According to a report published on adweek.com, there are around 2.3 billion active social media users around the world, with 28% global penetration. This has opened a world of opportunities for retailers and online marketers for their products and services.
A report by marketing easy says that “That large (1000+ employees) or midsize companies have 178 social media assets.” Every now and then, newer things are introduced by brands to keep the customers engaged to their product through social media website.
There’s no doubt that social media is on the rise. We are already into mid of the year and following trends will dominate the social media sector of retail marketing.
More e-commerce website integrating with social media
One of the leading change witnessed by the world in the social media is the rising business opportunities it provides. The inception of Facebook Store is the affirmation of the growing probability of purchasing within Facebook without going to any other page. This gives us a a clear idea that in the upcoming times other social media platforms will collaborate in the same way with the e-commerce stores. It will be worth observing how social media websites react to this trend.
Online payment through Social Media
Online payment in a secured manner is a major element for a website to build trust. While PayPal has dominated this area, new innovations in the industry are emerging. Although, Apple has launched its pay app, Facebook is focusing to launch an online payment scheme and develop technologies which will allow you to make payment from the messenger app itself. This could encourage other social networks to leverage similar facility for their users.
Seeking attention through the Content
Gaining attention is an important aspect of the online business. Perhaps this is the reason why development of strategies, theories and technology access developers to reach out and be heard.
The main platform or the bridge to achieve this business objective is through content. More and more markers are coming up with content marketing strategies. Marketers are also using visually appealing content in the from of images and videos. As visual content captures an instant attention of the visitor as compared to the content in the form of plain text. New technologies will pave a better way for an increase in social media sharing and interaction.
Slide sharing and Videos
Marketers are fully aware of the efficiency of content marketing in reaching their desired audience. With the development of content in various forms, Slideshare comes as a promising tool for repurposing content. Other social media networks have collaborated and has enabled sharing of slides from slideshare. Consequently, this resulted in the divergent use of slideshare in B2B marketing.
Videos are turning more and more successful in reaching the business audience. Presenting information through videos will be in hot trend this year. Social media websites let you upload and share videos, thereby channeling it to your website. However, apps like Meerkat is more popular since its recent launch, which has helped users, thereby, making video launch more instantaneous.
Other Major Trends
- Rise in Paid Ads – Social Media networks keep on using different algorithms to encourage and favor paid advertisement. There will be a rise in the sponsored post to woo customers.
- Cross-Network – For the past few years social media users are using two or three platforms to increase their network and power. With the rising population of networks, cross-networking and sharing will be important to reach the desired audience. This will result in marketers moving away from the network-specific media campaigns.
- Communication will become important – Personal interaction plays a big role in making a good image in-front of the visitors. This year may companies will use it as one of the chief arsenal to build a relationship with the customers. Content will be used as an instrument to create an engaging and personal connection. As a change is an important aspect of life, even social media users look for changes. The successful social media marketing will involve storytelling. It will make lots of noise and let your brand stand out.