What if your business was ignoring your greatest marketing tool?

Social media has become the cornerstone of digital marketing efforts for businesses across the world. But to make the most of it, you need to know about the latest social media trends.

Wondering what these trends are and how your business can take advantage of them? Keep reading to discover the answers!

1. Users Love Video Content

When new social media trends first gain popularity, it can be tough to tell if they have any staying power. Business owners often ask themselves whether a hot trend is here to stay or just another flash in the pan.

But make no mistake: video content via social media is here for the long haul. And the reason is simple…users absolutely love video content!

Take advantage of this by creating short and engaging videos advertising your company and its products. You can then use your growing video library to advertise across multiple platforms ranging from Youtube to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

But don’t just create video content at random. Take a close look at your audience demographics and tailor the video content you make towards the needs and desires of these groups.

2. TikTok To the Top

While video content continues to grow in popularity, video has been around for quite a while. In fact, Youtube came out way back in 2005.

But the “new kid on the block” for video content is TikTok, and it is rapidly taking over. Nearly 700 million people use this platform each month, making it a perfect place for you to advertise your products and services.

And despite its reputation for youth appeal, TikTok is popular with a wide variety of age groups. And creating a focused TikTok campaign is a great way to take your business to the next level.

3. Livestreaming Content

Livestreamed content rounds out our list of video-based social media trends. And this type of content has only grown in popularity since the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The original appeal of this content was that it was only temporary. Users love the exclusivity of experiencing ephemeral content, and this helps transform every live stream into a special event for your biggest fans.

While livestreamed content is still popular for this same reason, the pandemic made sure that most of us became very familiar with video chatting through platforms such as Zoom. In short, more people are comfortable with watching streaming video content than ever before, making now the perfect time for your business to explore this popular social media trend.

4. VR Marketing

Once upon a time, virtual reality was a niche hobby mostly enjoyed by gamers. However, recent years have seen VR go mainstream thanks to a growing number of affordable VR interfaces and growing interest from companies such as Facebook.

The utility of VR marketing is simple: just imagine all of the benefits of video marketing and then imagine those videos are now interactive. By creating your own VR content, you can help your customers engage with your brand like never before.

For example, you can create immersive content that walks customers through how your products are made and how they can be used. And you can even create virtual walkthroughs of your offices, complete with customers meeting your best workers in virtual reality.

5. AR Marketing

Augmented Reality (AR) is also growing in popularity thanks to integration by platforms such as TikTok and SnapChat. While there are many ways to integrate AR, we recommend methods that allow customers to visualize your products.

For example, imagine you own a furniture store. With the right use of AR, you can help customers visualize exactly what that new chair or sofa will look like in any room of their home!

6. All About Your Story

If you market on Instagram, it’s crucial that you use Instagram Stories. That is because these stories pop up on the top of the app and offer unique marketing opportunities for your business.

In addition to high-quality photographs, Stories also lets you integrate quizzes, polls, and live stream content. Basically, Stories takes all of the best social media tools for customer engagement and rolls them all into a single convenient feature.

7. The Future Is…Audio?

Earlier, we emphasized the growing importance of video marketing for your business. But would you believe the future of social media marketing may be audio rather than video?

It all started with the invite-only app Clubhouse. This app allows users to join together in a modern-day group phone call. In response to the popularity of Clubhouse, Twitter launched a similar feature known as Spaces that allows users to join a virtual room and speak with one another.

These audio chat features are new enough that companies haven’t yet figured out the best ways to use them for marketing. But that also means your own business has the chance to get in on the ground floor!

8. Embracing Social Commerce

The basic goal of digital marketing is to sell products and services online. And the good news is that social commerce features are only growing in popularity.

You can use Instagram to create product tags that allow customers to seamlessly purchase the products they are interested in. And you can use Facebook to create a virtual shop for your most dedicated customers.

By creating this kind of seamless social media commerce environment, you can seriously boost your sales.

9. Don’t Ignore Reddit

We don’t always think about Reddit when we think about social media platforms. But it’s very important that your business not ignore Reddit.

Reddit has more 77 million more active users each month than Twitter. And with 430 million active users, Reddit is the perfect platform to subtly market certain products and services and gauge consumer reaction to what you have to offer. In this way, Reddit can help you perfect both your marketing and the products that you market!

10. Public-Facing Inclusivity

More than ever before, your customers care about inclusivity and diversity. By carefully integrating these aspects into your marketing, you can increase your company’s appeal to the general public.

This may include more diversity in the images and videos you use to advertise your company. And you can always use social media to offer engagement opportunities with your diverse staff.

But mostly, this means taking a public stance on important issues. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, you can leave your competitors in the dust by taking a bold and progressive stance on any hot button issue. It doesn’t have to be the popular view, but it does need to stand as authentic to your brand and your target audience. This emphasis the importance of understanding your customer and audience.

Social Media Trends: Your Next Move

Now you know what the latest social media trends are. But do you know who can help you take advantage of these trends?

At Beefy Marketing, social media trends are our specialty. To see what we can do for your business, just contact us today!