Did you know that 81 percent of Americans were on social media in 2017 and the number of worldwide users is expected to reach 2.5 billion in 2018?
Social media may have once been considered a fad, but that’s just not the case anymore. People of all ages use social media daily and as a small business owner, you need to stay up-to-date with changing statistics and trends to keep up with social media marketing in 2018.
Today, we’re going to talk about five social media and content marketing statistics that you must know for 2018.
If we’ve learned one thing from social media marketing in 2017, it’s that video is only getting bigger. Let’s look at some current figures:
Another thing to consider is the growing popularity of live-streaming videos. In North America alone, live-streaming had a 27 percent engagement rate with consumers in 2017. And, it’s no surprise; live-streaming is everywhere! While Facebook Live is the most popular outlet, you can access live-streaming options through Instagram, Snapchat and even Twitter.
Here are some of the ways to market your business through live-streams.
Despite the popularity of videos, consumers are still interested in reading, high-quality blog posts. But, competition is fierce. With nearly 85 million blog posts being published each month on WordPress, it’s safe to say that everybody's doing it.
You should start prioritizing your blogging efforts going into the new year. Did you know that your business will be 13 times more likely to receive a positive ROI if you blog?
It's time to start blogging regularly in 2018!
Not to sound like a broken record, but your entire online presence (and your marketing) must be optimized for mobile devices going into 2018. We’re becoming a mobile-only culture. If your business doesn't optimize for mobile, you're going to fall behind.
Think about it: logging into your Facebook profile is faster and more convenient on your phone than on your laptop or desktop computer. People can create and share content whenever and wherever in a short amount of time.
The percentage of mobile-only social media users is only going to increase in 2018, and businesses will eventually need to change their social media marketing efforts in favor of this, especially with Generation Z.
While Facebook is still the leading social media platform, Instagram is gaining momentum and now has 800 million monthly active users. The engagement rate with new customers is so large that the number of active advertisers rose to one million in 2017.
Read here to learn some ways to enhance your Instagram strategy!
The days of traditional selling are over. Promoting your product or service on social media with the intent of making a sale is kind of obvious at this point, and millennials (and Generation Z) are seeing right through it.
To sell to new customers in 2018, you must adopt a storytelling approach through your social posts. Find a way to relate to your target audience and tell your story in a way that isn't too obviously sales-driven.
So, what have we learned?
We’ve learned that as we approach 2018 (and the new decade for that matter) people will be accessing more social content through mobile and in the form of a video or image. However, strong, relative and well-thought-out words will still make a significant impact through blogs and social advertising.
Interested in learning more ways to prepare for next year? Read our 2018 marketing trend predictions and four review marketing goals for 2018.
Justin Dunwiddie, Content Contributor
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