Here are 9 trends that emerged from the social media activity of 2015 and will most probably grow stronger across 2016.

1. 2016 trends
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2. This year, we saw a recognizable boom of the social media industry.
More than 1 billion people are now using Facebook, and more than 80% of small
businesses use social media for their branding and marketing efforts.
Among the biggest global brands, almost 99% have a social media presence.
Truly, social media has changed the way marketing and advertising works.
While 2015 was a great year for social media, 2016 is predicted to
be even better. Here are some predictions on social media trends
for the coming year.

3. 1. Advertising will become more prominent.
More and more companies are using social media ads in addition to Google ads to
promote their products. It’s safe to say that in the next few years, our News feed
will be dominated by ads and businesses will spend more money on them. It’s also
expected that social media platforms will allow more advertising functions,
including automated ads and pop-ups.

4. 2. Safety and security will be an emphasis.
Because of the rising social media trend, more users have become victims of
phishing and other cyber crimes. Such concerns call for better security in divulging
personal information online. In the coming years, social media platforms will
probably have better security features which will prevent identity theft, cyber
stalking, and phishing.
After another year full of high-profile security breaches (like the one with Ashley
Madison), user concerns over privacy are going to hit an all-time high. Snapchat’s
explosive popularity is, in part, due to user demand for a more private, secure
method of communication and engagement. Facebook is introducing more privacy
awareness tools for its users, and it’s smart to do so, because as tension continues
to rise, only platforms which offer a degree of privacy and security will continue to
thrive. For advertisers, that might mean backing off of sometimes-intrusive forms
of advertising.

5. 3. Niche platforms will rise and some will fall or get eaten
by the Big Three.
The big three of social media—Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter—are the most prominent platforms for
businesses. Therefore, they have the biggest money in circulation. Smaller platforms will most likely
appear, and they may either become slightly popular enough to stay in the game or get acquired by a
bigger business.
Social media has opened up new possibilities to online users. Company websites and shopping sites
still have dominance when it comes to e-commerce, but social media is steadily rising up to the game.
Sooner or later, we may find a completely new method of online advertising, but for now, social media
is the ultimate trend and it isn’t going anywhere. This past year, platforms have tended to skyrocket in
popularity to stand on their own, get enough attention to be acquired by one of the big three
(Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn), or die a quick death. In 2016, I expect we’ll see fewer
small platforms as the big players race but maybe with a stronger, wiser niche
strategy.

6. 4. Interactive Live Content hypes up.
In-the-moment social sharing gains even more power.
In 2016, the obsession with live-streaming and live social will continue, especially
as Snapchat adds new features, Periscope spawns competitors, and VR
technology becomes more mainstream, GIFs & UGC videos make social media a
moving thing with every post or even profile picture on Facebook.
More and more, social apps will aim to put the user at an event—virtually--as
much as possible. Facebook is still great, but it can’t provide the kind of in-the-
moment content that live-streaming apps can.
Social media is already “in-the-moment” by nature, but there are some posts that
are more “in-the-moment” than others. Periscope users collectively watch 40
years of live video each and every day. Instagram and Snapchat also support on-
the-go, in-the-moment updates as opposed to late-game retrospectives, and
could collectively herald in a new era of immediacy in social media, for brands and
users.

7. 5. Innovated publishing platforms will move towards
more story-building & co-creation
Speaking of Facebook, their Instant Articles will be a feature to watch in 2016, as
they set out to make a major mark in online publishing. Social apps will scurry to
keep up, as every platform is angling to not only acquire customers, but keep
them. Nothing keeps a user on your site longer than having a continuously
updated stream of published content.
Twitter’s upcoming Project Lightning puts publication in the hands of its users, but
it still represents a dynamic way to present material to the public.
Instagram is rapidly growing its share of video and had changed his policy on
photo and video formats.
Linkedin’s Articles & Job publishing dedicated platforms are on the rise, being
pushed by the network in front of external similar contents, much like Facebook
videos are driving in the war against Youtube.

8. 6. Buy buttons will take over. Selling must become a real
things in social media.
Facebook and Pinterest are just two of the platforms that gained attention this
year by introducing new “buy” features for their advertisers and users. Mobile
users of Facebook and Pinterest who see a product they like in a sponsored post
can now use one click to purchase it, without ever leaving the app. Instagram isn’t
far behind on the trend, and I imagine more social platforms will follow. By the
end of 2016, most major social media brands will feature some kind of buy button
naturally as an element of their advertising campaigns.

9. 7. In-app functionality will diversify and spread.
Facebook is the king of adding new functionality. In the past year, they’ve
introduced Instant Articles (a new form of publishing), an in-post search engine
(to find articles you’re referencing), and videos that play instantly when scrolling.
Now, they’re developing their own digital assistant (though it’s technically a
digital/human hybrid assistant). Other platforms are working similarly, with
Twitter, Instagram, and others trying to expand their platforms to a similar degree,
preventing users from ever leaving the app. Expect this trend to continue well into
2016, giving marketers ever more opportunities to engage with their audiences on
one platform.

10. 8. Competition for organic visibility will increase.
Finally, as the ROI of social media marketing becomes more established and social
marketing itself becomes more accessible for a wider range of businesses, there
will be a greater level of competition for organic visibility. Already, Facebook is
throttling organic visibility to force people to buy advertising, and as more
businesses emerge in the market, that throttle will only increase, and among
more social media channels. The cost of advertising, too, is set to rise over the
course of the next year.
Thus, the user-generated content and shared-by-users content will be one of the
best bets to play on in 2016, in terms of content.

11. 9. Mobile & ecommerce stay on the rise
With Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook introducing Buy buttons, expect to see
other apps (Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, etc) and new apps focus on making mobile
and social commerce seamless. In-app innovation geared towards online shopping
will likely be top of mind for anyone in tech, and will be exciting to watch, at least
for social marketers.
This means that the bridge between social media marketing and sales gets more
traffic on it. And more importantly, that social media-buying will rapidly become
a habit for consumers and thus, a must in the marketing plan.

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