More advanced and direct social advertisements

Ads have been around for years, and there’s a reason for that! They are a great way of interacting and catching the eyes of new customers. We see ads everywhere, from our TVs at home to billboards in America. One of the most popular things to be advertised on our phones is clothes. It’s easier than ever for brands to encourage direct business from customers on social media. Due to Covid 19, people are shopping from their phones and other devices more than ever before. With people too worried or unable to go to the shops, buying online is a new way forward for a lot of people.

Facebook used a new approach known as ‘personalised ad experiences’. This approach delivers products dynamically to customers, changing formats and calls to action based on who it’s being served to. They are making it a more personal experience for people by using certain formats of advertising of the customer’s choice. They thought that by doing this, they would bring in new customers by showing them information on what they most likely respond to. Recently, Instagram also introduced their shopping update, which also highlights the growth of direct social selling. This opens up opportunities for brands to sell their products on Instagram without adding links to their pages. Current statistics have shown that Instagram is bringing in new users all the time and brands are doing well from it. As well as the brands themselves selling their products on Instagram, millions of users are sharing pages every day and tagging brands.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing is one of the most popular current social trends and is another very effective way of marketing. Although influencers are not going anywhere anytime soon, they are still counted as a trend at the moment. The number of influencers is rising every day, and this doesn’t just include celebrities but also people with quite a big following. There is a very controversial opinion on influencer marketing; some people think it’s an effective way of marketing, but others are not so keen.

However, remember that there is a rise in fake influencers who buy followers and likes. So, people are saying that influencers need to be able to back up their price tags with data, if not fake influencers can easily mislead brands and defraud them. More and more brands also focus on user accounts with smaller followings, often called ‘micro-influencers’. Some users may get free clothes or payments following up on these marketing agreements, and others will be asked to buy from their brand first. Brands should be working out whether or not the influencers’ audiences are meaningful to their brand before choosing to work with them.

Some people are gaining a part-time or even full-time income from influencer marketing. An example is a lady called Rosie Clayton. Her feed is filled with colourful clothes against colourful backgrounds. She works with brands across the world who fit into her aesthetic.

Statistics show that 89% say ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other channels. Other social media platforms also have their own set influencers such as Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok. TikTok being one of the biggest rising platforms as of 2020, influencers on here are doing well and starting to get in as many views if not more than Instagram. Overall, influencer marketing is doing well for brands if approached in the right way.

Video Content as one of the current social trends

The next current social trend is video content, videos are one of the most shared type of content on social media. Brands are using video content across different platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and the newest one is TikTok. Instagram is using something called IGTV, this is allowing influencers or anyone to make videos and share it on their pages. Since allowing IGTV videos to be put on feeds, it has opened up new ways to interact with other users and advertise new products. Sometimes using videos instead of just photos is easier as the influencer can explain in greater detail the product they are selling.

And of course, let’s not forget TikTok! Millions of users, mainly young people, are on this app every day. With TikTok inviting new users every day, there is a great opportunity for brands to express and talk about their brands on here. A couple of statistics that marketers may find useful to know about TikTok include:

• It is available in 155 countries
• The top 50 TikTok influencers have more followers than 16% of the world’s population
• TikTok has been downloaded over 2 billion times
• Finally, TikTok gained more users in one month than Instagram gained in any 2019 quarter.

So, it’s clear that it’s a super-popular platform that isn’t going anywhere any time soon. If your business hasn’t hopped on this, arguably the most popular of the current social media trends, then it needs to do so ASAP!

Marketers being accountable for their performance data

It’s important that when using social media as a business, you keep everything updated and save your information and progress somewhere. It is recorded that 63% of marketers regularly report social data to their bosses. So, you need to be able to monitor conversations, engagement and growth across all platforms and networks online. This information also needs to be available to other members of your business. An example is Sprout Social, this allows businesses to track their progress and make it easier for themselves.

This makes it easier to show off the amazing progress that you are making with your social media, and also gives you the data at your fingertips to share with anyone who may need it.

Social media stories

One of the most current social trends in the last couple of years and it appears that the s0cial media stories trend may also be carrying on into 2021 and beyond. Social platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat are racking up millions of users each day who are viewing and making stories. Brands can use this to their best advantage by advertising their businesses through stories, whether that’s the brand themselves doing it or by using influencers to do it to their own audiences. With over 500 million daily users, Facebook is a growing network and brands are using this as a way to reach out to their users. Instagram has stories and polls for brands or anyone to use as a way to interact with their followers. This trend is going to live on for a while I reckon, and too right as they are doing so well!

Current Social Trends are important for any business! It is important to keep up to date with the next trend and try them out yourselves as a business. This could potentially bring in new customers and business!