In this presentation I gave at Social Media Breakfast-Minneapolis/St. Paul, I take on glut of "social media trend" posts we see each year, and instead offer up more realistic social trends you can actually ACT on in 2017.

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9 Social MediaTrends
to Watch in 2017
Arik C. Hanson
ACH Communications
January 27, 2017
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ABOUT ARIK
• 20+ years experience;
solo since 2009;
@arikhanson
• Blogger, podcaster,
e-newsletter maker, board
member, event organizer
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SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS!!!!
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IT’S NOT ALL GARBAGE
Just 95% of it.
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TODAY:
• Hit on 9 ”trend du jours”
• Suggest 9 more realistic trends to capitalize
on in 2017
• And WHY they’re actual trends that might impact
your work in the year ahead
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6. ACHACH
#1 Trend du jour:
Organic reach is officially dead.
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But realistically…
Less is the new more
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84 Facebook posts…in ALL of 2016
21 posts in December
6 posts in November
6 posts in October
5 posts in September
6 posts in August
2 posts in July
12 posts in June
0 posts in May
4 posts in April
9 posts in March
8 posts in February
5 posts in January
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44 Facebook posts…in ALL of 2016
1 post in December
2 posts in November
0 posts in October
1 post in September
4 posts in August
6 posts in July
5 posts in June
2 posts in May
5 posts in April
3 posts in March
8 posts in February
7 posts in January
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Just 22 Instagram posts…in ALL of 2016
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WHY?
• Increased and proven-effective and efficient
advertising options
• More time to focus on better creative
• Opportunity to jump off the volume-driven content
marketing bandwagon
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13. ACHACH
#2 Trend du jour:
2017 is THE year for VR/AR!
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14. ACHACH
But realistically…
Using more “immersive” video is more
probable in 2017 for most brands
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WHY?
• Audience adoption of VR/AR still not quite there
• Is the “Glasshole” effect still in play (just a little)?
• Brands still learning to embrace live and 360 video.
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16. ACHACH
Use live social video to educate
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Use live social video to broadcast
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Use live social video as a traffic driver
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Holy “engagement” Bat-man!
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Store traffic = Holy Grail
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360 video simulating VR
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#3 Trend du jour:
EMOJIS! EMOJIS! EMOJIS!
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Sure, emojis work every once in a while…
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But brand emoji over-saturation is
upon us.
• 59% of top brands tweeted using an emoji in
Q4 2015
• 40% of top brands posted on Facebook using
an emoji in Q4 2015
• 775% increase in emoji usage in marketing
messages
• Brands sent 145 million emoji messages in
June 2015
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And this is usually the result.
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So, realistically…
Using long-form content on short-form
channels is often a more effective
storytelling tool
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WHY?
• The “snackable content” myth
• Not every brand should be using poop emojis
• People don’t bristle at reading more in-app
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#4 Trend du jour:
LinkedIn Publishing for thought leadership
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Not saying that’s a bad idea, but…

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Instead, I’d consider…
Using LinkedIn Publishing to help close the
ever-widening chasm between employees
and company leaders
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WHY?
• Exec/employee gap has never been wider (in pay,
comms channels)
• Employees frequently tune out corporate
communications channels (sorry internal comms
friends!)
• Surprisingly, it may be easier to cut through clutter
on LinkedIn than employee email
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Why will more leaders start using
LinkedIn Publishing to close the gap?
• LinkedIn still THE professional social network.
• Little competition—especially among executive suite
• Won’t generate reach of Facebook, but will reach
the RIGHT audience.
• Appears more “human” than other corporate
communications channels.
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37. ACHACH
#5 Trend du jour:
Employee social advocacy programs
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But, new Gallup poll says…
• 41% of employees don’t know what differentiates
their company’s brand
• 26% of U.S. workers feel their organization doesn’t
always deliver on the promises they make to
customers
• 71% of Millennials are not engaged or actively
disengaged at work.
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39. ACHACH
So, realistically…
Refining and evolving “Employer Brand
Social” will provide more value in the
long run
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• Consider…
* Companies with a strong employer brand have a
3X more applicants per job post on LinkedIn
* 69% of job seekers would not take a job with a
company with a bad reputation even if they were
unemployed
* Companies with a strong employer brand have a
28% lower turnover rate than peers with weaker
employer brands
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WHY?
• Business need—Economy is relatively strong +
Age of the job seeker
• Millennial and Gen Z job search strategies are
changing (as are Gen X and Y)
• Many HR teams running these channels now (and
it’s not working so well—time to get involved
PR/marketing friends!)
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#6 Trend du jour:
Engaging influencers to extend brand reach
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But also consider…
Engaging influencers as freelance
creatives to develop break-through,
interactive creative assets
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WHY?
• Breaking news: Creative is expensive
• Who has a better feel for your target audience: An
influencer or your ad agency?
• Who has a better grasp of interactive and immersive
media: An influencer or your ad agency?
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47. ACHACH
Case in point
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Case in point…part deux

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Content for web site
Content for reach
Content for social

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#7 Trend du jour:
Social media consolidation
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But…
The slow, painful death of engagement
(and maybe an entire platform) is just as
likely--and you should be adjusting
appropriately
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Why is engagement (slowly) dying?
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An increasing number of brands aren’t
interested in engaging with fans
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Media is actually ignoring
engagement altogether.
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Comments/Shares tougher to come by
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And Twitter is slowly dying, too.
• Twitter increasingly not a safe place for users.
• It’s still not an easy place for new users.
• It’s not nearly the engagement tool it once was for
brands (now more of a media/celebrity tool).
• It’s almost a confirmed non-traffic driver at this point
for brands.
• Question #1: Are you spending time on the *right*
platforms?
• Question #2: Have you conducted an audit recently?
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#8 Trend du jour:
Snap Spectacles and POV marketing!
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I mean, this was pretty cool, State of Hockey...

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But realistically…
Utilizing expanding ad options on Pinterest
could be a bigger game-changer for more
brands (and it’s much more measurable!)
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Consider the facts:
• Pinterest = second largest social media driver of
retail e-commerce traffic
• 55% of U.S. Pinterest users shopped for products -
more than on any other social network
• Promoted Pins are driving double-digit “lift” across
the funnel

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WHY?
• Pinterest is an extremely underrated traffic driver
(remember the holy trinity of social metrics?)
• More applicable for more companies in 2017: Snap
Spectacles or spending $500 to promote a Pin?
• More applicable for more companies in 2017: An
active Snapchat account, or an active Pinterest
page?
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#9 Trend du jour:
The rise of the Chatbots!
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“Chatbots offer flexibility in order to automate tasks,
and assist in retrieving data. They are becoming a vital
way to enhance the consumer experience for the
purpose of better customer service and growing
interaction.” – Unnamed Social Media Guru
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65. ACHACH
But maybe…
The pendulum is on the verge of swinging
way back from uber-automation to more
personal, authentic content
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The environment is ripe…
• The advent of fake news
• Trust is down across the board
(See: Edelman Trust Barometer)
• “Content shock”
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So, what does more authentic content
look like?
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More “social ready” imagery

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More live video

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More straight talk from executives

71. ACHACH
9 Social Media Trends
• #1: Less is the new more
• #2: More immersive video more common
• #3: Long-form content on short-form channels
• #4: LinkedIn Publishing to close employee-exec gap
• #5: Refining Employer Brand Social
• #6: Engaging influencers as freelance creatives
• #7: Prepare for the Twitter exodus (and death of
engagement)
• #8: More Pinterest—less Snapchat
• #9: Pendulum will swing back to more authentic content
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72. ACHACH
@arikhanson
arik@arikhanson.com
arikhanson.com (sign up for Talking Points)
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