Social media is constantly on the move. Do you always keep up with the newest trends? And more importantly: do you act on them? Well, you should. Because that's the only way to make your business shine online. To make it a little easier, we've put together this handy list of the most important trends, including a word of explanation of course. So you can get going straight away. Are you ready for this?
Be bold and honest
Authenticity wins. Keep that in mind. Customers are no longer triggered by slick sales talk online. They're looking for honest stories that make them feel a bond with the brand. Honest people and stories are what make customers trust your brand. Did you know that more than 70% of consumers want to hear the story behind the brand? Time to get up close and personal.
Short and powerful does the trick
New generations have been flooded with content from every corner for years. It's impossible to process all that information, so certain stimuli are automatically blocked out. Want to increase the chance your content still gets consumed? Make it snackable. Content that's straight to the point is what we go looking for. Make sure your copy is quick to scan, so the reader can find out fast whether the content is for them. Want to inform your customers about 5 different products in a video? Then don't make an endless video — spread the points across 5 videos. Networks often work with a short-form format where your clips can be a maximum of 15 seconds. Which brings us to trend número tres.
Video didn't only kill the radio star
Rest in peace: copy. Video's popularity keeps rising. The reason? Same as above. Easily digestible content that teaches the consumer something straight to the point gets the preference. Text doesn't fit that picture. On top of that, video generates more interaction, especially when you as a creator get behind the camera yourself to tell your story. It's not only us, the social media users, who prefer film. The social networks themselves have obviously seen this shift too, and have made sure the algorithm favours video-based content more often as well.
Subtitles are key
You know the feeling: you're on the train, maybe on your way to work, and suddenly a video passes by that looks interesting. Playing sound isn't an option right then, so what do you do? Click away, of course. Oh no, what a missed opportunity. At that moment you as a business managed to reach and even trigger someone, but because they don't get the information they need at that moment, they drop off. Add subtitles to your videos. That way you get the core message across so the viewer still understands what it's about. Ideal.
Slide into the DMs
More and more businesses are investing in direct communication with their customers, and rightly so. Providing personal service is something that sticks and gets talked about with friends and family. A direct message asking whether everything was okay is appreciated more than a simple "like" on their post.
Keep in mind: sending a direct message to customers to ask whether they were happy with your product or service is fine, a commercial message is not. So don't start sending messages saying "Good afternoon, 20% off all sandwiches this week".
Shop 'till you drop
Shopping through social media is popular, especially on Instagram. Do you sell products? Then you need Instagram Shopping. Create an 'Instagram-worthy setting' where your products are in the spotlight and tag the products you sell. Is someone interested? Then they can click straight through to the product page and buy your product. Extra plus? It's completely free. Want to know more about Instagram Shopping? Then definitely read our blog where we convince you of all the advantages.
Conclusion
That's it — all the trends you can act on straight away to make your brand shine online. Not sure how to start? We get it. Well, good news: we're happy to help. Book a call with a Social Hippo who'll gladly answer all your questions.
