If you are reading this you have already started to think about 2018 and that means you are on your way to success – congratulations! With that in mind let’s look at 4 big social media trends in 2018!

1. Instagram or, to be more specific, Instagram stories

Selling is a big process today. But it’s not enough to sell through the Internet anymore because you have to build your social presence. If you already have it – great, you are in a row. But if you don’t – you have to hurry up – it is the end of 2017 and social media trends in 2018 are already relevant. Although, technically, you do have a couple of months yet!

Many brands started to work on their Instagram accounts a few years ago, and have thousands of organic followers now. How about you? Are you still thinking that’s not for you or for your business? I believe that Instagram suits most businesses. And what about the conceptual studying saying that you have to post 70 percent of joyful content and only 30 – selling. It’s nonsense for some brands, they sell 100%. However, it does work for others. Only Instagram gurus can help you with this question because it’s not about only posting on Instagram anymore.

Instagram stories will become even bigger. They are a great tool to use but you have to be live every day, 7 days a week. Next year Instagram stories will grow dramatically. You can show your business meetings, conferences, brain storming with colleagues or simply your coffee breaks. The main task is to stand out of the crowd and be visible.

2. Twitter presence

There are tons of information on Twitter every day. Many people argue whether Twitter is the platform of the future. Some of them are not happy with it. However, for a big chunk of others it is a great (if not the best) way to communicate with their clients in no time! Tweet and go! There are many rumors about what is going to happen to Twitter so 2018 will be a big one for the Twitter management. They will have to rethink Twitter development strategies so stay tuned to see what happens (subscribe to our Social Media news in the sidebar to the right).

3. Influencer marketing

Businesses will continue to work with influencers in 2018. My suggestion is to work with influencers who are close to your brand. However, the challenge is to find real influencers because sometimes it is not about the number of followers or following sections. It is more about the right target audience. Many companies have failed choosing “influencers” with a big number of followers in 2017. The reason was false thinking: “if  it’s bigger it’s better”. And the result was obvious, too – those companies lost money because those “influencers'” marketing strategies failed to perform. As the result, everyone’s profits went down. Sounds like a “no-no” to me… My advice is to find the right influencer with the right audience. And the latter does not have to be big – relevant is much more important.

So, I think that there is one important step that you can take to get the result that you are after. When you find the right influencer, acquaint her, him or them with your brand but do it very thoroughly. The scheme here can be as simple as an exam; “teacher-student” relationship. The influencer has to understand your motto, goals and brand.  The influencer has to pass the exam and get that contract. Easy! Or not really? It is only then the influencer hopefully is ready to work for you and your business.

4. Live streaming

Finally, my favourite part – live streaming. It becomes more popular not only among movie stars, hosts but also chefs, makeup artists, vloggers, dancers and so on. In fact, yu can live stream everything and everywhere. And thanks to live streaming you can be in different places in no time. You can be present at a concert in one second, and in another – you are on stage, or at a soccer match, watching baseball and so on. Some day you will be able to visit various planets in no time!

But it’s only almost 2018 now and I am ready to take a big step to the new social media trends. I hope that you are ready, too!

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