What if the biggest advertising game-changer for your company was already here and you didn’t know about it?

Social media has transformed the face of advertising as we know it. And the latest social media trends are going to completely change how you advertise your business and brand.

Worried that you don’t know which advertising tricks are trending? Keep reading to discover our guide to the nine hottest advertising trends in social media!

1. Live Video

Once upon a time, online advertising was all about textual content. Now, though, video has become the absolute king.

By a huge margin, customers prefer to watch live video from a company instead of reading it. And social media is a natural platform for sharing live video with as many people as possible.

If your business hasn’t already embraced video, then you need to pick up your phone and start shooting today!

2. All About Facebook

When we discuss social media trends today, many businesses have a simple question. Which platform should they focus on?

Ideally, you should embrace a multi-platform approach. But if you’re deciding which platform to spend more time and money on, then the best choice is Facebook.

Obviously, Facebook has not had a great year in terms of public relations. And concerns about security breaches and privacy breaches may have driven some consumers away.

However, Facebook still has over two billion users using its platform every single day. It’s even the second most visited site in the world!

If your business needs advertising exposure, Facebook is your chance to be seen by more than a quarter of the global population.

3. Small Businesses, Big Ideas

One of the social media trends today that we are happy to see is the rise of small businesses. Specifically, more small businesses than ever before are embracing social media as a form of advertising.

At one time, social media advertising was a game that was mostly played by major companies. However, small businesses have realized a secret: social media is the great equalizer.

With some investment time or money, even the smallest business can create a social media campaign that puts their company on the map.

4. Rise of the Chatbots

Consumers really like feeling as if they are interacting with a company. That’s one of the reasons that social media became such a popular advertising platform in the first place.

Because of this, one of the big digital media trends is “chatbots.” These are automated chat programs that give the appearance that a customer is talking to a real person.

With the right programming, these chatbots can answer popular customer questions and even take payments. This lets businesses have it both ways, as they build their brand through social advertising while also streamlining their customer service.

5. Big Brands Step Up

Remember when we said that small businesses were using social media to advertise through unique content? Bigger businesses are advertising in a different way altogether.

Specifically, companies with deep enough pockets can afford to take out paid advertisements on platforms such as Facebook. And among other digital media trends, this practice is growing every year.

Part of why this is popular is that social media platforms can help brands target specific demographics of consumers. That way, paid advertisements go directly to the consumers likeliest to respond to them.

6. Benefits of LinkedIn

For many people, LinkedIn is not the first thing they think of when they think “social media.” However, LinkedIn has made some major changes lately that have affected all of social media.

As an example, LinkedIn offers a versatile platform for different marketing efforts. If you wish to position your brand, you can do so through sharing blogs and white papers. In this way, you organically position yourself as a thought leader in a way that direct advertising cannot match.

If you decide to directly advertise through LinkedIn, there are a variety of options. This includes sponsored content, sponsored InMail, text ads, and more, all customized via an intuitive campaign manager.

And if you have already collected detailed demographic info about your different customer segments, you can tailored your LinkedIn advertising to profiles that match your criteria. This offers maximum impact for your ads.

Finally, LinkedIn offers a variety of easy ways for users to view content, including in groups or via their newsfeed. This allows customers to discover your content in a comfortable and organic way.

7. Social Listening

Some of the major social media trends today include “social listening.” This refers to companies paying attention and analyzing what consumers are saying about their products on social media.

The best social listening strategy is two-fold. You need to be paying attention to what people are saying about your own company, but you also need to stay on top of emerging trends and hashtags.

By doing both, you can get a better idea about customer attitudes and a changing customer culture. You can then adapt your company to better serve their needs, all while your competition tries to figure out what just happened.

8. Google My Business

For most businesses, the real challenge is finding a way to stand out and be noticed. If you want to stand out from the competition, then you need to be using Google My Business.

First, this service has revitalized how users write and read Google reviews of various products and services. For many customers (especially Millennials), this is a major part of how they “do their homework” about a business.

Also, Google My Business provides additional engagement opportunities and ways to share your content. On top of this, using GMB helps improve your SEO and ultimately brings more customers to your business.

And did we mention it’s free?

9. Micro Influencers, Macro Impact

Not that long ago, advertising was all about the celebrity endorsement. Modern social media advertising, though, is all about “micro influencers.”

What’s a micro influencer? Somebody that is basically “internet famous.” They may have a lot of followers, but the average person on the street wouldn’t recognize them.

One of the big social media trends today is that businesses are partnering with micro influencers to help advertise their product. And this creates a pretty dramatic effect.

Due to micro influencer popularity, hundreds of thousands of people will be exposed to the advertisement. But because it is not a celebrity (they seem accessible to your demographic), the paid advertisement feels more like an organic ad.

Social Media Trends: The Bottom Line

Now you know what the hottest social media trends of 2018 are. But do you know who can help you take advantage of them?

Here at Blue Atlas, we specialize in all forms of digital advertising. To see how we can help you reach more customers than ever, come check out our social media advertising services today!