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Published October 20th, 2016 by

Trends in Social Media Marketing That Changed the Game in 2016

Trends in Social Media Marketing That Changed the Game in 2016

Internet savvy people are now caught in the realm of social media marketing without even knowing it. It may not seem obscure, but underneath those information-rich content, feast-in-the-eyes videos and moving GIFs is a marketing strategy which you cannot deny the influence.

Who Is Louise Delage?

Take the case of the young social media star, Louise Delage, who stormed the limelight through her Instagram account, which by the way amassed about 16,000 followers in just 2 months.

Louise Delage began posting in August 2016, and ever since she shared parties, vacation travels, and lots of “It-girls-kind-of-thing” happenings in her life. She’s young, carefree and spirited young girl whose life is the envy of most girls her age. But there is one thing noticeable about her posts – a drink in her hand. Because it turns out, as Instagram and YouTube announced later on, that the account is a hoax, and Louise Delage is actually part of an alcoholism awareness campaign by Addict Aide by the Paris agency, BETC.

While the core of the campaign is spreading awareness about the real and heavy societal issues among our young – the alcoholism and its undetectable side, what we can actually realize here is an example of a mix of an effective marketing strategy and social media which equated an instant success, even before the truth hit the stands.

The Louise Delage awareness campaign is only one of the proofs of how the social media with marketing had changed the game this 2016. So how did BETC do it? As a modern entrepreneur, what are the takeaways here that we can apply for our own marketing campaigns? Let’s take a look:

  1. 4 keys to online visibility

The BETC President mentioned that after thoroughly studying the Instagram platform, they came up with the 4 keys in the campaign to gain more visibility: hashtag, bots, content, and key opinion leader strategy.

Louise portrays a fashionable and chic young woman, so her team sought the help of true and successful fashion bloggers to teach her how to become naturally like one. Her posts, also included hashtags, about 20, for added boost.

In order to provide the needed network, the Louise Delage account team set up a bot to follow exactly the top names and big stars in the fashion industry like bloggers, models, designers, celebrities, and every woman who has similar interests as her. They took advantage of the fact that some of these high-profilers opt to follow other well-known personalities and others more to gain follow-backs. The Louise Delage account has then reached 16,000 followers with 3,000 accounts she followed. Definitely a nice ratio that sparked more interest, and led people to believe that she is really someone worth following.

The key opinion leader strategy, was used to target social awareness leaders and influencers to spread the word about her, and gain a trustworthy social circle for her advocacy.

  1. Posts that are natural are the ones that are hard to beat

Louise Delage actually “answers” her comments, and she does interact with her followers. Being more natural, as you would have responded a friend commenting, is one of the nicest gestures for businesses to their clients. It invokes a laid back atmosphere, and would make the customers be open and at ease with expressing their opinions about you so you can improve better.

  1. The clever move

The Louise Delage Instagram account slash alcoholism awareness campaign actually lasted for 2 months before revealing the truth to the public. The timing is enough, and so as the purpose is clear in the campaign that is why people who believed at first did not feel embarrassed at all. Much like for businesses, marketing campaigns shouldn’t be all technical nor all content. With enough creativity, you can be professional while at the same time making your customers feel connected and relevant. Being unique will set you apart from your competitors – mile long.

What Rocked in Social Media Marketing in 2016?

It is a known fact and perhaps, you’ve experienced yourself too, how people have already ingrained social media activities in their daily lives. And, it isn’t new that we felt the growing presence of marketing activities within the platforms as well. Social media continues to evolve, but how this 2016? Let us take a look at the trends that dominated the social media for businesses this year:

  1. Relevance is king

Did you notice how most social media news feed returns results lately? It is not arranged in a chronological order according to the date or time it was posted anymore. It is now in the order of its perceived relevance to your activities within the platform, or to the trending news. The social media is becoming more like “another internet”, which is becoming self-sufficient when it comes to its own engaging activities and social media marketing events that doesn’t just focus on the personal, but also in the corporate.

  1. Social media platform wars

As more people utilize the social media and make it part of their everyday life, the more that its developers see a huge opportunity for profit out of the businesses that wanted to ride the waves too.

An article about the global social media usage projected that the social media advertising revenues will reach $9.8 billion dollars by 2016. These numbers may continue to grow because the Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Marketing Industry report found that 96 percent of small business owners are using social media marketing and attested to its importance to their growth.

With this kind of opportunity, these social media platforms are having a market of their own, and a competition amongst themselves too. A person is said to have an average of 5 social media accounts today, and these platforms are vying for those coveted first 5 spots in order to attract more advertisement placings.

  1. Video all-the-way

This is an ongoing trend in 2016, and there are signs that it will still remain in 2017. It sparked the interest of social media users that are uncomfortable about reading and digesting written content. Live videos are also a thing today, which some businesses use to stream events as they happen. A video is not only a form of entertainment today, but also a way of presenting content, or to promote a marketing campaign.

  1. Integrated “Buy buttons”

Social media advertisements have become more interactive now, and is also capable of bringing a complete customer journey from engagement to sales, all because of the “Buy button”. Engaged customers can now be easily converted into purchasing customers, achieving convenience on both the customer and the business. One can also notice that the ads are now seamlessly integrated with the personal news feed without annoying users, because it remains relevant to the organic content.

  1. Diverse communication platform

Social media became successful to encourage 2-way communication between B2B and B2C. Communication can now be conversational and public, so that other customers can gain a glimpse on how quick and adept businesses handle different concerns. Forms of interaction are also starting to diversify in different platforms like what social media with Facebook launched, the Messenger for Business, which gave a new dimension to customer service using social media. We are starting to see how these platforms are incorporating so many business elements to take advantage of the growing “social” hype.

  1. Experience new levels of personalization and customization

Social media have become dynamic platforms because of the new ways it can be personalized for a more satisfying and engaging user experience. Many are starting to notice how associated interests and relevant content are orderly prioritized in users’ news feed. The algorithm has also changed the way like this, to target users and make them devote more time in social media activities as part of the goals for social media marketing. This is a win-win situation for the personal users and the businesses that utilize it.

  1. Broader mobile app functionality

Businesses are investing heavily on the development of their mobile applications as an example of a social media marketing strategy. Therefore, it is only logical that they are trying to integrate more functionalities to sustain user engagement and achieve an ROI. Mobile optimization can do wonders now, not only because search engines recognize it, but app users are now encouraged to spend more time within the application because of the features akin to mobile devices. Facebook even launched a personal digital assistant to further the experience.

Conclusion

We’ve seen how 2016 made social media marketing a game changer for online digital marketing. For 2017, we can expect more personalization, mobile optimization and shopping-akin experiences because of its growing technology. Businesses are expected to invest more in social media marketing, and many are seeking the best social media marketing providers to help them penetrate the growing marketplace.

These may be the start of the best years for social media marketing providers, and you are probably wondering if you should start investing in one too. CrowdReviews.com can give you the latest and most comprehensive list of social media marketing provider reviews to help you to choose among the right social media marketing companies for your short term and long term social media marketing goals.

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