Social media had been the trendsetter for business organisations, in 2015, as per the marketing initiatives. Ranging from Instagram photos to Snapchat videos to Facebook updates, business houses have deployed at least one social media platform to provide their business, with the much needed leverage. Least to say, there seems to be no shortage of advice on how individuals and corporates could optimise the social media resources, at their disposal.
The year 2016 promises to be no different, except in terms of the kind of content that will be trending on these platforms, in 2016. According to researchers, given below are three trends that shall top the charts in 2016.
1. Mobile messaging platforms to witness an upsurge: With more than 2.6 million users across the globe and another billion and a half to add to the tally, mobile phones have occupied an important space as far as the social media platforms are concerned. Messaging applications namely WhatsApp and Facebook have been engaging the users; thereby bridging the existing gap. Apart from engaging individuals, the mobile platforms also lead to an upshot of business engagements between clients and business organisations. For instance, Uber initiated a campaign in association with Facebook, which allowed passengers to hail a ride via Facebook Messenger. Malin, a renowned eMarketer articulated in her speech; “For a business that really has to think about where its resources are, putting your resources into reaching customers through a place like Facebook Messenger and Twitter is a smart way to bring that service experience to life.”
2. Augmented reality to create a buzz with minimum ROI: A toss up more than a reality, augmented reality is all set to grab eyeballs, this year too. In addition, the low price point of products like VR Cardboard and VR Googles. Experts believe that apart from setting trends, VR will not create much value for the advertisers until it becomes a mainstream experience, across the globe.
3. Videos to remain as the kingpin of online content: According to reports, Snapchat managed to create a lot of buzz last year due to its representation of online content through pictures and videos. Nothing much is changing this year either as it has become one of the invasive platform for native advertising. Besides, it’s one of the strongest muscle that advertisers have been flexing for long and are willing to pay a huge premium for the same.
The crux of the matter is that the social media platforms have turned out to be the biggest quantifiers for business houses apart from setting trends. Thus, 2016, in all probabilities, could witness social media rendering yeoman’s services yet again; thereby proving to be a game changer for all and sundry.
