Hootsuite Founder Offers Top Social Media Trends To Watch In 2016 While Partnering With Smarsh To Launch Social Media Compliance Guide

Ryan Holmes, the chief executive officer for Hootsuite, unveiled his social media predictions for 2016. In a blog post he wrote on LinkedIn, he outlined five predictions for this year. A Canadian computer programmer, Holmes released his popular social media management tool in 2008.

Smart Company reported Holmes’ five social media predictions for 2016. The first trend to expect is virtual reality in social media. Facebook purchased the company Oculus back in 2014 and will be leading the way in the development of virtual reality. Facebook combined the Oculus technology into its 360 video. What these videos allow users to do is to have a more immersive experience with the videos in their newsfeeds by viewing them from different angles.

As previously reported in Inquisitr, one of the most important developing marketing trends will be virtual reality. These new technologies will give businesses more ways to grow and will also mean a greater need for cybersecurity to protect businesses from attacks. Businesses will need to adapt to these new technologies in order stay on the cutting edge of the technology.

Mobile marketing will also have a big influence on social media marketing trends, since there are five times as many mobile phones now as there are computers. Marketers will have the option of using mobile apps on their mobile phones and tablets to conduct their social marketing.

Social media is constantly changing and the way you think about it needs to change with it: https://t.co/HX5tM9I5j4 pic.twitter.com/FqERdvLZ1Q

— Hootsuite (@hootsuite) February 3, 2016

Other social media marketing trends the Hootsuite CEO unveiled included the ability to shop for color and style options on social pins through Pinterest. Shoppers can already shop on platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter because of buy buttons that are now added to the content.

Live streaming of video will become more popular because Facebook is now partnering with brands to offer more video. Some mobile phone companies are allowing free streaming of videos on their devices, and data packages are larger and much more liberal.

Facebook also launched Messenger Business, which allows companies to provide better customer service. Customers may also contact businesses through Twitter without having to follow the businesses, and there’s no 140 character limit on customers communicating with businesses, making it easier to connect. With so many opportunities to connect with customers and businesses, there will be a greater need for more social media training to bridge the gap.

Don’t let Google Analytics scare you: https://t.co/rgnTEi3jp2 A 6-step guide to tracking social media pic.twitter.com/qvNeHRI5qA

— Hootsuite (@hootsuite) January 28, 2016

According to Professional Advisor, Hootsuite and Smarsh partnered to create a social media and archiving guide for financial service businesses. The purpose of the guide is to teach businesses how to manage their brands, engage customers and maintain compliance. The white paper also explains how companies can implement an archiving solution based on requirements that were first introduced in Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and then later finalized in a guide called Social Media and Customer Communications.

Smarsh director of marketing EMEA Anna Carless said that companies need to understand how to use both technology and social media marketing.

“Today’s adviser businesses rely increasingly on social media to help them achieve their business development goals and compliance now, more than ever, needs to be at the forefront of all this activity. Advisers need to understand how they can best use the technology available to grow their business and effectively supervise and retain social media records, without adding to workloads.”

Hootsuite and Smarsh have made the guide available for free, and it is meant to be a starting point in helping to create an educated workforce that is savvy in social media because social media posts aren’t static. Companies must engage with their customers and engaging posts will help companies to get customers more engaged by providing content customers want and need.

[Photo by Hootsuite]