Predicting 3 Social Media Trends for 2016

“What’s hot and new in the social media world that I should be focusing on right now?”

It’s something I am asked by clients in our meetings and friends at cocktail parties often. I answer enthusiastically about what I have been researching lately, the trends I am seeing take hold, and what we are comfortable suggesting to our clients as the next greatest thing (after fully vetting).

This year I thought it would be fun to share my thoughts on 2016 social media trends. While there are probably a dozen things I see happening this year, there are three that stand out (and I would bet money on).

Video

There’s no doubt video will become more mainstream in our messaging in 2016. With Vine continuing to maintain a spot on the top 15 most popular social media sites, and the creation in 2015 of Periscope and Blab, I see all signs pointing in this direction. And, with the creation of Facebook Live, the social media platform leader legitimized the importance of video for all of us.

Reduced Organic Reach on Facebook

People often grumble about Facebook with every algorithm change, and the haters often try to rally others on Facebook to join them in a mass exodus. It will be no different if this prediction comes to fruition. We have seen a decline in organic reach (content that is not paid advertising) over time, but I believe it will be more pronounced in 2016.

Twitter Shake Up

The sky-is-falling mentality regarding Twitter has been increasing of late. It’s not completely unjustified– as so much drama we similarly see with Facebook algorithms tends to be. Stock prices are falling, top executives are exiting, and internally the very essence of the platform is being questioned for a major platform overhaul. It’s not time to exit or I would have made the rounds calling clients by now. Instead, focusing on the positive is what’s important: it’s the second largest social media platform, ad revenue is up, and the personnel shake up was for the positive. I see Twitter getting to the other side of this struggle in a better place, and continuing to provide a great platform for business growth.

If you are interested in learning more about these three predictions, how you can apply it in your business, or simply want to contact me to argue about the death of Twitter or Facebook (which I have heard regularly for years), reach out to me! I love to chat all things geeky in the social media space.

~ Kelly