We are entering the end of this year. 2016 has flown by. It seems such a short time ago that I wrote about the social media trends for this year and now I am already writing them for 2017.
However, there are again a huge number of changes going on with respect to social, most notably we see that Snapchat has grown into a mature platform this year and the growth of video appears to be unstoppable.
To give you both direction and inspiration, I've listed the eight most talked about trends/forecasts:
1. Social media marketing continues to grow at a fast pace
That social media is growing was evident last year. But that big growth is just the beginning. At breakneck speed, social media in marketing will experience major growth in 2017. Keeping track of social media manually will no longer be possible as a result. As a business, it is therefore necessary to think about automating advertising and conversion strategies through handy tools like Hootsuite.com.
Maybe your company is not yet at this stage, but before you know it, you will be at a loss. That's why it's not a bad idea to get a bit of an orientation on social media marketing automation.
2. Facebook retargeting costs become more expensive but reach more relevant
With Facebook Advertising, you can get great reach for relatively little money. You can segment and target very specifically. These opportunities will continue to grow in 2017. Facebook retargeting became very popular in 2016 because of this.
The consequence of this targeted targeting is that Facebook is throwing up the cost of achieving reach. With the budget you deploy now, you will soon reach fewer people. But what you get in return is better: more relevant reach and traffic. So our advice is to deploy the FB advertising platform in time before costs will rise.
3. More is no longer less
In 2016, you belonged completely if you posted less content, but high quality content. In 2017, this will be completely different again as the importance of social media and advertising increases. As a result, brands will post more content anyway, but only relevant content. We're not going to post for the sake of posting ;)!
4. 2016 was the tipping point year for desktop to mobile & tablet, this will continue in 2017
That mobile is becoming increasingly important, we all know by now... But that the tipping point from desktop to mobile & tablet would be so fast in 2016, we didn't expect. Almost all online traffic is via smartphone. So the mobile experience of your target audience is practically the only thing that matters anymore. Your campaigns and landing pages must therefore come across optimally on a small screen.
5. Collaborations with bloggers and vloggers are getting 'cheaper'
In the past year, bloggers and vloggers shot up like roots. It seemed like everyone was suddenly a blogger or vlogger. Some successfully and some....we still don't know. It is very interesting for companies to collaborate with popular bloggers/vloggers and use them as influencers (authorities in their field).
6. The battle between Facebook/Instagram and Snapchat continues in 2017 and Twitter is watching from the sidelines
Twitter is already struggling this year. Activity on the platform is in doubt and financial numbers are disappointing. It seems that Twitter got off to a late start and lost the battle as a result. Instagram and snapchat have largely taken over Twitter's role. Twitter still plays an important role only for "fast news. For example, during sports games, traffic, world events, etc.
Snapchat and Instagram have both grown rock hard. Snapchat is trying to keep up with its competitors, but Instagram also keeps coming up with new innovations. It seems to be a neck-and-neck race. Or will Snapchat still be taken over (in part)? We don't know yet. In any case, for businesses it is positive that there are more platforms than Facebook to be present or advertise on. In addition to Snapchat, Pinterest is also coming out with an advertising platform.
7. The conversion attribution model makes its appearance
Many companies are still using last click conversion models, but the costs for these continue to rise. Therefore, we will have to put more emphasis not only on direct conversion, but also on the consumer orientation phase. In this phase, social media plays a major role. With the greater rise of social advertising, companies are increasingly looking for alternative conversion models.
Therefore, building the conversion attribution model increasingly important in 2017. And we highly recommend you do it, in fact, you can't do without it already. Also, our opportunities on channels to measure and retarget are increasing. So all in all, this is going to be an interesting year!
8. Video content goes live
This year, video content broke through on social media. Channels such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are pushing the use of video further and are increasingly using live video. So adding video to your social media marketing strategy, for example for workshops or during events, is not a crazy idea at all. In fact, you will soon be able to promote and announce live video in advance.
What can we conclude from these trends?
The professionalization of social media continues to develop in 2017, giving us as marketers more tools, more channels and marketing applications. All positive developments for your growing business.
Is it time to scrutinize your social media strategy and adjust it for 2017?
We are happy to help you with it. Click here to make an appointment or contact us.
