How Live Video Feature Will Influence Future Social Media Trends
When social media platforms were first developed, some people saw this as a passing trend. Little did they know that future social media trends were taking shape. Ideally, only the developers were optimistic that social media was here to stay. Years after, what was seen as a passing trend has become part of our culture.
Statistics show that every day an average person will spend over two hours a day on social media! 87% of all marketers who made social media efforts experienced more exposure for their businesses (Stelzner). The social media users are keen to explore and embrace new social media trends. The developers have also focused on giving the users new exciting features to keep them active.
One of the latest social media trends that have gained popularity is live videos. Different platforms have introduced this new and exciting feature. The live video trend gained more popularity when Facebook introduced Facebook live, and Facebook watch. Facebook live allows users of Facebook to stream live video with followers. Therefore, businesses can take advantage of this social media trend. This is to connect with their followers and even stream live activities for more user engagement. Facebook watch on the other side, allows Users of Facebook to watch their favorite shows on Facebook.
The CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has emphasized that the company has always made the video a top priority. But how will the introduction of Facebook live and Facebook watch influence future social media trends?
In this article, we focus on analyzing the possible influence that Facebook Live and Facebook Watch will have on the future social media trends.
Live Video Content and Shows to Dominate Social Media Feeds
Facebook Live and Facebook Watch have received a high uptake. Therefore, it is clear that video content is the future of social media content. Facebook strategists recently said “Not doing short video is not an option” (Smartinsights). Therefore, on social media feeds we expect to see more video content. Social media users have used text and images to express their feelings on social media. Brands too have been sharing text and images on social media marketing campaigns. With the introduction of live video and watch feature on social media, then more content shared will be video content. This is, therefore, one of the future social media trends.
Studies on current and emerging future social media trends indicate that social media users prefer to watch content. This is compared to their appetite for text content. Basically, they would rather watch than scroll through pages to read illustrative text content (Golum). This motivated marketers to invest in video so as to keep social media users engaged.
Now, with the introduction of live shows and live broadcast on Facebook, this social media trend will obviously gain traction across the social media platforms. Social media users can watch live shows and events on Twitter and YouTube Channels. Other social media platforms have also announced projects involving the development of similar live video features.
Therefore, going forward social media content will be more focused on video. Ideally, text and still images will become less competitive on social media. Is your business ready to take up the future social media trends that will define content shared on social media in the future?
Social Media Will Become a Haven for News Channels and Journalists
Don’t be surprised to see social media face out the traditional Television completely. In the near future, we will watch more breaking news on social media platforms. Consider the fact that Internet is everywhere nowadays and therefore you can watch a live match from wherever you go. With the introduction of live video streaming and sharing on social media, it is possible that future journalists will concentrate on creating social media content.
Statistics show that breaking news accounts for over 50% of the most watched live content. The second place is taken by live conferences and speakers, who enjoy 43% of the live content being watched on social media. This is a major motivating factor as to why newsrooms will begin focusing on social media for a live news broadcast. This is one of the future social media trends that will change how news is delivered.
Already, we have seen early adopters, like Aljazeera broadcast live news on social media channels, like YouTube. Through live watching, subscribers can share comments, and this takes live watching to another level. Basically, a more interactive watching experience will gain more attention among social media users. The ability to share your views and comments while a live broadcast is going on is an additional reason why we will soon see the end of traditional TV broadcast. Social media creates an attractive experience! Here is an illustration
From the above screenshot, on the right hand, you see a chat window, through which the people watching the live broadcast can share their comments. This makes the experience better, and therefore more people have a reason to purchase smart TV`s so as to watch news and shows while enjoying interactive conversations.
Masters of Story Telling will dominate Social Media
As Facebook live and Facebook Watch motivate more people to watch content on social media, we will soon see the social media dominated by story tellers. Is your business ready for this future social media trend? Brands will have to invest in storytelling to capture the attention of social media users. We have seen NatGeo manage to clinch top social media performance position. Ideally, through their Instagram platform, NatGeo has garnered over 87.2 million followers on Instagram and receives thousands of engagements every day. The secret to this success is the fact that the brand has ventured where no one else in their space has ventured. This is taking advantage of video content on social media.
Through sharing the stories about different places via their Instagram page, NatGeo has been able to keep their followers engaged and entertained.
To achieve similar success, brands ought to quickly move to social media story telling. Therefore, we expect to see more live sharing on social media as businesses tap into telling their stories on social media. Ideally, social media is poised to become a story sharing platform. Individuals will take advantage of features like Facebook live to share personal stories as brands move towards investing in Facebook watch to broadcast their stories in the form of shows. Already, NatGeo is taking the lead courtesy of social media story telling by taking advantage of the live video broadcast.
Daily Social Media User Statistics will register a Rise Going Forward
In the new future, we will see more than a double rise in the number of people using social media platforms. As new social media trends come up, we have seen the number of daily users rising steadily. However, live streaming of content will lead to a higher percentage of an increased number of new daily users across the social media platforms. Basically, the high number will be as a result of social media having gained the ability to entertain inform and educate the social media users.
We have seen that social media will soon become a channel for airing breaking news. More people who like to watch the latest news will, therefore, stay tuned through social media platforms. We can’t afford to ignore the fact that connectivity and better technology connects people to the rest of the world every single minute. In essence, you can watch the news from your mobile device through social media platforms. With the current technology, you can watch breaking news from your mobile device taking away the experience where the person holding the remote determined the content that you will watch.
What does this flexibility have to offer? In essence, we will see a rising number of new subscribers on the leading social media platforms. The platform that airs the latest shows will, of course, gain more popularity among social media users. Marketers should, therefore, be ready to identify the leading platforms and advertise target the high number of subscribers watching on the platform. Will Facebook be the ultimate leader?
Get Ready for Stern Content Regulations on Social Media Platforms
If you love watching videos and shows you already know that regulations exist banning broadcast of certain content through media. Now, you and I know that the Internet has been used as the channel for committing all types of evils, including money laundering and human trafficking. This is because of how hard it has been for the governments to monitor conversations on social media. However, for content things will not remain the same. Stern content regulations will be formulated across the globe as governments start their fight against unlawful distribution of content.
Here comes the live video era. What should we expect? It is expected that social media users will take advantage of the new video features such as live video and show broadcast to distribute even content that is unlawful. The governments will therefore through their weight in controlling what is shared on these platforms. Basically, what I mean is that more regulations will start taking shape.
Privacy and Psychological Threats Will Continue with Introduction of Live Content Sharing
For those who mind privacy and online security, there is more reason to get worried as live video takes the future social media trends. We have always warned our children against sharing their physical location and place of residence while communicating through social media. Through live streaming, it becomes even easier to find out the physical location and place of residence of the person broadcasting the video. For example, children can share a live video showing where they live or even the school that they attend. This creates an opportunity for social media users with malicious intent to target unsuspecting social media users.
Another social media trend that we will see is the use of social media to disseminate psychological threats. For instance, social media users might criticize and bully a person, who shares on Facebook live creating a huge psychological threat to the user.
Abusive and explicit messages are common on social media, and with live streaming, these create a serious threat. Streaming of adult content, alcohol and drug abuse is also another cause of concern. These have a negative effect on the community and therefore might play a huge role in tarnishing the social media platforms.
Conclusion
We will continue to witness new social media trends. These new trends are motivated by the fact that social media app developers are focusing on improving users’ experience. However, as much as user engagement tops the agenda, these new trends have a huge impact on the future of social media. The latest social media features that we saw in 2017 are Facebook live, and Facebook watch. As Facebook users enjoy these features, other social media apps are also joining in.
In the future, we will see live video dominating social media feeds. Brands will start posting live video content on social media. The content will focus on entertaining, educating and informing the social media followers. For instance, brands will educate their social media followers on how to achieve maximum satisfaction as they use their products. In addition, they can come up with entertaining live content that aims at keeping the social media followers engaged. Through sharing live breaking news related to their product line, they will achieve high user engagement.
These social media features will also lead to a high number of people showing interest in social media. We already know that a significant percentage of world population is already using social media. However, there is still another number that is not yet using the social media platforms. This is possible because they didn’t find value. As social media becomes more of an informative and educative platform, we expect a rise in the number of social media users. As social media trends change, the latest features will also affect privacy and create psychological threats to social media users.
Originally posted on Mentionlytics: https://www.mentionlytics.com/blog/how-live-video-feature-will-influence-future-social-media-trends/
