram, it is very important to put the time in for content planning, because your Instagram will have more success with a more cohesive aesthetic feed. Also, you want to stand out from other brands, create your brand's voice and story and stay true to it. People are searching for genuine brands.
#5 A responsive website is a must.
With the number of people using mobile phones to search the web, it is important that your website performs up to par on a mobile device. The average wait time before abandoning a website is 4–7 seconds so it’s important your website is speedy and responsive. To read more in-depth about responsive design read here. In addition, image optimization is extremely effective for your website’s performance and speed. Please refer to our article about image optimization to learn more about its importance.
If you want to know more about our creative digital services feel free to contact us here: winhearts@harlointeractive.com
Sources Cited
Jenkins, Lisa D. "17+ Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2018 From the Pros." Social Media
Examiner, 1 Jan. 2018, www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-predictions-2018/.
McNeir, Corey. "US Ad Spending: The eMarketer Forecast for 2017." eMarketer, 15 Mar. 2017,
www.emarketer.com/Report/US-Ad-Spending-eMarketer-Forecast-2017/2001998.
