How to Crush It on Social Media in 2017

A New Year brings new trends. 2016 was a very productive year for Social Media, but here are the 3 fun trends we are looking forward to in 2017!

1. Video
2. In the moment content
3. Augmented Reality, Filters, Stickers

Video

With video being viewed 8 billion times daily on Facebook we predict that this trend will only continue going into 2017. Facebook newsfeeds are dominated by video and will most likely be entirely video in the near future. There are many factors that support the idea of video domination on social media. The most powerful possibly being the surge in internet penetration.

“Due to easy and widespread availability of 3G/4G services, the on-going surge in internet penetration in the country will be on the rise in 2017, leading to an exponential increase in video consumption.” – Vikas Katoch, Adomantra Digital

Reaching your audience, following, fans, or whatever you call your target market is essential to maximize your Social Media efforts. 2017 will be a difficult year to get canned content in front of your audience. Video is a great way to get your business in front of the people most likely to make a purchase or conversion. It allows brands to engage with audiences immediately and authentically.

Augmented/Virtual Reality & Stickers/Filters

We only saw a glimpse of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in 2016. PlayStation VR brought us the idea of seeing a different world, and Pokémon Go proved that we can bring technology to our world. Many tech businesses have made a move towards AR/VR, but 2017 will bring both AR/VR to Social Media. This fast and innovative development will give businesses insight on where the future of Social Media could go. Augmented/Virtual Reality should not be overlooked. AR/VR has the potential to change Social Media or follow the path of Google Glass and 3D television!

“In the best version of 2017, those things will improve. Virtual reality will get better, cheaper, easier and more publicly accepted, so that strapping your phone on to your head will seem less weird and more useful. And it will gradually morph into augmented reality, letting people add things to the real world in a way that was heralded by the huge popularity of Pokemon Go.” – Independent.co.uk

Stickers and Filters are another exciting trend you should look forward to in the new year. Social Media users are always looking for ways to share moments with the world. Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram all give users the ability to customize moments with Stickers or Filters. A sticker is a small logo, image, or overlay that you can put on images. A filter is an image frame that is still or interactive.

Most Social Media platforms offer their version of stickers or filters, but no one does it better than Snapchat!

“On the daily, Snapchat reaches 41 percent of all 18 to 34 year-olds in the United States. If that statistic doesn’t surprise you, you might be more impressed to learn that half of all new users signing up for Snapchat are over the age of 25.” – Hootsuite

Businesses can use filters by simply designing a filter, setting a geographic location where the filter can be seen, and submitting for approval. Filters can be made for events, brand awareness promotion, or fun!