SOCIAL MEDIATRENDSQ4 2015

As you gear up your marketingcampaigns for the holidays, it’s importantto be up-to date on all social mediatrends and updates. This past summerwas full of new features that many mayhave missed, and Q4 promises evenmore change.

What trends will rule socials this quarter?

1. VideoMarketingVideo has been the focus of a lot of marketers,thanks to the rigorous efforts of YouTube andFacebook. Google has added pressure to thecompetition with its recent announcement of In-SERP video ads. Video will continue to play a hugerole in social media marketing, especially as weapproach the holidays. Not to be forgotten,Periscope has also emerged as a marketing darling,with growth accelerating over the past few months.

2. FacebookTakeover

It’s hard to cover all of the updates Facebook hasintroduced in just one bullet point. Between theexplosion of video, mobile layout updates, improvedsearch, new “shopping feeds,” fundraising tools, a"Personal Assistant," and the resurrection of FacebookNotes, it seems like everyone’s favorite network isattempting to be the one-stop-shop for all socialneeds.

3. Plogging &MIA PublishersFacebook’s Notes and Instant Articles, Twitter’s newMoments program, Snapchat Discover, and LinkedInPublisher have all made waves this year as homes forcontent. Feeding on their giant social graphs, thesenetworks can potentially serve huge amounts ofusers and have the numbers to back them up. Doesthis spell out trouble for publishers? As TechCrunchpoints out, these new “real time” features leave littleto no room for the original sources to receive credit orclick-throughs.

4. EmojiExplosion

Emojis have taken over as a form ofexpression online. Twitter now offers custom“promotion” emojisi, Instagram now allowshashtagged emojis for search, and Facebookis rolling out emoji-like faces to expand thesentiment spectrum beyond their classic“Like” button. Apple’s release of iOS 9.1, whichcontains a ton of new emojis, is sure to comeinto play for Q4.

5. Organic isBackThe world of advertising has becomecomplicated thanks to new algorithms, “adblockers,” and updates. The focus of manymarketers — especially as paid social becomesmore expensive — will be to provide moreengaging content that will appeal to the massesorganically. Whether it’s viral marketing or usingmixed media, social media will soon steer awayfrom the “clickbait” and more towards prioritizingengagement.

6. Doing it"Live"More than ever, social media has become asource for breaking news. Between trending tagsand live streaming features, “in the moment”socials have become the norm. The rise ofSnapchat as an events tool, Twitter Moments asan aggregation of trending topics, as well as newnetworks like Periscope allowing journalists toprovide on-site updates, indicates that socialnetworks are taking over a space once dominatedsolely by live TV.

7. Rise of theBuy ButtonPinterest, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram andTwitter have all experimented with Buy Buttons inthe last year. Whether or not users will actuallypurchase through social media is yet to be seen,but with the internet switching to mobile-heavyaccess, it’s a smart move on the part of thenetworks. For smaller businesses that can’t buildtheir own app, buy buttons may be the solutionfor attracting mobile shoppers.

8. The Returnof Twitter

Jack Dorsey’s return to Twitter has sparked anumber of developments. Besides Moments,Twitter announced Twitter Polls and a new nativevideo ads program. Twitter is attempting to mendits relations with developers, which could be asign that new features and third party apps will beintroduced more frequently. It seems like Dorseyis attempting to revive the network to what it oncewas (innovative) and move away from its recentpoor stock performance.

9. MobileEverythingIn April, Google’s Mobilegeddon hit, and manyscrambled to become mobile-friendly.Mobilegeddon was a landmark in the pushtowards mobile marketing. Apps also exploded inpopularity: from retailers to networks likeInstagram trying their hands at secondary apps.Due to this popularity, app indexing has becomean important tool for brands looking to sell online. Google recently announced app indexing in thelatest iOS update.

10. InfluencerMarketingSocial media influencers are everywhere. A recentstudy by McKinsey & Company shows howinfluencer recommendations can boost engagementfor social campaigns. Some social media stars haveeven reached actual celebrity from it, for better(Bethanny Mota) or worse (Nash Grier, @FatJewish).Either way, influencer marketing isn’t goinganywhere; Brands just need to be aware of the risks,and perform sufficient due diligence to ensure thatthe person they choose to represent their campaignsisn’t going to freak out, blow up, or melt down.

Didit Marketingwww.didit.com