2018 Social Media Trends: Mid-Year Evaluation
At the beginning of each new year, hundreds of social media gurus roll out lists of what they believe will be the greatest social media trends that year. Everything from live videos to the function of a platform’s existence are evaluated to help prepare the social media managers of the world for what is to be expected in the year to come. We’ve evaluated three of the most commonly projected social media trends of 2018 to see if they’ve really taken off.
Instagram Stories Drive Upcoming Instagram Trends
We saw the ‘story’ concept first on Snapchat. The idea was to post a photo or video of what the user is doing in real time and allow their audience to view it for up to 24 hours. Instagram took Snapchat’s original idea and made it something bloggers, influencers and every day social media users would soon use as more aesthetically pleasing and trendy means of sharing their day-to-day activities. Although the initial general reaction was that Instagram stories were just one more thing for us to stay posted with, we’ve seen the world become captivated by them. With advanced features such as adding your exact location, hashtags and different font options, Instagram users are able to enhance their stories by personalizing them and somewhat creating their own ‘brand’. With the rise of influencer marketing, we continue to see the use of Instagram stories becoming more predominant for both businesses and everyday users.
Twitter - Will It Survive?
The digital world we live in today has become much more visual-based and less text-based. We aren’t wanting to read our news any more, we want to see it or hear it. Twitter, in all of its hilarious greatness, just hasn’t quite kept up with the effective ways marketers are trying to reach an audience. That being said, virtually any media outlet has the ability to reach individuals, but is Twitter what will continue to retain our attention? Our prediction: We need to see a Twitter platform update with more video and photo sharing options in order for it to stay relevant to businesses and current users.
Influencer Marketing
We’ve all fallen victim to it. Whether it be our favorite celebrity or reality show TV star, we’ve all seen a product promoted on social media and thought if they have it - I have to also. The evolution of influencer marketing has continuously grown since its initial boom in late 2016. The only thing that has changed is the effort influencers are putting towards the authenticity of their posts. Consumers want to make their own decisions, and for them to feel compelled to purchase a product, they need to relate to the promoter. Influencer marketing is growing, but the influencers themselves are doing a much better job of making it more real for the consumer.
