There have been a lot of social platforms and apps that have come. And gone in the last decade (rip vine), but the five platforms mentioned above are still going strong. A lot has changed since their initial release, and although many. Of us probably don’t remember a time before instagram allowed video or twitter. Allowed you to directly reply to someone’s twitter, that day did exist. 2017 brought many changes to many of the social media platforms. We all use every day, but a lot of the changes looked the same.
Seeing double
There are several main features that you can find on almost all of the five platforms above. As a business, it’s important to stay up to date on the latest updates as many as implemented to enhance user experience.
You can send messages on facebook a direct message on twitter
Chat with your friend on snapchat and even send a funny meme you saw on instagram right to your bff. If your business has several social profiles, it is important to have someone monitor the accounts for new messages.
“the average time it takes brands to respond to a social media message is 10 hours. Most consumers, however, expect a response in less than four” according to business news daily. Why is it important to respond? 30% of customers will switch to a competing brand if they don’t get a response to their social media message, while 43% say they are more likely to make a purchase if a brand makes a meaningful connection with them on social.
Before 2013, you could only post photos on instagram and before 2015 you could only tweet links to videos. Here we are in 2017 and video usa telephone book has taken over every social platform. What youtube was once the lone king of, has now become a staple of how people consume content online. We often hear from our clients that they just don’t have the resources to put into making quality video, but video doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive, it just has to connect with your audience.
Videos on twitter get 2.8x more retweets while people watch over an hour of facebook video every week. If you need any more convincing on why you should be incorporating video into your marketing, check out this list of staggering online video stats. If you want to stand out against your competitors, play around with creating video content. Go live on facebook or instagram for an event or announcement, create a video about your company, or try incorporating videos into the content you post. Video is the future of the web, don’t get lost in the dust.
People no longer have to leave their house their chair or even their social media to make purchases
Setting up a facebook shop section isn’t for every brand, like those specializing in services.
Stories:
An honorary mention goes to stories India Lead which became one of the top things being added to social platforms in 2017. People took notice and had a good time making fun of all the things that would have stories in 2017. I still haven’t seen a ton of brands utilize the stories feature in instagram and snapchat, but there is definitely consumer attraction to viewing stories.
Calculators have stories
What’s next
All that is certain is change. Social platforms will continue to evolve as long as there are consumers to use them. Businesses need to stay on top of the way the platforms evolve to truly remain innovative and keep in touch with their customers. Even though things have changed, it is still important to understand how to connect with consumers on each platform. Instagram is still very visual, twitter is still short and sweet, and facebook is still informative. So although the platforms are becoming feature clones of one another, keep your marketing fresh and tailored to the audience you really want to connect with.
