7 Top Social Media Trends Worth Knowing

Keeping up with the latest social media trends can be a nightmare. Just as you get a handle on what needs to be done, strategies, objectives, platforms, types of content, or tools you’re used to can suddenly change. Most small business owners simply want to know what they should be doing and how to do it, or better yet, where to find outside help. From AI integration and sustainable practices to SEO optimization and live streaming, we’re breaking down seven of the latest trends that will help you generate new leads and sell more on social media. 

1. Integrating AI 

We’ve said it before, and we’ll probably say it again: Implementing AI is the number one trend across the board right now. It’s changing the landscape of almost everything we do, including social media. The term “artificial intelligence” might sound scary, but we promise that the launch of Skynet is still several years away. Right now, AI is a tool like any other. When used effectively in digital marketing, AI applications can reduce the time and effort it takes to manage your social media manually. Here’s how.

Automating your customer service

Your customers want always available, on-demand customer service. AI chatbots can be used to answer your standard FAQs, manage purchases, conduct simple customer service transactions, and assist with personalized recommendations. You don’t have to be a giant corporation to benefit from automated customer service. Chatbots are one of the more established forms of AI, so there are many different apps available for small businesses to choose from.

Making targeted advertising easier

You can’t sell to an audience you can’t reach. One of the best uses for AI is the capacity to analyze large amounts of data on user behavior, demographics, and interests—exactly the type of information you need to decide where to direct your advertising budget—without accurate data, figuring out who, where, and when to spend on advertising can be an anxiety-inducing exercise in guesswork for a small business. This AI feature is integrated into the administrative dashboard of many social media platforms to help you easily choose the right people to target, optimize your ad spend, and improve your ROI. 

Using predictive analytics

Another use for AI’s ability to cull through enormous data sets is predicting customer trends and behaviors. Knowing how your customer navigates purchasing from you will improve your digital marketing strategy and create a more effective customer journey. Again, since this is often available for free through the social media platform you’re using, why not give it a try?

Assisting your social listening

How much of your time is spent worrying about what customers are saying about your business on the internet? Social listening has been a fundamental part of social media management since businesses moved into the space. But what used to take quite a bit of time sorting through comments and posts on multiple sites has been made much easier with AI. Now, AI tools can track and notify you if posts, comments, and reviews about your business turn negative allowing you to respond quickly and appropriately to head off potential controversy. 

2. Publicizing your eco-friendly efforts

If you’re only getting on board the sustainability and social responsibility train now, you’re already a bit late. Your customers, especially younger demographics, want to know how your business is approaching environmental and social responsibility before they decide to purchase. You should always publicize your eco-friendly efforts on your website, but to get your message out quickly, social media is a great way to highlight what you’re doing to make the world a better place.

Social media is all about communicating, making it the perfect method for both showing and telling your audience about your eco-friendly efforts. Opportunities for publicity include:

• When you’re launching a new product, include information on the sustainable materials, packaging or processes you use. 
• Highlight any eco-certifications your products have earned both on your social pages and in content posts.
• Create articles or short videos to educate the public about environmental concerns specific to your industry.
• Share the sustainable practices you’ve implemented in your small business.
• Commit to transparency and share any quantitative data that shows how your changes have benefited the environment. 

As you craft your social media messages, be careful not to engage in greenwashing. Greenwashing is specific to environmental marketing and refers to actions like making a minor change and exaggerating its impact, incorporating buzzwords into your marketing without actually taking action, and overplaying benefits while underplaying damage. These days, customers are savvy and naturally suspicious of overblown or untrue claims. Not only is greenwashing a turn-off for many customers, some of these deceptive practices are actually illegal under federal and state law.

3. SEO matters on social media

Gone are the days when social media existed only for our entertainment. Today, social media is increasingly being used as a discovery platform, especially Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and TikTok. Your customers are searching for the products they need, user reviews, tutorials, and where to shop from their feeds. This means SEO matters on social media. 

Sponsored content and targeted advertising can support your SEO efforts on social media, but there are a few other tactics you can use to make sure your business is found ahead of your competition. A few of these methods are:

• Including your target keywords in your social media bio and about sections.
• Using hashtags thoughtfully and consistently.
• Geotagging all posts to support local search.
• Crosslinking is a powerful SEO helper. Regardless of platform or placement, always link to your social media pages in any public-facing marketing.

Both Instagram and Facebook offer a retail interface that has a surprise benefit. Customers primarily want buying to be easy, and making purchases without having to click away is as quick and simple as it gets. But, your product and category descriptions are yet another place you can incorporate your keywords and boost your SEO. So make sure you set up and maintain those in-platform shops!

4. Real, not perfect

Which is more likely to be shared? An unemotional and cold press release on the latest update to your product or a funny post that’s clever and lighthearted? Many small businesses default to a “professional” approach for their social media. The instinct is understandable—you want your business to be taken seriously and perceived as competent and capable. But competency and capability don’t automatically mean somber and formal. 

Like it or not, the world is moving away from feeling satisfied with reserved and distant corporate attitudes and towards more playful, authentic, and approachable personas. The capacity to have fun with your product shows confidence and makes your social media posts stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Customers want to interact with businesses that aren’t afraid to show their personality. The mantra in social media today is trending toward real, not perfect. In fact, a little imperfection can go a long way to humanize your business to your target audience.

5. Embrace the power of live streaming

The next logical step from presenting a fun and funny persona on social media is opening the door to live streaming. The thought of real-time engagement and direct interaction with your target audience might feel intimidating, but this type of marketing builds trust and connection. Customers want to know who is behind the products they buy, and one of the best ways to show the authentic side of your business is to let them get a glimpse behind the scenes.

Before you add learning film and video editing to your to-do list, Live streaming doesn’t require a production team, a pre-written script, fancy editing, or high-end equipment. Just turn your phone on, click the live stream button, and start sharing. There are no limits to what you can film, and you can repurpose the content for articles, newsletters, and other platforms. 

Whether you’re live streaming Q&As with staff, product demonstrations, interviews with satisfied customers or a tour of your manufacturing plant, people will watch. Live streaming is a cost-effective way to get your audience interested, while proving your credibility and expertise. Attach a limited-time discount or promotion to your live stream, and just like magic, you also have a special event that drives sales.

6. Posting new content consistently and frequently

The need to post new content consistently and frequently isn’t exactly a new trend, but maintaining a constant presence on social media is even more important these days. Given the competition on social media feeds, getting potential customers’ attention can be difficult. If you rarely post or take a feast or famine approach, the algorithms that rule social media platforms are likely to deprioritize your posts on your followers’ feeds. Across the board, social media rewards activity, so the more you post, the more often your content will be seen.

Like other current trends, posting regularly increases your brand’s exposure to new potential customers, establishes credibility and trust, promotes positive relationships with current customers, and most importantly, generates new leads.

7. Remember when…?

Nostalgia marketing is an established advertising strategy but has increased in use in recent years. Between the global pandemic, the overwhelming presence of the internet, and especially the documented rise in loneliness, nostalgia marketing has grown into an even more powerful strategy since 2020. Of course, only looking back and never forward isn’t healthy, but an advertising campaign that invokes a sense of the past to bring comfort and familiarity can be very appealing to your target audience.

Nostalgia marketing taps into positive memories of the past to make a business seem more familiar and relatable. Although you might assume nostalgia marketing would appeal most to Generation X, millennials and Generation Z are surprisingly taken with retro culture. Connecting your product with positive emotions can heighten brand awareness, encourage sharing, and foster long-term loyalty, leading to new leads and increased sales—exactly the kind of ROI you want from your ad spend.

Social media is constantly evolving. Content trends and tools constantly change, with the newest and best always on the horizon. If you stay curious, adapt to changes, and most importantly, ask for help, you just might have fun increasing sales and engaging with your audience. Talk with one of our marketing experts today.