Social Media Strategy Ideas

Social media is ever-changing. Be it new platforms, different consumption habits or varied forms of communication, Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp etc. are always coming up with innovative features or affordances that add different dimensions to the platforms. These changes not only help users engage in a number of different ways with their favorite brands online but also give marketers a chance to captivate their audiences through an array of tools and tactics.

Twitter Still Works

Social Media Trend #1: More businesses use Twitter than every other social channel not named Facebook. Let’s interpret this response through the lens of a marketer:

The social media channels that executives know about (and therefore want to see business accounts for) are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A second tier of channels is specialty platforms, which are LinkedIn & YouTube (and Pinterest, maybe). These are not useful to everyone, but could be impactful with a correct approach.

Facebook May Be Peaking

The good news is that Facebook is still currently the #1 social media platform in the United States, with an impressive 41% of its users being over the age of 65. So for marketing that targets a senior demographic, there simply isn’t a better platform. On the other hand, Facebook had a difficult 2018, with a data breach that affected 14 million users, gaining a reputation for being the platform of choice for weaponized, political propaganda, and a continuing drop in popularity with younger demographics, so much so that many people feel the relationship between the public and Facebook may be changing.

Stories everywhere

Snapchat’s features of a disappearing post infiltrated almost every major network, sometimes more than once. Instagram Stories received major updates in 2018 with AR filters and interactive stickers. Facebook added Stories to personal accounts, Pages, Messenger and Groups. Both WhatsApp and YouTube also invested in Story-like features.

The Rise of Smart Speakers

This one may be strange to see on a digital marketing trends list, but hear (pun intended) us out. Smart speakers like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomePod have made waves in the consumer technology market over the past couple of years. And consumers love them: 65% of smart speaker owners say they wouldn’t want to go back to life without their voice-controlled assistant.

So how does this tie in with digital marketing? We will likely see more and more online publications embrace voice and publish audio content to these devices. They'll do this in hopes of landing a sport on listener’s “Flash Briefing”, encouraging their followers to follow daily.

Furthermore, we expect to see more ads on these platforms—after all, publications need to monetize content. Amazon, Google, and Apple may very well launch their own advertising platforms for this, making it easier for companies to buy and sell ad space. Think Adwords but for your Google Home.

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