The history of social media began in the 1990s with the emergence of several popular messenger applications – AOL Instant, Yahoo, and MSN Messenger. However, these applications served more as a communication tool between people who knew each other and used them for direct communication.
The popularity of social media increased in the early 21st century with the emergence of platforms that took the form they still have today. They have enabled greater interactivity between Internet users and group participation in discussions and content sharing.
Today, according to some statistics, nine out of 10 Internet users are present on at least one social network. That means there are over 4.5 billion people worldwide who have a profile or profiles on these platforms.
Of course, every marketer knows that the potential of social media is almost limitless, especially when we know that the number of users is predicted to increase in the coming years. So the question here is how to use the trends of these networks to achieve marketing success.
Each popular platform of this type is unique, so it needs a specific approach to analyze and use it. We’ve researched and summarized the results to help you make it happen with less effort.
We’ll begin with Facebook, the most popular social media network for over 15 years. One of the evergreen tips that can help your marketing efforts, regardless of the current trends, is to choose the suitable timing for posting updates/statuses. It turns out that the period from Tuesday to Thursday at 6 a.m., 2 p.m., and 8 p.m. are optimal.
Next, we have the reels that appeared in 2022 and witnessed great success on pages and personal profiles. In 2023, the Reels feature became available in groups. So, with their help, you can create catchy videos and express your message in your communities. In addition to these things, we have the Facebook Live streaming feature and chatbots. The latter is a must if you plan to run an e-store via Facebook.
To stay safe, you should check Facebook’s advertising policies. For instance, online gambling and gaming – like that found at non-UK casinos with no deposit bonus deals – can be promoted, but only with written permission from the platform. National laws can also come into play. It can be a win-win (and another win) situation for players/social media users, the social media network, and casinos.
X (Twitter)
Unexpectedly, Twitter has become a bit of a controversial topic among marketers. That does not surprise us, though, because two significant changes have happened in the last period. First, Elon Musk decided to buy Twitter and rename it X. The eccentric billionaire has attracted attention with his sometimes controversial views, which made some advertisers withdraw from the platform. However, after some time, some of them returned.
Meanwhile, X introduced a subscription that limits or completely excludes ads. The second change is the negativity surrounding Musk and the network. However, the latest figures show that the number of users is increasing. Since most are not subscribers, it leaves room for marketing maneuvers to benefit you greatly.
So, it’s still worth investing in promoted tweets and following X’s current trends. The hashtags can still be used to grab the attention of the public. Another powerful tool here is direct communication, allowing marketers to target specific users genuinely interested in their products. Given Musk’s business-oriented mindset, we expect to see many new features that can help companies expand their reach on X.
Instagram is a bit different than the others because photos and videos play the leading role on this network. Since it’s in the top five most used social media networks, it’s always a good idea to check what’s trending there and use it to improve your marketing strategy.
According to many experts, like in the case of Facebook, you should pay more attention to the Reels feature when you want to spread your business message. The more successful Reels you share, the more reach you have. Depending on your business’s nature, you can also include video memes in your strategy. These are funny, abstract, and viral video messages that last for a few seconds and have a huge impact.
Another exciting thing you should consider is the opportunity for live shopping. This is probably more suitable for big companies that can provide many representatives to assist potential customers. Namely, with live shopping, you can organize live events, let users chat with representatives, and buy things through live sessions without leaving the platform.
