The last year saw a huge leap in the way brands leveraged social media to boost their presence and business goals. With major social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram rolling out newer and better features on a regular basis, marketers are always on their feet to in order to be present everywhere that their customers are. 2018 is also set to be a great year for businesses with online presence as social media platforms continue to update their algorithms and roll out user friendly updates. We compiled a list of 5 major social media trends to look out for in 2018:

1. The power of Generation Z to drive social media trends: Generation Z, comprising of the age group of 22 and younger are the new powerhouse consumers. The Gen Z is expected to comprise of about 40 percent of all consumers by the year 2020 which is why they make it to the top of our list. Gen Z is the first generation to have never spent a single day without internet, cell phone or computer and they are vastly influenced by social media than discounts and offers; the reason marketers see a huge potential in this consumer base. As a brand, you have got to be present everywhere the Gen Z is and got to be showing what they want to see. Gen Z comprises of about $44 billion in buying power and the number is only set to increase. It is up to the brands to leverage this presence to the maximum advantage.

2. Video: The attention span of social media users is very low. They don’t want to be spending longer time on reading stuff. Facebook has recognized this behavior and introduced the live video feature. Well, video is here to stay in 2018. Live video, online video, 30 sec video or 30 minute video; whatever be the format. Consumers are hooked to video and as a brand you are required to be part of the trend.

3. Instagram stories: Stories was first started by Snapchat but by the mid of 2017, Instagram stories had already beaten Snapchat in terms of usage to reach a record 200million. Heck, Snapchat’s market share also sinked to an all time low. Now, whether or not Instagram copied all of Snapchat’s features and made money on it is a discussion for later but the crux of the matter is Instagram stories have proven to be great boost to businesses and it continues to grow in 2018 as well. Brands that have posted stories on Instagram have seen a good surge in their app usage and engagement. 2018 will see an exponential rise of businesses moving to instagram for reach and engagement.

4. Influencer Marketing: Adding on to the previous points, the growth and usage of Instagram has given birth to a lot of freelance talent that would have otherwise gone unseen. Freelance photographers, bloggers and content creators who enjoy a follower base of 20k and more are a great choice to leverage a brand’s business. Brands can count on creativity and engagement from these social media influencers. In turn, the influencers love to collaborate with businesses that they identify with and prove to be a huge boost. Influencer marketing has seen a massive growth in the last year and will continue to be one of the most followed paths in 2018 too.

5. Chatbots: In an interesting turn of events, over the last couple of years, the usage of apps has decreased but consumers continue to spend more and more time on their mobile devices. Messaging apps continue to grow in their usage and this is why more and more brands are utilizing this consumer behavior to advertise on their own web platform. A consumer likes to be able to assisted and advised during each point in the purchase cycle. Using the techniques of AI, integrated chatbots act as a virtual store assistant. When a buyer knows that she can always reach out to someone for buying assistance and queries and expect an immediate response, it makes the buying experience seamless and positive. 2018 is also going to be great year for the rise of AI enabled messaging platforms to grow for brands and businesses.