5 Trends That Will Shape Your Social Media Strategy In 2017

Social media strategy is no longer something that you devise at the end of the year and abide by it for the entire next year. Things are moving quickly in this field and you have no choice but to keep up. Here are the top 5 things that you should take into account next year (think of this as an open list, of course):

Real-time response just got real

According to Search Engine Watch, 72% of Twitter users think that an hour is an acceptable timeframe for getting a reply from a brand they follow, while 14% expect an immediate answer. So, if you’re in the habit of checking your social media accounts once or twice each day, think again: you will need to be logged in at all times and respond immediately.

Organic growth in social media is a thing of the past

It used to be quite simple: you set up a Facebook page, get some likes and engagement followed. Plus, people clicked on your links and friends followed the same pages their friends did.

But now, with every little company having social media profiles, timelines and feeds have gotten very crowded and “noisy”. What are social networks to do in order to de-clutter and keep users happy? Make you pay for your traffic and engagement, of course! So, no matter how many fans and followers you already have, in 2017 you should prepare to spend some extra money on implementing your social media strategy.

Marketing automation is no longer just “nice to have”

If you want to be part of the social media conversation, you need string analytics tools to help you make decisions and ways to automate repetitive tasks like posting. Hubspot, Marketo, Sendible or Buffer are just a few of the options you have to get started and incorporate marketing automation in your social media strategy. The good news? More and more SaaS companies emerge every day, so prices for automation tools are bound to drop.

Personalization is mandatory

Remember the clutter I mentioned above? Well, in order to cut through it, you need to speak to your audience at a personal level. Learn what they want to read or see and deliver that content and nothing else.

The Facebook retargeting tool allows you to target people who have visited your page, but didn’t perform any action – and that’s just the beginning of getting more personal with your buyer persona.

AI, AR, VR, chat bots, and immersive reality

Not familiar with all the acronyms above? Then get learning! Facebook bought Oculus Rift – you must have seen Mark Zuckerberg’s live videos with the virtual glasses on –, chat bots can be conversation starters almost anywhere and you can now add 360° photos to your timeline. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are gaining more traction every day and it’s only natural that they pair up with social media.

Not sure how to incorporate these in your social media strategy for 2017? We can help.