Let’s discuss the seven trends that will likely dominate and direct Facebook this year. Whether you have a business or personal page, these factors are going to impact your online activity.
The prominence of video will only grow. Videos are excellent tools to connect with your ideal audience, whether professionally produced or shot with an iPad, iPhone or related devices. Whatever tools you have available, use them and start recording. Video is and will continue to be incredibly important.
The second and related development that will rule Facebook this year is live video. Why does live video work? First, people connect more with unedited, raw, real people. Secondly, Facebook assigns more weight to live video in their news feed.
The third tactic you can use to reach more people on Facebook is 360-degree images or related content. Have you seen these? They provide a completely circular view of your picture, allowing users to drag, pull, zoom in and out of the image. Use 360 content in your promotional strategy and watch as your organic reach rises.
Fourth, I’m sure you’ve heard about this — virtual reality. Wearing a headset likely produced by Oculus VR, the Facebook-owned virtual reality company, you experience a new, digital world. Imagine putting on this headset and now you’re sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden, or you see Lebron James trotting past you to make that three-point shot — and you didn’t even have to go to the game. That’s where virtual reality is going and businesses that utilize it before their competition will win the day.
The fifth component to consider is “search” Did you know that 2 billion searches happen daily on Facebook? What happened to Google? Well, they’re actively competing against one another. In that sense, Facebook is trying to demonstrate that you can find all that you need on its platform. In the last nine months alone, there has been a 33 percent increase in search activity on Facebook.
Next, the sixth development to watch in 2017 is the outlet’s overall user growth. Facebook is projected to grow beyond its current 1.7 billion users after adding 197 million in 2016. The more people they attract to their platform, the more powerful they can become and the more they can serve entrepreneurs who want to reach those people without having to pay an arm and a leg through traditional advertising media.
Finally, the seventh way that Facebook is going to continue to grow is via its advertising. Their promotional messages can easily double the size of your email list. Once you have those emails, strategically follow up with informational content to nurture a sale.
Interestingly, the platform’s promotional capabilities go beyond emails. Want people to call your business? Run a “Call Now” ad. You can even attract people to your live events. The opportunities with Facebook advertising are essentially endless.
So, where do you go from here? Either start learning how to run Facebook ads or consult an expert to do it for you. Embrace the upcoming changes (virtual reality, 360 videos) lest others find out how to utilize them before you.
Resolve to master social media in 2017, as it’s become a crucial component of any modern business. The outlets provide market research, customer feedback and real-time connection to your ideal client base — seize this historic opportunity.
You should choose the social networks that your audience spends the most time on. However, if you’re looking for a fail-safe choice to answer the question, “Which social media outlet should I use for business,” then Facebook is an excellent one to start with.
Michael Guberti is a Fordham University student and social media and business blogger at Teenager Entrepreneur, the social media marketing and entrepreneurship training business he operates with his brother, Marc Guberti. He can be reached at michael@teenagerentrepreneur.com or at 914-722-6005.
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