We are halfway through 2018, and some things that were true in 2017 are still true today. We know that politics are still a touchy issue, the US Men’s Soccer team is still not playing any meaningful soccer, rain is still wet, and yes, social media is still an integral part of the lives of many.
Social Media: It’s Alive!
However, within the world of social media, there have been many noteworthy changes over the past few months. We frequently write about various social media trends but not even our crack team of writers can keep up with the ever-changing landscape. That’s why we’ve decided to talk about all the current trends and updates in one place.
What’s Twitter up to in 2018?
At this point, last year tweets consisted of no more than 140 characters. However, things got “crazy” at the of 2017, and now we find ourselves with 280 character tweets. Wow. However, is a longer tweet a better tweet? I won’t lie, my gut reaction is “no,” but the numbers say otherwise. A report by SocialFlow revealed that longer tweets receive more “likes” and “retweets.”
Additionally, hashtags are still the trend that informs you what is trending. Take a moment to process that one. Finally, Twitter is making an indirect return to the Apple Watch thanks to a new third-party app, Chrip.
Hanging with Facebook in 2018
Ah, Facebook, the king of social media. Or is it? It’s true that other social media channels have continued to grow, but none have been able to catch the still growing giant that is Facebook. However, wait… Facebook is losing its grip on the American youth as they start to move toward SnapChat and the Facebook-owned Instagram. It’s not all bad news though, at least they are not MySpace. Sorry, MySpace.
As far as trends are concerned, we still recommend sticking with video content as much as possible, and remember Facebook prefers you to upload directly to them rather than linking to another video source. We know video on Facebook is nothing new but we mention it because you see a lot of it and by the way, you are going to see a lot more of it soon. The combination of Facebook stories and the new algorithm that prioritizes Facebook-hosted videos are all reasons to turn your words into videos.
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A 2018 Snapshot of Snapchat
We published an article last year about how to use Snapchat, and most importantly why to use it. In short, Snapchat has a serious, dedicated user base, and in my experience, it’s really easy to get a message into the hands of potential clients. Let us not forget that even though it isn’t the largest social media platform, it is the fastest growing.
So what’s new in 2018? Well, many experts feel that it is going to be the go-to platform for live events. But let’s face it, 2018 is all about the second generation Spectacles or at least Snapchat would really like you to give this new version of a formerly unpopular product a try.
Instagram Paints a Pretty Picture in 2018
It’s tough to point to any single noteworthy thing on Instagram and say, “that’s the new trend you need to be aware of.” If you wanted an honest summary, it’s that anything that involves the “stories” feature on Instagram is worth exploring because it will blow up until the next new “stories” feature replaces it. Wix has a lot to say about Instagram “stories” features and their evolution, but in summary, “stories” is a hot tool and it is only getting hotter.
Doing Business with LinkedIn in 2018
Oh, LinkedIn. The “professional’s” social media network remains a wealth of information for some industries and a barren wasteland for others. I’m continually impressed by the usage growth I see for clients of mine in certain industries. With that in mind, LinkedIn wants to be viewed as your business partner and while some of their business tools are not new in 2018 you will continue to see them pushed throughout the year. The ability to hire new employees intrigues me the most, and by no coincidence, it’s the feature that I see the most ads for.
The fantastic team at SMA is here to answer all your social media questions. Don’t hesitate, contact us today.
