Social media may seem fairly straightforward to users, but those who use social media as a marketing platform know that its usage is much more nuanced. In addition to this, social media strategy is constantly in flux, and requires a level head and quick reflexes to ensure proper reach and marketing goals are met. Each and every year, we see a variety of changes occur in how marketers reach out to their audiences, and those who fail to adapt will pay the price (both figuratively and literally). If you want to be aware of what is coming down the pipeline, then continue reading to find out about the next big trends in social media marketing.

Intensification of Mobile

As the world moves toward smaller and more portable devices, social media marketers will have to continue to adapt to this strategy. Over one-third of all social media traffic now originates through mobile, making it a prime target for effective marketers. Expect this trend to continue, as marketing via social media and pinging for SEO both will continue to feel heavier and heavier effects in this domain. Mobile usage on social media networks is growing at double the rate of overall social media growth, and brick and mortar stores are expanding the percentage of store space for mobile devices as well, indicating heavy growth in the industry. Social media campaigns that only focus on desktop usage are bound to under-perform significantly, especially with younger audiences as the prime target.

Expect to Pay

Sites like Facebook were a popular destination for marketers due to the easy ability to reach a large audience, and subsequently connect with them. Recent revisions to algorithms have drastically nerfed reach within your followers and fans, in an attempt for these companies to earn more revenue. The fact is that to be competitive on social media in the coming months and years, you will no doubt have to intensify your paid marketing efforts. Organic content that is of high-quality is still needed to drive growth, but getting that content in front of audiences is now more difficult than ever before without a paid campaign approach.

More Creativity with Video

As social media continues to proliferate, the need for video marketing will undoubtedly increase. Many use YouTube as a way to get their videos uploaded quickly, enjoy SEO effects and share from a trusted source. More and more people, however, are enjoying multimedia directly through social media. Twitter’s Vine is a notable example, as is Facebook’s standard video methods. Social media platforms like Facebook have also optimized marketing budgets for videos, making it more affordable to advertise a video uploaded to Facebook than one that is simply shared via a link. In the coming months, it will be a good idea to begin transitioning your content from YouTube to your social media profiles directly (while still uploading videos to YouTube so that you are pinging for SEO).

Conclusion

Expect to encounter more mobile users, a greater need for paid marketing strategies and more demand for in-network video in the next year on social media. By rising to the occasion, you can meet these demands and continue to harness the ever-changing yet always-powerful concept of social media.