Substantial changes will happen to social media in 2017!

How will social media evolve? It is a topic that many marketers want to know about, especially as the year draws to a close.

In 2017, there will be some substantial changes happening in social media. For example, in addition to Facebook and Twitter, some other social media are equally popular; VR and AR technologies will change social marketing strategies; social media may cover the entire marketing industry, and if used properly, the chances of a brand winning consumer attention will be greatly increased. Here are some changes to note:

More social apps: To avoid advertising, many users choose to use mobile apps, which have fewer ads. Users can chat with friends and family without worrying about being interrupted. According to research by Campaign Live, WhatsApp has become the most popular mobile messaging app. Earlier this year, WhatsApp not only announced that it would be completely free, but also stated that it would not add third-party advertising content. By the end of 2017, more consumers would choose communication apps such as WhatsApp or WeChat . Compared to Facebook Messenger, advertisers can more easily reach more users through these social media and discover a large number of business opportunities.

Instagram will rise: Instagram is currently the fastest growing social network on the web. It attracts users through image modification and even deformation services. By the end of 2016, it is expected to grow by 16%, while in 2017 it is expected to grow by 11%. Given that the average growth rate for social networks is 3%, Instagram's performance is impressive. Instagram is expected to add 27 million people by the end of 2020. Some smart advertisers are already using Instagram for marketing campaigns, and this trend will become more obvious next year.

If the popularity of Pokémon Go has taught marketers anything, it’s that augmented reality technology is finally finding its place. This game shows the prototype of future social networks. Compared with other social networks, Pokémon Go encourages players to go out and exercise, which undoubtedly increases users' offline communication opportunities, thus opening up online and offline social connections.

Although AR technology has not yet become fully popular, it has already had a significant impact on the field of social media marketing: it will enhance the influence of social media and introduce it into a new, face-to-face social environment to change the way people communicate on a daily basis.

Paid access to social media pages Currently, users can use most social media pages for free, at least the ones that are well-known to the public do so, but this may not be the case in the future.

1. Payment

Some basic features of social media may continue to be free to users because they are supported by advertising and sponsorship fees. However, some pay-to-read options have emerged. For example, at the beginning of this year, the news that WeChat public accounts would provide "paid reading" services had spread across the Internet. This mechanism plays a screening role, retaining real readers and making users value the content they see more. However, how many people are willing to pay remains a question. According to the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2016, the credibility of news has been declining. Many people are also unwilling to pay to read paid online news. For example, only 7% of people in the UK are willing to pay, and only 9% in the US.

Paid options will also appear for advertisers, which has already appeared on Facebook: brands use Facebook to push news to users through paid platforms to achieve higher promotion results. As social networks continue to look for ways to monetize their services, organic exposure is decreasing and could shrink even more next year.

2. Monopoly

Monopoly of the social landscape. The social field is dominated by several leaders with almost equal strength. But this balance did not last long. It is not easy for high-tech companies to share a territory with competitors that provide similar services. For example, Google started out as an Internet search engine and, after achieving a near-monopoly position, it tried to incorporate other areas into its business empire.

Facebook, though one of the main players in social media, has plans to take over the entire market. It had previously acquired top competitor Instagram - with the goal of becoming one of the most popular social engines in the world. If Facebook's plans continue in this direction, the company will continue to acquire other social platforms until it dominates the market. There have been rumors that Twitter is considering selling itself, but I wonder if Facebook is interested and has enough funds.

The integrated marketing center echoes the trend of "monopolizing the social landscape". Perhaps next year, advertisers will plan all their promotional activities through a single social network. In fact, Facebook has begun to build a "one-stop" marketing platform that provides auto-playing videos, instant articles, embedded ads, simply laid out business service pages, etc. Soon, businesses may no longer need to rely on anything other than Facebook to complete their marketing campaigns.

3. Personalization

Social User Customization Don’t forget the impact that personalization brings to the consumer experience. Social media platforms recognize that users want to be engaged and expect a customized online experience. Social media hopes to distance itself from its competitors by customizing this strategy. The most likely customized service at present is user-generated content. Blogging, video production and other content creation will be incorporated into the social networking field, and users will be able to express their creativity in new ways. There are multiple ways for brands to take advantage of this tool : first, they can customize the functionality to drive their marketing campaigns; second, brands can gain a deeper understanding of consumers through personalized services.

Social media has shown some great progress, but the changes won’t stop there. The above predictions are just some of the changes that are about to happen in social marketing. More trends will emerge over time. Advertisers who are savvy enough will find ways to take advantage of these opportunities.