2018 – Trends predicted for Social Platforms.

2018 – Expectations and trends predicted for Social Platforms.

As companies start rolling into Q1 of 2018 there is a lot to be expected from social platforms as a business offering and rightly so as advertising cost on Google and Facebook are only set to increase. Like all good businesses social platforms are keen to establish more value but also very clear on what areas perform well and encourage marketers and users to get more involved in that process.

In any growth stage of business our campaign over arch is to look at the platforms and channels that our clients use and can reveal very quickly where audiences are and which areas they are quick to respond to. Trends going forward for 2018 are inherent of last year’s drive to create validated audiences and steer clear of popularity or gimmick effects on rising platforms. Not every suggestion is to be followed but certainly some platforms seem to have their game face on for 2018 and ought to, it’s the clarity of performance and return that business owners are going to look to when parting with hard earned marketing revenue.

Let’s look at some of the predicted trends for 2018 in summary form :

1. CEO’s and Business Owners can no longer ignore social platforms, marketing integrations and the need for a strong marketing presence online and in synch on the company floor. Last year we welcomed an increase in business owner/ operators recognition of marketing interest and identifying presence as a serious investment.

2. Picking the right social platforms. Notably Facebook has been the best bang for buck in the past when compare with google but there are elements of both areas to be utilised and harnessed via combinations of search, display and re-marketing to validated audiences is now absolutely crucial.

3. Nurturing audience and content as a new source of validation. Drop the hard sell, and drop it fast and hold value. New platforms such as Linkedin are set in 2018 to take advantage of rising costs on other platforms and ad performance there is one to watch as professionals already endorse articles written and shared on that platform.

4. Hashtags! Yes, we all laughed but Instagram is now defining audiences alongside strong hashtag campaigns. If you are versed in Facebook business manager then you will have no doubt seen amazing results coming though sharing ads on Instagram.

5. Humanising Companies are going to be big this year – again the hard sell needs to go and consumers want to know more human elements about companies and their culture and story, downfalls and rises.

6. Reviews and Testimonials! Word of mouth has never gone away and in 2018 more crucial as Facebook looks to increase search engine rankings from check in’s to reviews to boost companies above others.

7. Video! Everything above here could have been said in a 2 minute video max and if we segmented the article maybe in 2-3 30 second shorts. All platforms are big on video content for 2018 and watch this space for google ads on you tube as a cost effective way to brand advertise, not just seen as a broadcast channel anymore.

To summarise, 2018 will see increases in advertising costs which is not a bad thing at all. If you are deploying healthy marketing and looking at campaign strategy and being proactive as opposed to knee jerk reactions then the need to spend on marketing has already been accepted. It’s a question of spending it strategically through different channels and having good content and design to compliment your company outlook.

Owen Waters is the Managing Director and Senior Consultant at Icarus Communications Ltd. See our client portfolio at projects.

To contact us to discuss marketing or strategies for 2018 please email owen@icaruscommunications.co.uk