Brands have come to fully realize the value of social media in their marketing initiatives as well as in driving their core business objectives. A wide range of metrics is available to evaluate social media, such as hits, conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, customer retention costs, and many others. And as the metrics expand, so is the demand for brands to master social media usage and measurement.

A look at the trends dominating the field will reveal how consumers are responding to social media platforms that brands use to engage them. According to the 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Social Media Examiner, these are how marketers are currently using social media and what their future plans are:

  • Marketers have begun to see video as a tool in capturing the attention of their target customers. In fact, live video services such as Facebook Live and Periscope are included in the focus areas of 50% of marketers.
  • Almost two-thirds of marketers plan on increasing their presence in Facebook and YouTube.
  • Snapchat has become a successful media platform since its launch in 2011, with more than 160 million users already as of December 31, 2016.
  • Almost 90% of social marketers regularly use Facebook ads, followed by Google ads and Twitter ads.
  • The most commonly used types of content in social media marketing are visual assets, blogging and video.

Experts believe that the following trends may dominate in 2017:

  • Live video
  • Social messaging
  • Social media e-commerce
  • Mobile advertising
  • Augmented Reality
  • Chatbots

As the social media landscape becomes more competitive and harder to penetrate, brands should start analyzing how these trends could impact their business, if they haven’t done so. There are many ways to grow your business organically so you can keep your control and not be cut down by the competition. If you managed to successfully overcome the challenges in building your company, with the help of experts in the field, you could also surpass the obstacles to keep it.

 

By Dez Duran-Lamanilao