Social media is undoubtedly an important part of many people’s daily lives. Every day, people open an account on different social networks, and those who already have an account also post a large amount of content, from photos, videos to announcements. Why do people have a need for social media? What is the future of social media? Next, we will try to answer these questions and analyze the panorama of it.
Social Beings
Yes, the human being is by nature social. People seek to belong to a group; people seek to have friends with whom to share the things that happen to them. Even the shyest person looks for that, and social media is a good way to stay in touch with family and friends.
Fast Communication
Social networks are characterized by being fast in helping you to be able to contact someone or to get some information. In addition to getting engagement, you can have the possibility to share any data in a matter of seconds or to like the publication that you find interesting.
What is the Future of Social Media?
The constant advance seems to be the slogan of social media. The future of social media will not be anything other than trying to technologically improve what already exists or innovate.
2020 taught the world how necessary it is for people to be close to family and friends, and by not being able to have them close, they are appreciated more. We as marketers began to analyze the behavior of our consumers and we realized the increase in the use of various platforms not only to interact with others but also for other activities such as watching movies, shopping or listening to music.
Implications for Brands
1. Brands Need to Study Well their Target
While it is true that some brands suffered a strong blow from the pandemic, others benefited in demand from the public. Both physical stores such as Target or Kroger were constantly consulted. Those that have a physical place, flooded in online views. The most requested products were toilet paper, water, disinfectants, masks, along with cereals. In social media people did not stop posting where to get this or that product in shortage. But, the pandemic does not end and we do not know how many more years this situation will last. The future of these brands will depend on how much they organize to continue supplying their stores with the products most required by the consumer. Knowing the target market well and meeting their needs is a necessary task in a society of technological advances.
2. Make Use of Technological Advances
a. Video Conference & Voice Instant Messaging
Other brands that also became more used are Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, Microsoft Team, and Discord. Video-conferences were, continue to be, and apparently will continue in the future to be necessary tools not only to be able to be in contact with family and friends but also to interact with co-workers since many companies decided to establish the remote work modality to avoid the advance of infected people with the terrible virus we all know. Social media like LinkedIn registered a considerable number of searches in 2020. This is projected to grow more in the next ten years. When people look for a job, the first contact with jobs is in the LinkedIn social media, then the job interview is via a video-conference.
b. Artificial Intelligence
The role that artificial intelligence plays in social media is undeniable. You cannot stop saying that thanks to this social media, it performs various tasks. For example, “Facebook uses advanced machine learning to do everything from serve you content to recognize your face in photos to target users with advertising. Instagram (owned by Facebook) uses AI to identify visuals. LinkedIn uses AI to offer job recommendations, suggest people you might like to connect with, and serving you specific posts in your feed. Snapchat leverages the power of computer vision, and AI technology, to track your features and overlay filters that move with your face in real-time (Kaput, 2020). “
3. Listen to the Target Market
a. Influencers
A method that is increasing to promote certain products is the use of influencers. On social media like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok you can see hundreds of influencers promoting everything from sneakers, t-shirts to food products. Influencer marketing agencies have also grown precisely because they have realized that the audience wants to see their favorite artist consuming the product that they like. The future to be that the use of influencers will become more common. The future for brands implies orienting themselves in this regard, looking for and working with the influencer who can best meet not only the expectations of the audience but also theirs.
References
Dollarhide, Maya (2020). Social Media Definition. Investopedia. Retrieved from:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media.asp
Haughey, Chris (2020). The Social Media Landscape in 2020. Digital Marketing Institute.
Retrieved from:
https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/the-social-media-landscape-in-2020
Kaput, Mike (2020). What Is Artificial Intelligence for Social Media? Marketing Artificial
Intelligence Institute. Retrieved from:
https://www.marketingaiinstitute.com/blog/what-is-artificial-intelligence-for-social-media
EK Marketing Blog by Ericka Koehler 