Social media. Amiright? LOL. ON FLEEK!

If you’re a grown-up person with a business and you’re trying to crack the social media code, it can feel like talking to a French two-year-old. Which is obviously super adorable but unless you’re also a French two year old that conversation isn’t going to go very well.

Thankfully, there are some people that speak social media very well, and these are the people that translate all the mumbo-jumbo into relevant, concise and easy to understand language.

Here are seven social media trends you need to pay attention to in 2018…

Hint: None of these are ice bucket challenges or dabbing.

Thank goodness, we only just recovered from planking.

1. Mobile optimisation

It’s time to stop ignoring the importance of mobile optimisation. Most people consume most content on their phones these days, so there’s no excuse for your website not being responsive. If a customer clicks through to your website to buy something and they can’t because your unoptimised site doesn’t fit the buy button on the screen, you’ve just lost a customer. Sad face. Mobile optimisation is a top priority (not having a mobile optimised site is like releasing your music exclusively on cassette tapes) so make sure you speak to your web developer and have them do this ASAP. If you don’t have a web developer, drop us a line, and we’ll work something out for you.

Hot tip: Get one of your friends to fake-buy something from your website and watch them to do it. If they get really frustrated, figure out why and fix it immediately.

2. Social messaging

Recent research shows that consumers don’t want to call, email or publicly Facebook message brands, they want to private message them. Obviously, this is annoying because it’s time-consuming to manage but there are many services you can use for this, so you’re not sitting there replying to every message. You can use Flock, Chatfuel or Manychat to keep your customers happy. Employing a chatbot will also free up your time so you can work on other parts of your business or watch videos of people falling down on YouTube. Your call.

3. Video, video, video

Everyone keeps saying it, but it’s all about the video. Particularly on Facebook and Instagram where video content is shown much more than any other kind of material. Video content is predicted to claim more the 80% of web traffic by 2019. Which is a terrifying statistic if you currently don’t use video in your marketing. Hot tip: Start now. Seriously, right now. If you wait until 2019, the market will be much more saturated. This advice is similar to being told to invest in Bitcoin five years ago. Don't regret not doing this.

4. Live streaming

Did you know that 80% of consumers would rather watch a live stream from a brand than read a blog post? Get live-streaming. Here are a few examples of brands using live streams for marketing. You don’t need to do this every day, but if you consistently do this once a week, it should increase your social media engagement and get potential customers through the door of your business.

5. Disappearing content

Think Instagram stories and Snapchat; it’s this kind of content that keeps people engaged. Which is ironic because it’s challenging to engage people these days and disappearing content seems to be one of the top ways to do it. Go figure. Kids these days. The best ways to use disappearing content is to create urgent calls to action. For example ‘The first ten people to message me win a prize!’, ‘Sign up before midnight for a 20% discount!’. It creates that sense of missing out, particularly when people know that stories and Snapchats only last for 24 hours.

6. Focussing on generation Z - 11 to 18-year-olds

Even if your product isn’t necessarily targeted towards this age group, eventually your product will become relevant for them, and you want to be at the forefront of their minds when this happens.

Markers of generation Z
- Have an 8-second customer attention span (ouch)
- Trust influencers more than any other generation
- Will prioritise a recommendation over saving money when it comes to purchasing decisions
- They don’t want to be marketed to
- They’re exceptionally socially and environmentally conscious

It all comes down to authenticity, something every generation values. Total transparency in your brand and the way you communicate with customers is the way to grow your business in the right direction.

7. Focussing on influencers

Influencer marketing is on the rise, and this is where brands are and should be spending their money. If you partner with the correct influencer if could mean huge things for your business.

- The influencer marketing sector is growing
- Print and TV advertising are on the decline
- There’s trust in influencers which equals sales

Don’t discount micro-influencers. People with smaller, very engaged followers often lead to more sales and stronger brand loyalty in the long run. Which is fabulous news for anyone who can’t afford Kim Kardashian level endorsements.

Here's some extra reading if you're really feeling like you're in the zone.

24 Things To Do Once You Launch Your Online Business
5 Ways To Totally Nail Your Branding Strategy
9 Sales Page Hacks You Need To Bookmark Right Now

If your website needs a bit of loving but you're still not sure if you should fork over the $$$ this guide is for you...