Dear PR Matters,
I have been reading with much interest the last two articles in your column, which focused mainly on trends for 2017.
Having recently been assigned to handle the social-media aspect of our communications team, will it be possible for you to share some directions on social media that we have to watch out for this year?
We are aware that nothing changes faster than social media, and will appreciate being guided on this.
Sincerely,
Katherine T.
Dear Katherine,
My colleagues and I are happy that you have been following our column and would like to thank you for your interest in it.
In communications, as it is with everything else, the new year comes with new hopes, new aspirations and a new outlook. And you are right in saying that nothing is more challenging than handling social media and making it work for you.
That’s because, as Sophie Maerowitz writes in an article for PR News, “7 Social Media Trends to Watch in 2017”, “social platforms are in a constant state of evolution, with new features being rolled out at a breakneck pace.”
She adds that, “Communicators tasked with managing a brand’s social accounts face the dual challenge of keeping track of social-platform updates, as well as audience behavior.” Audience behavior changes as they shift from platforms they like to use and the types of content they engage in most.
With that, “every brand, big and small, can benefit can keeping an eye out for upcoming social-platform updates and trends in user behavior.” Maerowitz then cites how Yelp, with its diverse audience of businesses and consumers, prioritizes to stay current to ensure it serves content to the right audiences, on the right platform in the most engaging way possible.
In the same article, she quotes John Carroll, Yelp’s manager of local business outreach, who shares seven social-media trends for communicators to be on the lookout for in 2017:
- Video will still reign supreme. “The evolution of tools, like Snapchat, Facebook Live, Twitter’s added-video capacity and live video on Instagram Stories, are all great innovations in the video space,” Carroll says. Videos, he says, offer richer content and a more engaging experience for audiences.
- There will be an increased focus on capturing authentic moments. That’s because “social media’s biggest draw is the ability to share moments in real time.” He cites Snap Inc.’s Spectacles as a great example of consumers being able to capture moments as they happen.
- Immersive technology will allow brands to take audiences along for the ride. Innovations, like virtual reality, Snapchat Stories and Instagram stories, “have created increasingly immersive content for consumers. Brands are now able to bring audiences on the journey with them as opposed to simply showing or telling them.”
- The barrier between brand and consumer will dissolve. Today, “brands are no longer just the label on a product. Brands are made to be engaging and personal. Brands are expected to act in a human way on social media.”
- Staying on top of fads will yield positive engagement—if you act fast. Remember “Pokémon Go” and the mannequin challenge? Where did all that excitement go?
“Trends are a great way to engage customers,” Carroll says. “However, the window for trends is small. The gap between the trendsetters and followers can be a matter of days. If a trend makes sense for your brand, get creative, and act on it ASAP.”
- Social media will continue to be a multifunction channel. For Carroll, “social media is no longer just for branding; it is useful for everything from name recognition to customer service to direct sales.” Millennial targeting brands, like Everlane, “have successfully driven sales by making Snapchat their defacto channel.”
- Social platforms will get more complicated…and more expensive. “Social platforms are becoming increasingly complicated as companies try to monetize them,” Carroll says. “Algorithms have made it more challenging for brands to get organic in front of consumers. Brands are now more dependent on paid campaigns.”
It’s important to think about the next thing in social to help your company reach your intended audiences, and we hope these trends will help you.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the UK-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for marketing and communications of SM, is the local chair.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.