New year new you! Well, not quite; new year, same core values and ethos of doing the good stuff for the good people. But we are looking to what’s a-movin and a-shakin in our various zones of genius. So what are the Peaches excited about in 2018? We explore in this mini series.
Next up, it’s social media. Come on then Jen, what’s the grapevine got for us this year?
Chatbots
Chatbots are on the rise and expect to see more of these helpful little friends, improved and more responsive. User experience and journey is all about getting your user to where they need to be as quickly and smoothly as possible, so asking them the moment they arrive on your site if you can help not only delivers them to their destination more quickly, but also gives you an insight as to what their expectations and motivations are.
Social first
Smart businesses know utilising social media as primary communication helps get messages out to engaged audiences faster. And although social media is morphing and changing at an astonishing rate (see the next point), companies will still be striving for fans and followers to be the first to get sneak peeks, know when products launch, or be involved in beta testing.
Decrease in ‘organic’ activity
The trend for businesses relying on organic activity continues to decrease. With Facebook updating its algorithms to ensure users receive only the most relevant and engaging info (while simultaneously charging businesses for reach) – we’re wondering if organic reach could all but disappear.
As with the SEO conundrum, the solution seems to be to create imaginative, shareable, results-driven content and you’ll be okay. It remains to be seen if those with the biggest imaginations or budgets will prevail. Time will tell!
Video (obvs)
More of it, basically. Get live, get active, get vlogging. Use your strategy and content planner to schedule regular bite-sized vids to discuss issues important to you and your audience. Your employees are representatives and therefore extensions of your brand so get their faces and opinions seen and heard. Our downloadable paper on video marketing has some great tips for getting started.
Augmented Reality
Pokemon Go seems something of a distant memory compared to dancing hotdogs and the animated filters widely available on most platforms. There can’t be a major brand that hasn’t used or won’t be utilising the technology – from McDonalds to, well, us (we have a beautifully designed VR headset of our very own!). VR’s a specialist subject of our illustrious leader James (check our blogs for insights) and 2018 sees no let up for a technology stomping on towards world domination.
Branded links
We all know that in our saturated, noisy industries, brand recognition is the holy grail of marketing. To be instantly recognised is to be solidified in your consumer’s minds and ahead of the competition. But branded tote bags is the tip of the iceberg people, what it’s all about these days is the branded link (a shortened URL built around your name). Yep, get your brand into the links now because all the biggies are doin’ it, which means we’ll all have to do it.
Policing fake news
Thanks to ‘stable genius’ El Presidente, we are now living in a world where telling up from down, left from right and right from wrong is increasingly difficult. However, a positive outcome of the ‘fake news’ furore has been the increased awareness of audiences using social media. Questioning sources and doing fact-checking is more common and being legally accountable for content is set to be a hot potato in 2018.
Be sociable! Share your predictions and resolutions for social media in 2018 with us @giantpeach #giantpeachpredictions