insight

12 Jan

Top 5 social content trends for 2018

 

Ask us about our Social Content event – taking place on February 1st.
Email events@ingenuitylondon.com for more information.

Social content continues to play an increasingly dominant role in the marketer’s channel mix. Having content that grabs the attention of consumers in social is now paramount and will continue to be, if not even more so, as we start 2018.

 

Our first event of 2018 is focussed on pairing brands with agencies who can help them succeed with their social media marketing and ensure they’re making the most of this lucrative channel. Ahead of this event, we’ve taken a look at the top five trends that have been predicted by experts in the industry for smashing social media next year.

 

 

  1. Chatbots

A number of brands in a variety of different sectors are turning to chatbots to give customers more accessibility to merchants. Chatbots offer consumers a variety of options, generally in a question-and-answer format with the ability to complete tasks without ever leaving their messaging application.

 

According to a recent report by Grand View Research, the global chatbot market is expected to reach $1.23bn by 2025, a compounded annual growth rate of 24.3%. Additionally, within the global chatbot market, approximately 45% of end users prefer chatbots as the primary mode of communication for customer service inquiries.

 

While programmes like Siri have been around for a number of years, an emphasis on authenticity or human-like attributes is certainly on the rise, and it’s predicted that chatbots will eventually spell the end for apps and manual brands with your fingertips.

 

 

  1. Video

 

Video has long been a trend for capturing an audience’s attention, especially when creating content for social media purposes. However, it is predicted that 2018 will see the rise of richer content, especially for mobile, and also see the increased use of live video.

 

The importance of video is clear:

Video marketing is the best way to create engagement on social media platforms. As a key component of your content marketing, understand that social video will continue evolving and marketers will play a critical role in shaping the future of video marketing.

 

 

  1. Influencer marketing

The rise of influencer marketing is not going to wane anytime soon, but authenticity and trust will come into their own in this area of marketing in 2018.

 

If 2017 is the year of Micro-Influencers, then 2018 is going to be a year of integration. There will be a growing demand to formulate integrated influencer marketing strategies which will weave together mega-Influencers, macro-Influencers and micro-influencers as well as merge other well-established word-of-mouth strategies such as Loyalty, Advocacy and Referral Programmes. All of which will result in an integrated customer experience strategy.

 

 

  1. Live Streaming

What was once a novel gimmick has become a mainstream part of social media. Today, brands big and small have started using live streaming to capture the attention of followers.

 

By combining the basic appeal of video which is already proven, and the ‘in the moment’ value that social media consumers love – the user engagement and instant feedback it generates makes live video or streaming a real hit.

 

In 2018, more brands will begin to realise the power of live streaming, and will incorporate it into their monthly content plans.

 

  1. Ephemeral content

Historically, marketers have focused on producing evergreen content that can be recirculated to drive engagement for months on end. That’s changing, especially in the world of social media.

 

Snapchat really pioneered the idea of ephemeral content, and it has proven that consumers covet this kind of content because they know it won’t be around forever. It has an inherently exclusive component to it. Given how much engagement Snapchat Stories drive, it’s no wonder that Instagram and Facebook quickly followed suit and launched a Stories feature of their own. As such, brands will continue to ramp up Stories efforts on all three platforms in order to generate a consistent stream of ephemeral content that keeps consumers coming back for more.

 

Ingenuity holds monthly new business chemistry session events at Stamford Bridge that offer the opportunity to meet decision makers that are in the market for new agencies.

Every event has a theme that is aligned with current trends and client needs. They address all the major channels, disciplines and issues facing marketers.

If this interests you, please visit our events page to find out more. Alternatively, fill in your details below to stay up to date with all future events.