Social media has had a very positive impact with regards to marketing. The modern marketer has taken the time to understand Social media platforms, and are now using them to engage with a broad audience base. The platforms are free to sign up to, and the cost of advertising is not as high as what you would pay for analog channels. However, there is still a lot of potential for the social media platform, and we can only foresee a situation where there is a lot of innovation and better opportunities for marketers. What can we expect to see?
Better focus on privacy
One of the major challenges the social media platform has is a lack of privacy. There have been cases where companies have admitted to the loss of data. Just recently, Facebook admitted to a breach with regards to data security. The company admitted that about 70 million users in the US and 1 million people from the UK, Philippines, and Indonesia might have been breached. It only makes sense that social media companies will spend more resources in ensuring that they protect the privacy of their uses. The consumers will be more demanding in knowing what levels of privacy companies offer them. Any companies that are using the platforms for their marketing efforts will want to know that the customer information is safe.
Relationship building
Many marketers are moving away from hard-sell language to relationship building. Right now, the focus is on knowing your customers better and understanding what their needs are. You come in as a solution provider who is willing to engage with the customers at a more personal level. Initially, social media platforms war bases for forming friendships. But now companies are using the platforms to build awareness of their brands and products. You get access to a broader audience base and cheap advertising alternatives. Social media is becoming less about relationship building and more about business. We foresee a situation where the focus will go back to relationship building, and marketers will have to find a way to access the different groups without breaching the ‘social’ aspect of social media.
People may pay to be on the platforms
With the barrage of advertisements and everyone shouting product messaging in your ears, there may come a time when people will migrate to paid social media platforms. It will give the social media user an escape from the content they do not want to engage with. You will also get access to more quality videos, audio files, images, among others. While it makes sound weird to some people, marketing campaigns may actually sound the death knell for some of the social media platforms.
Content will continue to dominate
The modern marketer has to continue to improve the type of content they send out into the market. You cannot separate content and social media, and it is therefore imperative that you have a content strategy as a separate document. Your content should be unique, informative, and add value to the end-user. It will also increase engagement because they like comment and share with them. You must also ensure that you continue to analyze what you post so that you know how effective it is. Quality content is a trend that will continue for as long as we can see.
Final thoughts
The Social Media platform has opened up a fantastic avenue for very many marketing efforts. We must, however, be mindful of the fact that the modern customer is continually evolving. They will become more demanding, and access to unlimited choice will make it very hard for many businesses to survive. It pays to have the right strategy while taking into consideration some of the things that need change with regards to social media marketing.
