SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BLOGGERS: 9 TRENDS TO START WITH A BANG

There’s one thing that every blogger and business owner has in common. We know that social media is super effective. It allows us to connect with our audience, expand our reach and grow our brand.

But we’re also aware that social media is constantly changing.

Let’s just take a look at what’s happened in 2017.

In the past twelve months alone:

Facebook turned Snapchat users into Instagram users with the introduction of Stories
Apple announced plans to change the way we interact with our mobile devices
The President of the United States tweeted official policy positions in 140 characters (he now has 280, but more on that later…)

More and more bloggers are realising how powerful social media can be. This means the competition on these platforms is increasing. Combine that with people’s decreasing attention spans and it can be hard to know what the right move is.

So, how should you be using social media in 2018?

It’s about being aware of changes and getting ready to adapt.

As we start a new year, we’re going to see two big changes:

People are going to be spending more time on social media platforms.
Big brands will be committing to a much larger investment in social media marketing (2017 saw a 60% increase in social media budgets over 2016, which is set to continue).

I know you want to stay on top of the latest trends and ahead of the competition. I know you don’t want to waste your time and effort on strategies that don’t work. So how do you figure out what to do?

Well, I’ve done the hard part for you and rounded up the biggest trends for social media in 2018 that you can start implementing right now.

But first, here are a couple challenges that we’re going to face with social media in 2018:

A DECREASE IN ORGANIC REACH

As more brands realise the power of social media, they’re going to start investing in it more. This means we’re all fighting a decline in organic reach. This means it’ll be important to take a more selective approach to social media.

How to beat it: Choose carefully, where you post, what you post and consider trying paid social advertising.

SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO COMPETITION

Spending on social video has continued to increase and it’s only going to get bigger over the next twelve months. But that’s the problem, because social video is now saturated, and we’re going to be challenged with producing even more video content.

How to beat it: Make sure you’re producing relevant video content for your audience and distributing it properly.

GETTING FED UP OF NEW TOOLS

Hootsuite did a survey and found out a lot of their customers are fed up with the introduction of new tools, tips and tactics for managing their social media.

We’ll be going back to basics in 2018.

This year, it’s going to be about analysing the ROI (return on investment) of existing tactics. That means metric measurements are going to be more important than ever - it’s your job to find out what strategies are working and what’s not.

P.S. If you’re looking for help with your analytics measurement, I can help! Check out my affordable service here.

I also made a free resource guide for you listing the top tools I use to manage my social media. Download it below!

11 SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS FOR 2018

#1 | INCREASING POPULARITY OF INSTAGRAM STORIES

Over 200 million people use Instagram Stories every month. That’s over 50 million more than those who use Snapchat. Plus, Instagram Stories is just over a year old!

At the rate Instagram Stories is growing, nearly half of all Instagram users will be using Stories by the end of 2018. This means that if Instagram is a primary social platform you use for your online presence, you’re going to want to take the time to master this tool.

#2 | MORE INVESTMENT IN INFLUENCER MARKETING

A lot of people who haven’t tried it think that influencer marketing is a wasted strategy. But in a recent report, it was found that over 90% of marketers who employ an influencer marketing strategy believe it is successful.

Using a social media-based influencer marketing strategy allows you not only to connect with new audiences, but to also improve engagement with existing audience members.

Traditional advertising strategies aren’t the way to go if you want to connect with people on social media. In 2018, it’s going to be all about embracing influencer marketing.

#3 | INCREASE IN BRANDS CONNECTING WITH AUDIENCE MEMBERS

At the moment, brands are focused on connecting with consumers purely through social networks - even though over 2.5 billion people use messaging platforms.

In 2018, there’s going to be a bigger focus on investing time through connecting with people on messaging platforms. Personalised shopping experiences? Yes please!

#4 | LIVE STREAMING BECOMES HUGE

Facebook Live and other live streaming tools have been around for some time. But the way people are using them is going to change.

2018 is going to be the year of live streaming and the people who do it will are going to see huge results, especially in terms of organic reach. Live streaming won’t become huge due to popularity, more from the fact that technology is improving at a really fast reate.

Better phones and tablets are released every year, right? That means they come with better and more accessible video recording and processing.

In 2018, you’ll see live streaming becoming a part of a lot of people’s content plans - mine included. I’m planning on doing live streams in my Facebook group regularly (you can join and stay up to date with them here).

All social platforms are going to capitalise on this trend so keep your eyes peeled.

#5 | RETHINKING TWITTER

Twitter is still my favourite social media platform. But it does make sense to focus on Facebook and Instagram while this channel figures out what to do next.

Twitter has really struggled over the past twelve months and it’s likely some changes will be made to help it stay relevant in 2018.

And even though President Trump has been an active user of the channel, it was still the slowest growing social platform of 2017.

So with this in mind, you can expect a big switch up from Twitter in 2018. They’ve already increased their character limit to 280 characters and it’s also likely they’ll expand their advertising plans too. My advice? Don’t give up on Twitter just yet.

#6 | PLATFORMS TO EMBRACE STRONGER POLICIES

A big focus for social media platforms in 2018 is going to be rethinking how they govern users.

There were a series of controversial issue during the 2016 presidential election, which has meant social platforms have had to get more involved.

Facebook is the best example of changes that are being made. They recently turned over a load of ads that seemed to be connected to Russian hacking, has invested in new augmented reality, and has even hired more staff just for content monitoring.

At this point, brands are doing whatever they can do govern users, but they’re going to get more strategic in 2018. Your job, is to make sure you understand the guidelines for each platform so you don’t get penalised.

#7 | BIGGER FOCUS ON GENERATION Z

Step aside millennials - it’s the kids born in the late 90s/early 00s that are going to be the main focus on 2018.

This generation is the first to grow up 100% online and their tech-savviness is unparalleled. Plus, they’re 2-3 times more likely to be influenced by social media than they are by sales or discounts.

Basically, this generation really values social media. This is a huge shift in what audiences used to believe.

Most brands won’t worry about Generation Z just yet, but now is the perfect time to focus on them, because their influence is only going to increase. Your best bet is to focus on Gen Z-friendly platforms like Instagram and put less of an effort into Facebook.

#8 | ONLINE HANGOUTS TO BECOME MORE RECOGNISED

Online hangouts - the perfect balance between live streaming and Generation Z. Heard of Houseparty? This is a free app where you can live video chat with multiple people that grew massively last year and people are starting to take notice.

So guess which platform is experimenting with ways to create a similar functionality within their live streaming platform? Facebook of course! Watch this space.

#9 | AUGMENTED REALITY WILL FINALLY TAKE OFF

The focus of augmented reality at the moment is on mobile gaming. But it’s likely social media platforms will find ways to incorporate this new technology too.

Snapchat has already started - it’s teamed up with Bitmoji to allow users to project animated versions of themselves into the real world. Plus, there’s Pokemon Go, and even the iPhone 8 and Google’s Pixel 2 have both incorporated augmented reality.

The potential of augmented reality is huge. For brands that sell products, they’ll be able to showcase what they offer in a completely unique way, like seeing how a certain piece of furniture would look in their home.

The catch? It takes a lot of time and budget - but hopefully there’ll be a better solution coming in 2018.

Facebook for instance, has been working on a project called Spaces that is designed to allow friends to connect in VR. And since Facebook owns Oculus, a VR headset retailer and software company, it’s no surprise they’re making this leap. One thing’s for sure - it’s a very exciting piece of technology.

Facebook wants to release Spaces in 2018 and when they do, it’s going to be the first VR social media experience.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR YOU

These 9 social media trends are going to impact you as a blogger or business owner significantly in 2018.

Now is the perfect time to reconsider your social media approach to maximise your time, effort and reach. If you get your plans underway right now, you’re going to give yourself the best chance of staying ahead of the curve.

Don't forget I made a free downloadable resource guide you can use to take your social media to the next level in 2018 and save you more time.

It includes: