5 Important Social Media Trends Brands Should Follow

Social media trends to follow

Social media is often a backbone of a marketing campaign for many brands.

Considering how many active users the most popular platforms have, it is understandable that businesses are trying their best to establish authority and stand out on multiple social media sites.

One of the ways to remain relevant on social media is by adapting to the latest trends.

Businesses that fail to keep up with what is hot tend to fall off, especially when it comes to social media user engagement.

If you are uncertain about what has been trending in social media recently, this article should answer the question.

5 Important Social Media Trends Brands Should Follow

Contests and Giveaways

The marketing technique that has been around since the very early days of social media are still around.

The simplicity of running a contest on social media is one of the reasons why it is so popular, but one should also not underestimate how much people love to participate when something involves free stuff.

Usually, giveaways have conditions to participate in.

On social media, those conditions are sharing and liking a post or tagging another person in the comments.

More and more brands are also paying extra attention to what they are giving away.

Custom merchandise is a popular choice.

From low-top sneakers and mugs to t-shirts and hoodies, offering merchandise as prizes also raises brand awareness. 

Someone wearing a t-shirt with a brand logo or placing a sticker on their laptop gets noticed by other people.

It might not seem like much, but these things accumulate and bring results.

Influencer Marketing

Social media pages with thousands of real and active followers are often treated as influencers.

Followers who engage with influencer content are often an excellent demographic to target for brands. 

Influencer marketing would not be as prominent as it is today if it was not effective.

Even small businesses discover how valuable working with micro-influencers is.

The lack of budget to collaborate with S-tier celebrities is not an obstacle.

It is about finding the right influencers with the right audiences.

These days, brands are looking for creative ways to establish a partnership with influencers.

Some even go as far as leaving everything in the hands of influencers as well because they trust them. 

Direct Shopping on Social Media

Back in the early days, social media pages would redirect potentially interested shoppers to a website via a visible and clickable URL.

Things have changed recently.

Facebook, for example, has launched its own marketplace.

Instead of having to click an extra button, consumers can purchase directly on Facebook.

Of course, it is up to the stores to set up their marketplace on Facebook, but considering how this available feature makes shopping easier, it would be a waste not to make the most out of it.

And it is not just Facebook.

If the trend suggests anything, we can expect similar marketplaces on other platforms as well.

Content Quality

The days of publishing lackluster content for the sake of keeping the content schedule full are finished. 

Modern social media users do not have the patience to read through walls of text, which limits the variety of available social media content brands can publish on a regular basis.

It is one of the reasons why the focus is on quality rather than quantity.

In addition, the trend is to focus on visuals.

Graphics, infographics, videos, animations, images, and GIFs are some of the best examples of visual content that is easy to digest.

Creating polls and engaging with social media users directly is another commonly used tactic, but do not expect to receive consistent engagement using polls too much.

But then again, that applies to other forms of content as well.

The rule of thumb is to not overuse the same things and introduce variety when possible.

The Emergence of New Platforms

Even though certain social media platforms are well-established and can boast of having massive numbers of active users, brands should not disregard new and emerging platforms.

For example, TikTok is a relatively new platform, but it is second only to Facebook in terms of active monthly users.

The change in demographics is also playing a prominent role.

Continuing with the same example of TikTok, it is more popular among younger demographics.

Instead of Facebook or Twitter, Gen Z is on TikTok.

Brands that want to target younger demographics have to change their tactics and focus on the right platforms. 

Closing Thoughts

As you can see, social media trends that are shaping the approach of businesses are quite significant.

Whether it is an established brand or a brand that is just starting to make itself known is not important.

Social media is a useful tool and should be utilized to the fullest, which is why it is necessary to keep an eye on the trends and not fall behind the competition.