Facebook is always ahead of the game when it comes to experimenting with new ideas to provide a better experience to its users. Over the last 12 years, we have seen a paradigm shift in the resources and tools available to advertisers and business brands on Facebook. With new updates and expansions always round the corner, it becomes increasingly important for brands to monitor and optimize their strategy to reach the target audience. In this article we discuss, the Top 10 Facebook Marketing Trends for 2017:
Top 10 Facebook Marketing Trends for 2017
1. Customize your audience:
Facebook allows you the opportunity to target content to the specific audience. You can optimally utilize your email lists or visitors on your page to create an audience that is most likely to respond to your ad or content. Lookalike audience is another tool at your disposal to target a specific population based on their interests. By using these features you can ensure that your niche content meets the right demographic which is extremely important in the new age mantra of Facebook where less is more. Facebook trends are important to stay updated with.
Several studies reveal that pages that posted once a week had more organic reach than pages with multiple posts. As more brands step up their Facebook Marketing strategies, unimaginable amounts of content are created each day. Facebook uses complex algorithms to feature content that is most relevant to a user. In such a scenario, the best strategy is to regulate the quality of your content and optimize your posts for a custom audience so that they are less likely to slip through filters. Besides, it will also optimize you advertising outlay, thus implying that this surely is one of the most important Facebook Marketing trends to stay updated with.
2. Videos:
Videos will be the next big thing in the online advertising and marketing industry. Videos account for .9% of the total content on Facebook, yet a staggering 500 million users watch an average of 100 million hours of video every day. The increasing popularity of videos has prompted Facebook to launch its live video feature with interesting ways to find, create, share, and react to them.
Live videos drive higher engagement levels with the audience. However, several users who flip through videos during office hours are doing so without the sound. Captions on videos, therefore assume prime importance. You can do it yourself with the help of automated video captioning tools available on Facebook. The idea is to get your message across with captivating visuals.
Brands can also add a video element to carousel ads for promoting their products. According to Facebook, carousel ads perform better as they are more interactive and can be used to promote multiple products.
Facebook Stories are also being creatively employed by brands to connect with their audience. These recent Facebook Marketing trends are a clear indication of the popularity of video content. Interesting, personalized videos and stories are a surefire way to make a lasting impression on your audience to drive your business goals.
3. Mobile Optimization
Out of the 142 million Facebook users in India, about 133 million access the social network via their mobile devices. Facebook has already indicated its bias towards mobile platforms by launching several features including the Facebook marketplace only on the mobile app. Facebook Lite and Messenger Lite are meant exclusively to tap the mobile segments of emerging economies with slower internet connections. The stress on mobile optimization is evident and here to stay. It is essential that brands leverage it in their favour to engage with a wider audience.
4. Shop On Facebook Pages
Facebook has recently rolled out Call to Action buttons for local business Pages. This move is intended to make it easier for local business to reach out to potential customers while enhancing customer experience. Brands can list out their products and accept orders made by customers directly from their Facebook Page. Facebook pages are no longer static and can be optimally utilised to bolster your business.
5. Messenger bots:
With more than 60 million businesses onboard, Facebook is taking all efforts to develop its messenger as an effective marketing tool. It recently introduced Messenger Platform 2.0 with the aim to enhance customer experience. Brands can use the Discover section to customize a chatbot according to their business requirements and customer needs.
Messenger chatbots can help you to build stronger customer services by providing immediate and automatic responses to standard queries and streamlining product purchases. They can also be used to provide additional services like wireless bank transactions or for delivering personalized content including jokes or weather tips. The new updates include Chat Extensions that allow you to bring a chatbot into the conversation at any time during a chat session.
Facebook’s new API allows brands to track between a Facebook Login ID and a Messenger ID to provide a seamless experience to the customer between the two platforms.
The takeaway message is clear; chatbots are the essential tool for all future marketing strategies on Facebook.
6. Advanced Marketing Analytics:
Facebook has recently added Page interactions including post reactions and shares in the omnichannel analytics. Businesses can now check if people who comment on an item featured in their Page post go on to view or purchase that item on their website or app.
With AI-powered marketing insights, you can monitor changes in purchases for a new version of your app, or engagement across people in different cities. The analytics can be used to build a sound advertising strategy for future campaigns. Brands can now create a Custom Facebook Analytics dashboard to share with team members.
7. Updated Multi-product Dynamic Ads
Advertisers can now retarget customers based on their browsing history. Carousel format used with dynamic ads allows you to display up to 20 images of the single product, to a customer who may have shown an interest in a product similar to your niche on another website.
8. Facebook Workplace:
Workplace is an enterprise platform that allows collaboration and communication within members of a company. This corporate messaging tool, by Facebook is much like Microsoft’s Team or Slack. Companies will soon be able to post job listings on the network.
With a deep dive into corporate resources, Workplace aims to widen the range of ad channels available on Facebook. This could also change the face of B2B marketing on Facebook.
9. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace provides a unique shopping experience to 1.7+ billion users who can buy and sell products in their local area. It also allows users to seek job opportunties based on their skills and sell services. Marketplace is optimised to display products and services on the basis of users interest and browsing history. Currently, the marketplace is available only on mobile application in the UK, US, Australia or Canada.
In addition, brands are not allowed to sell or advertise on the platform. However, brands need to keep a close watch on the marketplace as there may be a change in the advertising policy in future. Further, with Facebook taking all possible measures to ensure that users spend more and more time on the platform, brands can use this to their advantage by sprucing up their advertising strategies.
10. Embed Your Facebook Content
Brands should try and build a multi-channel presence by including their Facebook content into a blog posts or websites. Facebook makes it easy to embed content and it is a great way to keep your brand at the top of the mind of your potential customers.
Takeaway: In the words of Mark Zuckerberg, “Move fast and break things”; a timely response to emerging trends is the key to a successful marketing strategy. This surely gives you an overview of the Facebook Marketing trends in near future.
Image credits: newsroom.fb.com
Facebook Marketing can help you a lot in business and revenue growth. Only thing is that you use right targeting and design. Social Network can be use to build long term relationship with the brand. This blog has explained it very well.