Social media has gained immense popularity in the last eighteen months. Because of this, it has become vital to take advantage of social media trends if you want to remain competitive in today’s market. Today, I’m letting you in on four current social media trends that will change the way you market to your customers.

#1 – Baby Boomers Are on Social Media

Are you still ignoring baby boomers on social media with your digital marketing campaigns? Well, you shouldn’t be because the use of social media by this generation is at an all-time high. Thanks to the pandemic, this year has seen an increase in social media use by people aged 57 to 75. Because they’ve been stuck at home, baby boomers have adopted technology and gotten more active on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even TikTok. This is according to research by HootSuite and Investopedia.

Baby boomers have also become more apt to use online shopping platforms. Studies found that 70 percent of baby boomers bought items online in the past month. We also found that 66 percent of baby boomers purchased items through social media platforms. That’s a big market to tap into with the right digital marketing strategy.

If you are still ignoring baby boomers in your digital marketing campaigns, then you may be missing out on sales. Our team of experts can help you adapt your campaigns to tap into this large and growing audience.

#2 – Social Listening Is Key

If you haven’t already, consider taking your social listening up a notch. What we mean by social listening is monitoring your various social media channels for brand feedback and mentions. You may also tune in to discussions that contain keywords that align with your brand or relate to your product and service offerings.

Many customers today expect a rapid response when it comes to customer service and customer support. This is especially true with most customers being at home with limited opportunities for contact. In a lot of cases, customers are sending their queries through social media platforms, so you need to be tuned in to respond to them quickly when they reach out. They may do this by direct message or in your page comments, so keep an eye on both. 

You should also be paying attention to comments on competitors’ pages so you can act preemptively on the needs of customers and new prospects. We also recommend you tune in to channels that will provide you with data on industry trends. At Tulip Media, we can set you up with tools for social listening that will send notifications directly to your phone or computer and take the hassle out of staying on top of all these platforms.

#3 – Time to Recover Lost Clients

Most businesses lost clients during the pandemic, but it’s time to get them back. Social media is a powerful tool for client recovery. Laser-targeted advertising on social media platforms will deliver a short-term return on your investment by rapidly rebuilding the community around your brand. 

The secret here is to ensure your ads are narrowly targeted to very particular audiences. This will drive the connection between you and your clients because you both have something in common and you want to make your company a shared point of interest.

If you need help defining the target audiences that will be most effective in recuperating lost sales and forming connections around your brand, talk to our team of marketing specialists today.

#4 – Heed the iOS 14.5 Update

Apple noticed that some applications had built-in trackers that were designed to take more data than was needed by the app for the purpose of sharing the data with third parties, like advertisers and data brokers. In response, Apple recently updated its software with a new feature called app tracking transparency. This new feature requires apps to get user permission before sharing their activity and data with third parties. 

This affects your targeted advertising campaigns because Apple users can now opt-out of being tracked for marketing purposes. Facebook and Instagram are trying to navigate this update with a new conversion tool, but nothing has been released yet.

Keep an eye on this trend and be mindful of what it means for your marketing campaigns. If you are currently running a SMarketing program with Tulip, ask us how we’re modifying your campaigns to respond to this update.