Social media has played a significant role in the lives of contemporary individuals and has dramatically changed the ways individuals and marketers interact with one another. As you read through this post, we will discuss some potential changes to social media that could shift the current landscape and impact the marketing processes of tomorrow.
Social media has become a ubiquitous phenomenon in the lives of billions of people. It is used by the public and businesses alike, becoming an integral part of the social fabric. In fact, Statista estimates that by 2025, 4.41 billion people will be using social media, increasing from 3.78 billion in 2021
Then, it is hardly surprising that social media has become an important marketing channel. Marketers have long known the potential reach of the various social media platforms, and many are using this to reach and impact their target audience.
Simple ways to engage with followers and customers have become increasingly popular, and businesses are making up for the lost time in how they participate.
Although marketers have learned a great deal about social media over the past two decades, its ever-changing nature means it is challenging to know what the future holds for this marketing tool.
With this in mind, this post’s goal is to explore some of the ways social media is likely to change in the coming years.
Future Trends That Could Change The Way You Use Social Media in Your Marketing
To better understand those possible changes, we looked at scholarly research about social media and the predictions of experts who know the field well. Based on the information we gathered during our research, as well as our own opinions about how social media will evolve in the future, the following are trends that will impact how you use social media in your marketing in the years to come:
Social Robotics Will Shake Things Up
Social robotics involves using artificial intelligence (AI) to create interactive robots that can talk, learn and respond to human emotions.
Watch out for:
Virtual Influencers
In the early days, celebrity influencers like Tyra Banks and Paris Hilton were the only ones with the clout to command attention from large audiences on social media. But the prohibitive costs of “celebrity influencers” meant that only big brands could afford them. This challenge gave rise to micro-influencers – people with a relatively smaller audience but an authentic connection with their audience more than famous faces. Today, businesses recognize that micro-influencers are just as effective at driving sales as their mega-star counterparts.
However, here is another trend brewing: The emergence of virtual influencers. AI bots are already being used by brands in influencer marketing, with popular ones like Lu do Magalu and Lil Miquela having more than 5.9 million and 3 million followers, respectively, on Instagram alone! These bots can interact with consumers on a personal level via social media like real people when, in fact, they are Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated characters. These non-human influencers can be used by marketers at every level of the marketing funnel, from brand awareness to conversion and retention.
Already, brands like Balmain, KFC, Samsung, Prada, and Dior, to mention a few, have employed virtual influencers for their campaigns, effectively bypassing the need for humans.
While some might scoff at these new forms of social power, we believe they will shake things up in the industry as it leverages technology to give consumers what they want – personal interactions without any strings attached. Plus, there is no denying that they can be far cheaper for brands to hire. What is more? These bots are easier to manage because they can be programmed to respond instantly. These qualities make for a valuable addition to any brand’s growth strategy. The next few years will see more virtual influencers – and we think it will shake things up because it opens up opportunities for brands to reach consumers directly without having to go through intermediaries like celebrities, micro-influencers, or content creators.
Therapy Bots
Social media has gotten its fair share of criticism in some quarters for its role in spreading misinformation, polarizing society, and contributing to the “loneliness pandemic” that plagues modern life.
Cue “therapy bots.”
The idea behind therapy bots is simple: they are designed to be your virtual friend and confidante, plus offer support on topics like mental health (Woebot) and quitting bad habits like smoking (QuitGenius).
While the therapy bots available today are still relatively new, people are more likely to open up to an artificial intelligence bot than a human since they will not judge you the way a human would. They can offer empathy and compassion at a scale that would be impossible for humans because they don’t get tired or distracted, which could help combat loneliness and depression by providing people with more opportunities for human connection. And for marketers, this is an opportunity to access an entirely new audience of customers who may otherwise feel alienated or lonely – at the same time, building brand loyalty through positive interactions.
We expect social bots to explode over the next decade as people become more comfortable with technology that helps them manage their mental health and become better versions of themselves.
Newer Sensory Formats Set To Impact Social Media Interactivity
Social media is becoming more visual and video-centric. As marketers, we are no longer just sharing text-based updates; now, we are creating videos and images that tell stories and engage audiences. And soon, we will see other sensory formats joining the mix as well.
AR and VR
Some companies have already started experimenting with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, which can provide an immersive experience for users. For example, by allowing them to see a product before buying or creating an interactive experience around a product or service. Currently, innovations like Oculus Rift and Facebook Spaces that would enable users to interact in virtual environments are leading the way in this space. Still, there will be more options available soon enough.
Voice and Audio
In addition to AR and VR, voice and audio will also play an essential part in social media interactions. Think voice-activated interfaces, sharing and listening to audio posts, as well as voice search. The hands-free and eyes-free benefits of these formats make them increasingly attractive options for users – and with voice search predicted to become popular, it is only natural that social media platforms are starting to adapt accordingly. For marketers looking to create engaging experiences on social media platforms, they offer an opportunity.
Haptic Feedback
One of the most exciting developments has been haptic feedback technology in recent years. This technology creates a tactile experience through vibrations.
As consumer adoption of mobile phones and wearable technology increases, touch-based communication can quickly become a new frontier for businesses to reach users. Haptic feedback can create an immersive experience for your customers or users by making them feel like they are interacting with real objects rather than just touching flat surfaces or screens.
Bottom line: As consumers demand more from their social experiences, businesses have no choice but to keep pace by embracing these newer sensory formats.
Personalization Will Be Key To Creating Meaningful Social Experiences For Users
We already see advances in personalization on Twitter and other prominent social media sites, where content recommendations are based on past engagements or viewing habits. But this trend has only just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible as we move into a world where artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more sophisticated. We envisage that tomorrow’s social media will be able to develop a deep understanding of each user’s needs and preferences while providing them with a highly tailored experience. It includes giving us what we want before we even know it ourselves, which will mean a huge step forward for marketers who can tap into this data stream. For example, understanding our emotions or offering advice based on our moods and interests.
More personalized AI-driven content will be available in real-time:
As humans, we are limited by our ability to create and edit video content in real-time. However, as AI technology improves, it will become possible for businesses to produce more personalized video content at scale and deliver it dynamically to users based on their location, behavior, and other factors.
Increased Transparency And Trust Between Brands And Consumers
This is already happening, and it will only get better from here on out. We see consumers demanding more transparency from brands, and companies are responding by becoming more transparent in their dealings with customers and employees alike. This trend will only continue as consumers become savvier and more demanding than ever before.
Social Media Will Become The Ultimate Customer Service Tool
In today’s digital world, customers expect brands to be available 24/7 — and in many cases, they will turn to social media when they need help or have questions about something they have purchased or experienced. Companies need to be prepared for this type of engagement and make sure they have a strategy in place to respond quickly and effectively to maintain customer loyalty and confidence in their brand. We expect smartphone penetration to continue growing exponentially, which means more people will have easier access to social media during their everyday lives. And if you’re not there to answer questions immediately, you will lose customers.
Additionally, businesses would look to invest in technologies that proactively let them sense trouble via AI-powered sentiment analysis tools. These tools would work by scanning their social media channels for negative mentions about their company, products, or services to address issues before customers even catch a whiff of trouble.
Finally
Social media is a powerful tool for marketing your business. It is a great way to get your name out there and reach new customers, but that does not mean that it is the all be all of marketing.
Social media is just one aspect of your overall marketing strategy. The key to success on social media is to use it as a tool, not as an end. Marketers and businesses should use it with other channels to meet their overall goals. And that is where domains and subdomains come into play.
The first thing you need to understand about domains and subdomains is that they are different. A domain name is the address of your website or blog, while a subdomain is simply another domain within a parent site. You can have multiple domains on the same website if you wish. For example, if your website is www.mywebsite.com, a subdomain under your site could be shop.mywebsite.com or blog.mywebsite.com.
Subdomains are an excellent way to add extra branding to your website while keeping things organized and easy to navigate. A website with multiple subdomains can also reflect your company’s different services or products, which helps give visitors an idea of what they can expect when visiting any given page on your website.
For example, if you are an online retailer and sell clothing and jewelry, you could create two separate domains for each category: clothing.myonlinestore.com and jewelry.myonlinestore.com.
That is not all! Subdomains are also great for SEO purposes because they help boost your rankings in search engines like Google by allowing you to optimize your URL for target keywords – especially ones not related to your primary domain.
For instance, if you own www.mybusinessname.com that focuses on marketing but want to branch out to an unrelated niche like health care or vacation planning, then it may make sense to create a new subdomain such as health..mybusinessname.com or vacationplanning.mybusinessname.com respectively.
By incorporating relevant keywords into both the subdomain name and the content of its corresponding pages, Google will be able to understand better what this site is all about – thus making it easier for users to find when they perform a search based on those terms. It means you can rank them separately in search engines and begin building up authority for each unique niche without jeopardizing the authority of your main site’s content.
Lastly, subdomains give marketers a unique opportunity to provide a seamless and targeted user experience from start to finish – from landing page, through checkout, and beyond to audiences with different languages or those in other geographical locations. For example, you can create subdomains like fr.mysite.com for French speakers or es.mysite.com for Spanish speakers where the content of each domain is written in their native language and features relevant local information that will draw them closer than ever before!
To conclude: when you combine all of these unique opportunities – search engine traffic from keyword-optimized URLs, increased engagement, improved accessibility, and better targeting – it is clear that domains and subdomains are a vital part of every online marketing strategy.
Angela Spearman is a journalist at EzineMark who enjoys writing about the latest trending technology and business news.