How Social Media Is Changing

Social has brought with it a lot of changes.

These have mainly influenced how we connect with friends and family as well as other areas such as public relations, marketing, and others.

As of late, the social media scene has been hit with scandals from all sides.

Much of these have to do with the spread of fake news, the issue with technology addiction, and cybersecurity, among others. And now these developments have also ushered in some changes of their own.

Most of the major social media platforms are making a shift and readjusting the algorithms behind how contents are sorted and displayed on their channels.

Social media is changing before our eyes! For marketers, publicists, and PR professionals, the need to adapt is one that is all too important. What does this mean for brands and businesses and how can they manage to coordinate marketing and communications?

Privacy should be taken more seriously

We are bombarded with headlines in successions about significant cases of privacy violations. This has made a lot of consumers worried about corporate data collection and the negative impacts this may have on them in the long run.

For businesses, the need to focus on privacy is therefore undeniable. Consumers need to feel safe with the data they give out. This means you should try as much to avoid being invasive with your marketing tactics and channels. You don’t want your customers to feel like their data is being used against them.

Videos and live streaming are gaining more popularity

The social media scene has seen a shift in consumer behaviors to specific media types.

More and more people are giving the nod to visuals over text-based blogs. It’s also evident that the major social media channels have also made a shift in their approach to which content gets more reach and exposure as well.

While I won’t tell you to stop focusing on long, informative blog posts, it’s high time you consider multimedia contents as part of your winning content strategy whether this is tailored for marketing or public relations campaigns.

Social media influencers are needed now more than ever

Product reviews and recommendations from peers online are more trusted than adverts and reviews from the companies themselves.

Facebook, a significant player in the social media scene, has also made a favorable shift towards contents created by family and friends. Influencer marketing is somehow similar to this and can prove very useful in this case.

Although companies still need to push their products on their own through social media and other available channels, there’s also something to be gained by partnering with the right influencers as well.

More and more people crave authenticity today. Finding genuine and fitting advocates for your products and brand will go a long way to boost your marketing and public relations campaign.

The #hastag is not dead

Many industry think the hashtag is a thing of the past.

This couldn't be further from the truth, but requires brands to be more thoughtful in how they use them. More and more, the platforms that younger generations use will utilize hashtags. It makes sense that brands can capitalize on this continued trend without "hashtag-loading" their posts.

Finally…

Change is the only constant in life, and when it comes, only those who can adapt will be able to get their shot at survival and success. In the business world especially, it’s highly risky to get left behind.

It’s a new era today with social media. The situation is way different from what we use to have, but there’s still a lot of potential and opportunities. However, how well you’re able to adapt will impact how well you’re ready to harness these potentials.