2018 Social Media Trends from Top Marketers

10 of Spredfast’s brightest customers on

2018’s social media trends.
We asked 10 Spredfast customers—from household brands like National
Geographic, PepsiCo, and ESPN, to name a few— a simple question:
what will happen with social media in 2018? What challenges do they
expect to face during the year, and how will their teams solve them?
What trends are on the horizon—and which ones are on the way out?
Knowing how to pivot your strategy involves first and foremost knowing
where the industry itself is headed. Read on for 10 big ideas about
marketing, technology, content, and strategy to inform your campaign
and social media marketing planning all year.
MARKETING Trends

“I think we’re only just beginning to fully take advantage

of opportunities to connect social media directly
to sales. Whether deploying chatbots on Facebook
Messenger, leveraging buyable pins on Pinterest, or
tapping into the power of Instagram influencers, social
marketers will have more resources than ever this year
to create personalized and scalable campaigns that
drive commerce and measurable business results.”

Mitzi Emrich | Senior Digital Strategist

SIRIUS XM

“2018 presents an interesting time where the digital and

physical worlds will really and truly collide. With so
many data points across digital platforms and physical
interfaces, it’s time to put the pieces together and really
know our customers. It’s a big challenge to wrangle all that
data, but it enables us to communicate with people in the
way that fits their lifestyle and their preferences. It also
allows us to develop smarter social attribution models that
don’t stop with a simple click.”

Allison Zarrella | Executive Director of Social Media & Content

THE VENETIAN AND THE PALAZZO

“This year we’re all working on weaving together

online and offline experiences to give our fans a
way to participate in what our brands stand for. I
believe that people are craving a sense of belonging
and are eager to connect to the world around them.”

Rachel Webber | EVP of Digital Product

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
TECHNOLOGY Trends

“This year, IoT will give way to AIoT: The Internet of Things has paved the
way for the Artificial Intelligence of everyThing. AI is here to convert data
into business value. There isn’t a customer touchpoint where it won’t have
an application; from bots addressing customer care issues to verbal search
on your website to customized content generation based on your past
behaviors. Infinite possibilities mean that marketers need to be smarter.
Success won’t come from dreaming up new ideas, but rather disciplined
innovation where you do the things that matter.”

Lauren McCadney Williams | Director of Marketing Delivery

CDW CORPORATION

“I see three major things impacting digital and social in 2018 but they all come
under the concept of privacy and technology. First, as marketers the impact of
the EU GDPR is, I believe, not fully yet understood by all marketers. This may and
will have large scale impact well beyond marketing but in areas like digital and
social, it will most likely have major impact. Connected to this is the continued
growth of fraud, driven by both the technological arms race to capture or defend
(the legitimate) views of advertising. Both of these areas and more, over the
longer term, will have impact on the current anonymity of the internet. That,
combined with the desires for privacy, will put digital and social media work in
the sights of many competing agendas, organizations, and governments.

On the flip side, with every challenge comes a new opportunity and we’ll
have these in spades throughout the year. Marketers who partner with their
legal teams will reap the benefits of their insights, especially if both work to
understand each other’s challenges. Fraud is an ongoing concern that continues
to push marketers to look to different platforms, like social, which allow a
different interaction, and one that is more meaningful.”

Chris Miller | Divisional VP of Global Brand Strategy

ABBOTT

“We’re really excited about automation, AI, and bots. We launched the Live
Nation concert finder bot in September 2017. The bot allows you to easily see
what shows are coming up near you next, or search by artist, or share shows
with your friends and easily purchase tickets—all within Facebook Messenger.
So, that’s been a really exciting and a very effective tool for us to market our
shows with. I think we’ll continue to see more opportunities with bots and
automation throughout the year. We’re interested in AI—and exploring some
opportunities with AI—and I think a lot of brands will become a lot more active
in the AI space, as well as with Messenger and bots.”

Tim Carr | Head of Social Marketing

LIVE NATION CONCERTS
CONTENT Trends

“The big thing to watch this year is how brands put

social first. Social has been an amplification tool, but
it’s never been the driving force. People are consuming
media more on their phone than they are sitting on
their couch. They can seek out the type of content that
they want versus what is programmed at a given hour.
So this year I think we’ll see more short-form content
and livestreaming where users can talk to each other
while watching.”

Jennifer Howard | Director of Strategy & Business Development

ESPN

It’s time to put the data pieces together

and really know our customers. -Alison Zarrella

“When used appropriately, all of the social media

platforms can actually benefit your business a lot. But
I think the idea of one size fits all, all the time, for
every brand does not work—and is not the approach
we have at PepsiCo. You have to understand what is
the consumer looking for, and you have to understand
what the platform is for. I don’t think Snapchat is
phasing out, really. But it’s very playful—so if you’re
trying to treat Snapchat as Google, as YouTube, or as
Facebook, then you’re definitely not going to see a
benefit. All the platforms have a value if you know
what the consumer is looking for and if you find the
right way and the right time to use them.”

Ana Maria Henao | Regional Senior Marketing Director - Digital Marketing

PEPSICO
STRATEGY Trends

“Mixed Reality! Just kidding. Actually, if I were to capture a theme

for 2018, it’s the rise of the consumer activist. And we really
need to contextualize what activism means, because it’s not just
about what customers think about what your brand stands for
or not. It’s the willingness and ability to take action—to speak up,
make a choice, defend, boycott, support, etc. Activist consumers
aren’t just the vocal minority anymore. They are increasing in
numbers and know the power they have. In the coming year,
brands should be focused on creating customer advocates from
activists to ensure their long-term viability.”

David Armano | Global Strategy Director

ARITZIA

Infinite possibilites mean that marketers will

need to be smarter. -Lauren McCadney Williams

“In 2018 and beyond, we all must have a long-term strategy

on moving investment dollars away from search
marketing. I know it’s aspirational, but SEM doesn’t cut
it from a consumer experience standpoint. As we all
demand better digital vertical experiences from search
to transaction, the best companies will be investing in
product-based experiences and social amplifications of
those experiences to drive-long term traffic and value.”

Neeraj Gunsagar | Chief Marketing Officer

TRUECAR

Now that you know what lies ahead, are you ready to dive into your strategy today and
shift accordingly? We wrote the Social Media Pocket Guide to help marketers
meet the four most common social media objectives—and packed it with fresh
strategy inspiration from 15 different global brands and media properties.

Download it Here