New Trends for Social Media
Social media has taken the world by storm and is a great way for people to connect and share. The technology is constantly changing and new trends are set for the future.
Augmented Reality
The iPhone 8 and iPhone X both have chips which allow users of these smartphones to have augmented reality experiences. This experience is only being used on mobile devices but as technology changes it is probable that social media will soon be using it as well. It is possible in the near future that social media platforms such as Snapchat or Instagram will enable its users to use filters which lets them take selfies and this is then projected using augmented reality. Advertising could also be a new and innovative way to use augmented reality as companies project different products using filters.
Instagram Stories
The amount people using Instagram Stories monthly has reached over 200 million while Snapchat has 150 million users. Instagram continues to grow and by the end of 2018 many more will be using it. Companies and brands who want to connect with these users will be placing themselves in a good place by using this platform.
Moving to Social Media Advertising
The majority of marketers who utilize influencer marketing maintain that it works. Companies such as North Face, Hubspot and Rolex have found the use of social media to be very successful when connecting with new groups and continued engagement with their loyal followers. For those brands that chose to market their products in the traditional way it seemed they had difficulty connecting with social media audiences. Looking at the way the trends are moving it looks like more companies will use an influencer marketing strategy rather than advertising the traditional way, and this will cover just about every industry, from online blackjack NZ sites to those selling services and wares.
Connecting through Messaging Platforms
More than 2.5 billion people make use of some kind of messaging platform so it seems odd that most brands are still connecting with consumers using only social networks. Connecting with customers using messaging platforms is the new trend for 2018 and companies change the way they connect with audiences and also put more money into this endeavour. Consumers in the future should be able to have personalized shopping experiences using platforms such as Messenger, WhatsApp and Kik.
Video Hangouts
More than one million people use the popular video hangout Houseparty. It is mainly used by Gen Z’ers who use this platform to connect with friends digitally. It has become an extremely popular platform and Facebook is looking at ways they can reproduce something similar. Video hangouts have become a big part of social media and live hangouts seem to be the next step. It looks as though Facebook will offer a similar feature in 2018.
Facebook Spaces
Facebook has been developing a new project know as Spaces. This new feature will let friends connect using virtual reality (VR). The fact that Facebook is the owner of Oculus Rift, hardware used in VR experiences it makes sense that they would be developing this type of platform.
New social media trends that will impact users are growing as technology changes. It seems that video streaming and VR will be an everyday experience. Many more companies and brands will begin using social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat which is where the Gen Zers hang out.
