Thank god, everything doesn’t change so quickly. Some social media changes that were a hit in 2017 will continue to work in 2018. While all SMM experts are scaring you regarding the social media trends that will dominate 2018, we give you a sigh of relief with some 2017 social media trends that will continue through 2018 and an infographic of 2018 social media trends.

The irritating thing about social media is that it doesn’t stay the same for long. The strategies change, the platforms change, and you have to constantly be on top of the trends, app updates and consumer behavior changes. In July 2017, we covered the 4 trends that will dominate the future of Social Media Marketing. Some of the trends which we did predict will continue through 2018.

While you will find a lot on the social media trends that are expected to keep you busy through 2018, we thought it will be a good thing to discuss the things that will stay the same.

Generation Z replaces millenials

Brands do not wish to focus on millenials any longer. Generation Z are the people born after 1995 and have become the most potential users as they have all the purchasing power. They will shape the direction of social media. One of the traits about Generation Z is that they get bored quickly and they are also difficult to please since they re resistant to advertising. It is a constant challenge to think of innovative ways with content marketing strategy to attract Generation Z.

Individual interactions are in

Brands are emphasizing on sending individual interactions on messaging platforms. Consumers prefer one-on-one interactions as brands have to put more thought and personalization in the messages. Rather than posting a generalized message to thousands of followers, brands are sending messages to consumers who are worth investing in.

Videos, videos and more videos

YouTube videos were popular once but these have gone to the next level with content in real-time. Facebook and Instagram live give a live streaing video option. The social media is obessesed with live video since its authentic and real. Just like the way people love real people talking about a brand (influencers), live videos are non salesy and appealing to the masses.

Augmented Reality to get more real

Snapchat and Pokemon Go made Augmented Reality really popular. In fact AR in gaming gained a new high in 2016. The other leading social media channels are soon catching up with the trend. For example, Facebook is experimenting big time with AR. It presents a new opportunity to connect with consumers. Brands can share experiences with followers rather than adverts or just information.

Chatbots are working

One of the most amazing things about chatbots is that they can help enhance customer experience. Chatbots are becoming a differentiator for companies that are using it. HMI or Human-machine interaction is constantly evolving and bots are a great example of that. Bots are intelligent agents that can intuitively answer the questions of users. It gives human like answers in real time. Chatbots are backed with Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology that is now mature enough to understand and interpret the questions that users are asking. They can understand the intent of the user. Just like voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, Cortana and Google assistant that can have an intelligent conversation with the users.

The following infographic is a summary of 2018 social media trends (in fact most of these are the ones from 2017). So there’s no need to panic. But if you lagged in 2017, it’s time to seriously rethink your Social Media Management strategy before you get seriously left behind. Connect with one of our SMM experts to up you 2018 social media game.