At the start of a new year, it’s time to let go of old habits and look back at the previous year to laugh — and cringe — at trends we all participated in. Many of us have done this type of end-of-the-year reflection with our personal lives, but we can also do this with business too.
There are a number of digital marketing trends that have cropped up throughout the last year that we’re hoping to see hit the road in 2017. From Snapchat filters and Pokemon Go to unplanned Facebook Live videos… here’s what we had enough of in 2016:
Snapchat Filter Mania
When Snapchat filters became all the rage this year, we started to see them everywhere — posted as profile photos on Facebook, Tweeted and re-posted to Instagram. We just couldn’t help but to love photos of ourselves with sparkly gold eyes and a flower crown.
But, the jig is up.
We’re all aware that the Snapchat filters make you look a little prettier (or more horrific) than normal. And since Snapchat has 150 million users a day — more users than Pinterest, Twitter and LinkedIn combined — Snapchat filters aren’t a new thing, and people no longer wonder where you got that cool feature that made you puke rainbows.
We’d like to see the filter trend subside and see more brands truly leverage the platform for growth. Since Snapchat grew as much in one year as Twitter did in four years, we can expect this platform to be a huge trend in 2017.
If you’re a brand interested in using Snapchat, look into how you can reach millennials through exclusive content that speaks their language and is quick and to the point.
Pokemon Go as the Go-To Game
During the first half of 2016, Pokemon Go took over the internet, mobile phones and even the real world. Individuals were wondering why mobs of people were clustering in parks in their city, staring at their mobile phones in front of their face.
Everyone was trying to nab the latest Pokemon via augmented reality. At the height of Pokemon’s popularity this year, it earned $10 million a day in new revenue.
But then, it just fell flat.
We’re not sad to see the height of Pokemon Go die down and clusters of mobile phone stare-ers subside. But, we still expect augmented reality (AR) to be a big player for brands this coming year. Due to the success of Pokemon Go and its augmented reality, we’ll likely see more brands experiment with AR advertising, games and apps in the coming year.
Unplanned (or Fake) Facebook Live Videos
I’m sure a number of you fell victim to the automated Facebook notifications from brands — a little red badge on your app that told you someone was “live.” Too many of these videos were awkward social media managers in a 20-second cut at an uninteresting conference, upside down videos without sound, or click bait videos that weren’t actually “live” at all.
A number of brands tested the new Facebook video streaming platform this year without realizing that it sent a notification to every single one of their followers.
Now that more and more platforms are offering video streaming, it’s time for brands to figure out how to effectively use video livestream.
Enough of the improvised video fails.
It’s time to come to the table with a planned strategy. Stick to a strategic, branded story to tell your followers – and you’ll get your message across whether you’re going live with a meticulously planned storyboard, or jumping on a newsworthy event impromptu.
We can expect live video to increasingly become more of a thing in 2017 — there is more of an demand for in-the-moment content through platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. Users seem to enjoy having a sneak peek into something they can’t attend themselves, whether that’s the Grammy’s, a conference or a sporting event.
So, as the trend increases throughout this next year, don’t be afraid to jump on the train, just make sure you have a plan for what your videos will be so they come across crisp and part of your threaded brand story.
While each of the aforementioned are trends we can’t wait to see subside in the coming year, they each represent larger digital marketing strategies that we expect all brands to be a part of in 2017. We can expect to see a lot of live videostreaming, augmented reality and Snapchat in the coming year.Avoid the mishaps of 2016 and focus on the bigger takeaways to become the type of digital trendsetter others want to follow, not ignore.