The Future of Social Media Marketing

Tap into social media’s future potential with these verified strategies and industry perspectives.

Social media marketing has gone from a far-fetched idea of an effective marketing method to a vital practice for brands that want to keep their grounds in today’s competitive industries. And with the tech industry coming up with new and innovative ways of creating online context for our society, social media is probably where most of your prospects will look you up. In fact, we can also call it a search engine at this point.

With this in mind, what aspects of social media do you have in mind when promoting your brand online? Do you pay attention to platform trends or to society in relation to social media?

We find it important to keep an open eye on society’s development and its relation to social media if you want to be ahead of the game.

Moreover, the “back to normal” return we visualized at the beginning of the pandemic is not going to happen. We can see it redefining into a trend that embraces remote work, digital presence, and high-tech mediums that enable a better virtual experience.

These trends also define social media marketing, and here’s what to align within the near future:

Don’t lose focus among the buzzwords. Keep an eye on the (still) top-performing platforms

Although every marketer is talking about the rise of video platforms such as TikTok, and that some of the “old” platforms like Facebook are losing ground, statistics don’t show the same.

Yes, TikTok is one of the fastest-growing platforms since the invention of social media, but Facebook is still leading in global usage. With 2.9 billion active users, this marketing platform doesn’t cease to meet its customers’ needs and reinvent itself accordingly.

Source Facebook

Social media platforms also come with a variety of features, and each of them presents a differentiating factor. For example, the best place to organize your shopping would be on Pinterest or Instagram, while the most suitable platforms for social audio are Clubhouse or Twitter.

💡 Morale of the story: It’s important to understand your brand and your audience’s needs before shifting your marketing strategy to what makes the front page nowadays. Not all brands have to be on Instagram or TikTok. Of course, we highly encourage you to be if they reinforce your strategy. But maybe you just need to be on LinkedIn, for example, if you’re a B2B brand focused on a certain type of activities.

Social commerce is here to stay

First, it was e-commerce, and now you can witness the continuous rise of social commerce. Simply put — online shopping has gone social.

The purchasing and selling of goods or services directly within a social media platform is known as social commerce. This strategy goes beyond social media’s conventional function in discovery by encouraging consumers to finish the entire purchase process without leaving their favorite apps.

According to The State of Social Media Investment Report, executives agree that social commerce is driving a growing share of their company’s marketing-driven income. Within the next three years, about eight out of ten people anticipate offering their products or services using social media.

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“Social becomes the heart of post-pandemic shopping experience.” – Hootsuite

Last year alone, this form of online shopping generated approximately $474.8 billion in revenue. Even though it has been with us since 2015, the pandemic and changes in consumer behavior have highly influenced its heavy adoption. So what’s to look forward to next?

The most important aspect to keep in mind is that social commerce is not a replacement for e-commerce, but an extension of it. Thus, it leverages the power of social media and sales altogether.

With 97% of GenZ consumers saying social media is their top shopping inspiration, we can’t deny the fact that this plays a paramount role in the future of marketing.

Mark your 2022 calendar with social commerce, and bridge your brand’s sales to its target consumer.

An emphasis on community

We’re witnessing the rise of micro and nano influencers, as people crave a more authentic connection online as well. This has a direct impact on social media users’ behavior and the way they interact.

This brings us to community.

Digital communities are becoming more prevalent than ever, and they represent the perfect medium for social share, especially if you activate within a niched domain.

Like-minded people are connecting online, bonding over common hobbies (however obscure), having meaningful conversations, and influencing one another. This is what makes these communities so powerful—and by joining the discourse in existing groups where your brand organically fits, you can acquire trust and support.

Even better, you can reach closer to and better engage with your audience where they feel most inspired and enthused online by working with creators in those communities and utilizing their impact. It is time to shift the paradigm from followers and explore opportunities of nurturing communities online. These have the ultimate potential to leverage quality relationships with your brand.

Bottom Line

Technology innovations, marketing trends, and our society are closely linked and have a great influence on one another. At Trustway Marketing, we’re passionate about analyzing these tendencies and successfully applying them to our marketing strategies.

If you want to keep your brand one step ahead, contact us! We’ll make sure to draft a futuristic, yet effective marketing strategy around its needs.