“you don’t get a win unless you play in the game.” – Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton.
The social landscape constantly changes with new social media trends calling the attention of users across the globe. In order to stay competitive with their digital presence, brands and their social media marketers must begin to use new social trends.
What is new in 2017? Here are four trends PR practitioners and marketers must start to incorporate into their messaging.
Live Videos
Facebook and Instagram’s new live videos are taking over the internet. People can now keep up with their friends in real time by tuning into the live videos streaming on social 
sites.
Businesses must begin to utilize these live videos to increase two-way communication with their publics.
According to Bitly, “This is something someone looking to make their brand more personable and authentic should definitely be planning. For example, if you’re running a team-building exercise, consider streaming it to your audience and make them feel like they’re involved.”
360-degree Videos
The new 360-degree videos open another playing field for businesses showing their products to customers on social media.
“Businesses will also greatly benefit from this new technology. They’ll be able to show 360° videos of hotels, houses, cars, museums, art galleries etc. to their potential clients on different social media channels,” Bitly said.
A great example of this is CBS’s 360-degree video of the Broadway play, Hamilton.
Watch this 360° Hamilton: An American Musical performance of "Wait For It" now for an exclusive look at the cast getting ready for The 70th Annual Tony Awards this Sunday 8/7c live on CBS or CBS All Access.
Posted by CBS on Wednesday, June 8, 2016
This gives the Hamilton fans a sample of the musical performances, and it also shows the stage’s set and theater. This alone received 2.5 million views. It increased the buzz about the show and allowed CBS to communicate with their audiences with interactive technology.
Employee Advocates as Brand Ambassadors
A growing trend from brands is increasing their employees’ communication on social media with consumers.
Customers often trust recommendations about products more than marketing pushes and advertisements. Therefore, employees are companies’ biggest asset because they are closest to the product. They can share that knowledge online by having conversations with customers about the product.
In a case study conducted by Link Human on AT&T’s use of employee advocates, they found that, “the results of the program showed an ROI of an estimated media value of over $1 million; a community of 1533 members, who have produced over 20,000 social media posts and audience engagement is over 400,000.”
Social Shopping
Social commerce has grown significantly due to social sites like Instagram and Pinterest. These allow customers direct access to purchasing pages when the promoted product is linked from their social site.
According to SproutSocial, “The Sprout Social Index discovered 57% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand they follow. Additionally, 75% have made a purchase because they saw it on social media.”