Social media: a forecast for 2017

The Pantone Institute has declared the juicy green Greenery the color of 2017. That is the sign that forecasting trends of every kind for the coming 12 months has begun in earnest. The new fashionable color is a big surprise for the fashion world. What will happen in social media?

It looks like there will be no revolution in social media. In every roundup, the experts point above all to tactics and tendencies we already know. In 2017 we will go a step further, but down a familiar road: content will be bolder, and also better thought through. What gets published on Facebook matters more from one year to the next, and one company after another decides to start its adventure with social platforms. What counts is content that is considered and original. Which content will rule the internet in 2017?

Live streams

In 2016 we fell in love with livestreaming. The Polish journalist Jarosław Kuźniar parted ways
with the TV station TVN and started a new project, a morning show broadcast live, which he opens by going live on Facebook. Instagram got InstaStory, Messenger got Messenger Day, more places after Snapchat where we can share short clips with the people watching. In 2017, live coverage and behind-the-scenes clips will be even more popular and used even more readily by brands for marketing. Snapchat changed the way we communicate, it let companies loosen up and show their real, human face. Livestreaming beats traditional advertising on authenticity, and it is a great tool for showing a brand from the inside and deepening relationships with customers. Video overtook written content a long time ago, so it is worth using for communication.

Personalization

Personalization has been very much on trend for a while now. We engrave, we embroider, we design our own objects… The modern consumer likes content tailored specifically to their interests and tastes. That preference covers not only clothes and gadgets but also the content that shows up on social platforms. What is aimed at everyone is aimed at no one. In 2017 we should pay even closer attention
to addressing our messages precisely, to getting to know our audience and to raising the questions that will genuinely interest them. In the new year we should win our customers over "all over again".

Employer branding

The ad clips with McDonald's employees that turned up online recently are doing very well. Brands no longer want to be known only as makers of good products or services. They want to show that they are good employers and can build a friendly place to work. A strong employer brand means more interesting applications during recruitment. These days it is not only the candidate for a role who has to interest the employer with a CV, the company also has to attract the candidate and make them want to send in their portfolio. In 2017 there will be even more creative ads and clips with employees in the leading role. It is another step toward showing the human, authentic side of a brand, reaching out to the customer and showing them our backstage world.

Automation

The people who build social platforms want to make communicating with a brand's customers easier for us. On Messenger we will be able to set up canned replies to the questions people ask, which lets us think the detailed answers through, or simply rest for a moment on holiday. Robots will show up in chats too, so-called chatbots will join discussions on social platforms and encourage users to comment on our content. That option will come in handy on Facebook, because the platform likes comments. Virtual assistants will use natural language, and their replies will be deceptively close to human ones. And although none of this is new, in 2017 it will become genuinely popular.

So, as you can see, the new year will not bring revolutionary change. Or will something show up that none of us can predict? We will keep reporting on what is new in social media marketing in the coming months. Keep a close eye on our blog and our fan page!