Social media is rapidly changing and developing, it has become an integral part of people’s lives. It allows us to not only connect with each other, but it has become more than just for social with functions such as gaming and shopping. These are the biggest areas that social media platforms are focussing on, and what we can expect in the future.
Augmented and Virtual Reality
Currently, social media is a great place for people to share passions, learn new things and develop relationships with brands, content creators and others online. However, virtual reality will take this to a whole new level, people will feel as though they are actually together in real life. It will allow brands and creators to build more meaningful relationships with their audience, as it’s another dimension.
There will be a variety of opportunities for brands as VR expands and develops further. Press releases could be launched in a non-physical space, with journalists and creators attending online as if they were actually there. Product releases could also be launched within these virtual spaces, allowing people from all over the world to attend, without having to actually travel. As it’s very new we don’t know the full extent, however, the opportunities are endless and it’s a very exciting time.
Focus on eCommerce
At the start of the pandemic in 2020, there was a big push for eCommerce and the need for companies to be online became vital. Social media platforms quickly jumped on this trend with the introduction of Facebook and Instagram Shops, giving consumers the ability to purchase products directly from the platforms, allowing brands to further connect with their audience. Twitter has also been testing new shop elements and has started direct, in-stream purchases through tweets.
In 2022 we can expect this to grow further with shoppable posts and more streamlined payment processes. Facebook Pay has started to roll out to a small set of countries and apps, however they aim to expand this service further throughout the year. There are also rumours that digital currency Diem will be piloting a collaboration with Facebook in the upcoming months.
Live Commerce
A relatively new feature within Europe, live commerce combines the instant purchasing of featured products and audience participation through reaction buttons and chat functions. This real-time online selling phenomenon had taken off in China after the pandemic and it has been increasing in popularity since, with it now starting to be introduced in other countries.
As this emerges further, we will be able to understand the best practices and the best ways to achieve optimal results through live commerce. It’s something that we will all be seeing more of very soon.
Social Advertising Will Evolve
Marketers will want to plan for the big change happening by 2023; Google is aiming to phase out cookie tracking. They will be phasing out support for third-party cookies and they’re working on developing a set of open standards to enhance privacy online, giving users greater control and more transparency over how their data is collected and used.
This is an opportunity to not focus as much on advertising that needs third-party cookies, instead focusing on targeted ads, email marketing and user-generated content. It’s important more than ever to understand your audience and the social media advertising strategies that produce the best results.
Even though social media is ever-changing, it’s still good to plan for the long-term so you’re ahead of the game when these new features become available in your country. At GA Agency, we run media-buy campaigns for our clients on different platforms including Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok. If you’re looking to take your marketing strategy to the next level, feel free to contact us!
