If you say you have never used social media in any shape or form, then you're lying! Even my grandma can comment on my old family photos on Facebook … embarrassing, I know!

But whether we like it or not, social media is here to stay and the effect that it has on your personal, emotional and corporate life is changing as we speak. I mean, take a moment and think — how big of a role does social media play in the different areas of your life? 

The purpose and functionality of social media have been expanding the platforms in such a way that they can be used as a one-stop answer to fulfil any need. It may sound impersonal, but we have adapted to a "see-you-online" life where following each other's achievements or life events on a social platform actually feels real to us.

Man, if anyone told Shakespeare that this was going to happen, he would have written one heck of a sonnet to fight it — yes, and we would still not understand it.

All-in-all, how you want to use social media (or the amount of power you want to give it) is up to you. 

media update's Jana van der Westhuizen is here to show you what you can expect from social media in the future. If you want to use it, however, is up to you!

Let's look into the mirror to see what the future of social media holds:

Shop til' you drop

Online shopping has been a thing for many years, but its structure and role have changed — and yes, most men (by and large) still hate this word!

Brands like Shein or Superbalist have online shops that you can visit, but nowadays platforms like Facebook and Instagram have an e-commerce function where you can actually view the product you want on Facebook under the "shop" option.

You can browse, get details about the product and customise it to your needs. When you are ready, you can then check out and pay on the social media platform — it's as easy as that.

Social commerce is going to take a rise in the future as businesses do not have to pay any hosting fees or web design companies to host a site. Rather, they can invest more time into their social media profiles to make their shop pop!

Work smart, not hard

With the hype about social media, businesses have realised the importance of having a brand presence on the correct platforms. 

This is because it helps them to:
  • get information to their users fast and effectively
  • conduct damage control
  • talk to their audiences
  • promote new products, and
  • encourage engagement between the brand and the user.
With this said, brands have become very smart as they have realised that they do not need big billboards or many events to get the attention of their consumers. No, they can simply run social media campaigns — or better yet, focus on content marketing — instead.

Users no longer want to hear the sad story of 'my brand is better than yours'. No, they want to see quality. 

With content marketing, you put your expertise out there for your users to consume and, when your followers feel like they are getting something out of your brand, they will want to follow you. Nothing is for free, so why not give your knowledge mahala?

Mobile first

We've all been there: You open a website on your mobile browser and it's clearly not designed for your mobile phone. From scrolling left to right to read a sentence, to the products being cut off the page — nobody likes that!

Because of the nature of social media, 99% of people worldwide access their social platforms from their mobile devices. Yes, Gina, it's time to get your devs guys around one table and relook the interface of your product, website and social media pages. 

For example, if your consumer clicks through from Facebook to your website, you must ensure that the website loads correctly and that your user is not struggling to see, scroll or open any functionalities on the mobile version of your website.

When you create anything for your user, please do it in the mobile format first. 

Sincerely,

The person that had to poke on your website.

So ready or not, the future of social media looks pretty bright from this side of the mirror!

How do you think the future of social media will affect your brand and its goals? Share your thoughts about it in the comments section.

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Want to get your consumers hooked? Then it’s time to invest in content marketing. See here why your brand needs it with these Five reasons why content marketing is a thing.
*Image courtesy of Canva