Are you keeping up with the latest social media trends? The Internet and the world of social media is continuously evolving. In order to stay ahead of the curve in your career or business, it is important for you to know what is on the rise.
Fortunately, there are many new features and opportunities to be excited about in social media. In this blog, we will explore the top four social media trends that you need to be aware of.
1) Instagram Advertising has Finally Arrived
It is official. Instagram advertising has arrived and they are just getting started.
Over the past year, Instagram partnered with the top marketing agencies in multiple countries to perfect their advertising platform.
Recently, Instagram allowed companies affiliated with Facebook Marketing Partners to begin running Instagram advertising campaigns. They plan to make it public for businesses of all sizes by the end of this year, in which rumors indicate sooner than later.
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Instagram’s advertising system will allow marketers to create captivating video and photo ads, including carousel ads that Facebook recently introduced this year.
In addition, for the first time in the history of Instagram, advertisers will be able to include call-to-action links in their images to drive traffic directly to their store.
2) Facebook is Getting Smarter
There are currently over 2 million active advertisers using Facebook to grow their business. Facebook’s advertising platform has allowed businesses of all sizes to be extremely targeted and promote their brand directly to a relevant audience. Some of Facebook’s advanced advertising tactics have included dark posts, custom audiences for retargeting, and their Power editors for ads. With their latest improvements, Facebook is getting even better.
Below are the newest updates from Facebook that you should be aware of:
- Bluetooth Beacons: Bluetooth beacons is a new feature on Facebook that allows people who visit your business to check-in, like you on Facebook, and receive more content from your business.
- Call-Now Buttons: People can now call you directly from a Facebook ad on mobile devices.
- Carousel Ads are Now Mobile: Multi-image ads that link to different pages on your website is now available for mobile targeting.
- News-Feed Preferences: Users are now able to select certain people or Facebook pages to appear at the top of their news feed.
- Pixel Upgrades: You can now install retargeting and conversion tracking with the same pixel. (In the past, you’d have to use two different pixels)
3) Pinterest Promoted Pins is Taking Off
Pinterest marketing appears to be taking off with businesses across multiple industries being able to generate quantifiable results from being on their platform. Pinterest has been known for having rich content that is ranked based on quality and social interaction. However, with promoted pins, advertisers have the opportunity to gain exposure to their content at an extremely low cost. Below are two great examples:
Cindy Boom By Joseph, an e-Commerce product for women, generated over $41,000 in sales with just $775.50 in Pinterest ads.
LYFE Marketing, a social media marketing agency targeting small businesses, reached over 300,000 people with just $100.00
4) The New Google+ Is Coming
Google Plus, powered by the largest search engine in the world, is revamping to deliver a better experience for its users. Earlier this year, they announced that they would be splitting up their services into separate products called “streams” and “photos”. Since then, they have stopped automatically creating Google+ profiles for Google users.
In addition, YouTube announced that comments on YouTube will no longer be synced with Google+.
In the coming months, Google+ will be releasing new features in an attempt to compete with Facebook and Twitter. One of the features will be Google+ Collections, which will help users group their post into categories. Additionally, Google+ will put location sharing into Google Hangouts, which they hope will lead to a more engaging experience.
on
Keeping current on social media marketing trends is a never ending battle for small businesses. I’m glad to see this summary of the four latest trends in print so I may show some clients how the developments will help them get the word out to the right social media users. When all of the targeted database information is hidden from the general public and small business owners it is hard to explain the ROI.
on
While social media advertising is certainly taking off on some platforms (especially instagram where the upcoming generation is on more and more), I definitely wouldn’t recommend advertising on google plus. It really did not take off as much as people hoped it would and it seems like it wouldn’t be a good use of money.
on
Great ideas! These are some significant advancements in social media advertising. I am particularly interested in the Facebook bluetooth beacons and call-now buttons, as well as Pinterest promoted pins. I think those could be very useful and bring about the most conversions for me, although I am also going to look into the Instagram advertising.
on
These are some significant advancements in social media advertising. I am particularly interested in the Facebook bluetooth beacons and call-now buttons, as well as Pinterest promoted pins. I think those could be very useful and bring about the most conversions for me, although I am also going to look into the Instagram advertising.
on
Interesting read, and quite helpful as I’m starting to build my own company and looking into using social media as an advertising platform. I’ve been using Facebook for a little while and Google+ to share some blog posts, and I have to say I am extremely happy about the “Call Now” feature on Facebook. I’ve got that feature on my website, but truth be told a lot of my customers seem to find me through Facebook. I’m looking forward to Google Collections because I hate that I can’t currently put my posts into categories. It makes it easier for not only me to find what I’m looking for, but potential customers as well. Hopefully that will be released shortly.