Hey, thank you for joining us in the second part of our blog!
You already know how and why social media has become a significant part of our lives.
As promised, we will brief you on the latest features and trends on the remaining two popular social media platforms – Snapchat and Twitter.
Snapchat
Dynamic ads
Since there are dynamic ad capabilities added to social media platforms such as Facebook and Pinterest, similarly, Snapchat’s dynamic ad option also reduces the time and effort needed to create and maintain the ads. On the popular platform, Snapchat’s dynamic ads work with a wide array of templates for retail, e-commerce, and DTC (Direct-to-consumer) brands to upload their product catalogs on this platform.
It is referred to as dynamic because whenever the product details such as availability or price are changed, the ad adjusts accordingly. Also, the new feature allows a room to social commerce ad budgets that were previously only allocated to Instagram and Facebook. Also, the ads that appear on Snapchat are the best way for brands to target younger audiences as most of the accounts over this social media platform are from users aged between 13 and 15 years.
AR capabilities
Snapchat is a social media platform that reflects the majority of AR (augmented reality) capabilities. It also rolled out significant updates that are creative to new AR experiences. Some of the popular AR capabilities are dynamic scanning, interactive templates, landmark manipulation, improved movement tracking, and object scanning. Snapchat’s cameo feature is yet another example of AR-driven technology.
Apparently, with this social media junction making most of the Augmented Reality, it will remain so the way forward in adhering to user’s expectations when compared to other social media sites.
Now that you know how Snapchat is advancing to keep pace with Gen X and Millennial’s expectations, it is the time to know how Twitter has evolved to witness industries’ top discussions and statements (political, commercial, or from the film industry) over the platform.
“I love social media because it exists at the intersection of humanity and technology.” – Steve Jobs
So, there is no surprise to the fact that we hop on to these networking sites because they are built of great technology with humans behind them. Also, you get a sense of what people love these days. Technology blended with Human Touch can do wonders in the current scenario.
Hiding replies to tweets
It was an effort made to manage the conversations on Twitter. The users who have tweeted have an option to hide the replies. But, users can still see and engage with the hidden replies by selecting ‘View Hidden Replies’ in the dropdown option.
Brands can use this feature differently, as it gives them an option to hide or spam out negative comments that might have an adverse effect on their brand image. However, it could have a reverse impact on the users who are trying to look for more information related to the product in the comments.
Focus on videos
The way Twitter generates, most of its revenue is through video ads. In 2019, Twitter reported that video ad format continues to be its fastest-growing ad format. In August 2019, Twitter rolled out a new feature of new ad bidding option, which gave advertisers the option to run video ads up to 15-seconds long and only pay for ads viewed for full-six seconds with 50% pixel in-view.
In April, Twitter announced exclusive media partnerships with some news and entertainment organizations such as MTV and Wall Street Journal, to bring more video content for Twitter and attract video advertisers. The speculation says that media partners will grow their focus on creating video content across politics, music, and sports.
Future of social media
In the continuation of how social media is an integral part of our lives, some people are so much addicted that checking the feed is the first thing they do after waking up. Also, businesses need to flock on social media platforms to connect with their target customers. However, there is a content overload on social media, and the competition is very high. So, to fuel your strategy, and make it stand out in the crowd, prepare your brand for the future.
Learn these trends that you might see in the future (beyond 2020):
- A story like content or ephemeral content that engages customers will keep gaining popularity.
- Instagram will remove the feature of likes as waiting for social validation is detrimental to people’s mental health.
- The social media platforms with growing popularity will look like the storefront of brands in the future. Brands and marketers will leverage social commerce in their sales strategies.
- 82% of the content will be video content. People will tend to reduce their normal posts and include more of video content on stories and feeds more than ever.
- Technology adoption and influencer marketing will not see the downside curve shortly. Investing in them will only lead to positive results for both growing brands and individuals.
These trends aren’t very new to you and most of the people around you. However, they will continue to dominate the social media landscape in 2020 and beyond. Leverage them all to your advantage, and they can help you ace your social media game.
Not only these, be vigilant of how other brands are trying to engage the audiences. With the continuous process of learning and development, social media platforms can become the right medium to grow your brand image and revenue today as well as tomorrow.
Happy World Social Media Day! Happy Networking!
