3 BEST APPS TO USE FOR MARKETING IN 2018

When you’re making your social media strategy for the new year, you’ll want to include these apps in your plan!

1. Facebook

Some statistics to convince you:

• 32 billion daily active users on Facebook in 2017
• 50 million businesses have a page on Facebook
• 8 billion average daily views on Facebook
• 1 in 5 videos on Facebook is a live stream

From the abundance of content and digitized customer information, to the numerous features, Facebook has become an essential tool in the digital marketing world. Facebook serves as the main platform for the marketing in 2018. It seamlessly integrated features that will help companies and brands stay on the 2018 marketing trends.

Video content marketing has become very popular over the recent years and will continue to grow in 2018. Videos tend to drive more engagement with customers through likes and shares. Facebook sees 4 million video streams on the daily basis. Live streaming, another important trend expected for 2018, is taking video marketing a step further. Brands are realizing the potential and power of live streaming and are likely to include it in their marketing strategies. A platform with a huge number of targetable consumers, brands and companies will want to use Facebook as the platform for their video marketing and live streams.

Facebook is also looking at developing Facebook Messenger to be a marketing vehicle, through chatbots and mass messaging. While marketing through messaging apps is not a reality yet, companies like Facebook see the potential there and taking steps to make it happen. 7 billion conversations took place daily on Facebook Messenger in 2017. With a market like that, brands are likely to come to Messenger first for marketing through a messaging service.

2. Snapchat

Some statistics to convince you:

• 3 billion snaps sent out daily
• 60% of Snapchat users in 2017 were under the age of 25
• 4% of users are between the ages of 12-17

Why is this data important to marketers? It shows how Snapchat is a platform to reach younger demographics as opposed to other apps. With Generation Z serving as a new target audience in 2018, marketers should reach these customers through platforms that appeal to them. Snapchat is the major platform under this category. While Facebook is becoming the ultimate marketing vehicle, younger demographics now spend more time on other apps like Snapchat and Instagram.

Snapchat’s plans to continue to advance and improve augmented reality makes it an important app to include in your social media strategy for 2018. Augmented reality is expected to grow in 2018 and move over to the social interaction aspects of social media as well as a marketing tool. Aside from their AR lenses and filters, Snapchat wants companies and brand to be able to advertise and market through AR; where ads can be tied to a specific location or offer users discounts for example. With 173 million users worldwide, it is an attractive market.

3. Instagram

Some statistics to convince you:

• 74% of businesses plan to invest in original content in 2018
• 68% of businesses plan to invest in Instagram stories in 2018
• 96% of business who use Instagram stories plan to continue using it in 2018
• 65% of businesses that partnered with influencers on Instagram in 2017 would collaborate with influencers again in 2018

Or rather, Instagram Stories. Only a year after launch, Instagram stories reached 200 million users. Instagram stories is the new weapon for brands and companies to use advertise, market and reach existing and new audiences. Brands can feature clickable hashtags, tagged locations, and links in their Instagram stories. This drives traffic to both the brand’s Instagram profile and website, and is likely to boost conversion.

Instagram also recently introduced Story Highlights, where a user can save a relevant story on his/her website for the followers to see. These stories are permanently saved on the Instagram profile and work well to driver traffic as well. Other features that make Instagram an attractive option for marketers in 2018 is the ability to boost posts to reach the target audience, its appeal to the millennial demographic, and possible collaborations with influencers to promote your content. Influencer marketing has been very successful on Instagram and more brands are starting to use it.

Sources:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/later-com/download/State-of-Instagram-Marketing-2018-by-Later.pdf?utm_source=vero&utm_medium=email&utm_content=control&utm_campaign=Instagram%20Report%202018&utm_term=Behavioural&vero_id=lina.shoukry%40hotmail.com&vero_conv=DCvfzuU4kxZ_0QFBMl7_Z1gQRll2I97KuZPC49KNG3ABMTBCRgUgG_ZhWRgq0yBwlTxgkL81wG3tC0u0khnYTsQy127WQ6a1nVzduvrCew%3D%3D
https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/snapchat-statistics-2017/
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/5-predictions-for-social-media-marketing-on-snapchat-in-2018/507949/
https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/2017-10-03-5-social-media-trends-to-prepare-you-for-2018