Just in case social media wasn’t ubiquitous enough, June 30 is now Social Media Day. Started by Mashable in 2010 as a celebration of the ways in which online communications has impacted our everyday lives, the annual "holiday" has steadily gained traction on the networks it honors.
Celebrating something like social media may sound a little strange to some (certainly not PR pros), but the reality is that social media played a central role in some of the most important events in recent history. These days news rarely happens without it, and everything from the arts to political organization would be devastatingly different in its absence.
That’s not to say that social media doesn’t have its dark moments or is the alpha and omega of the human experience. But following the hashtags across the social spectrum today, you’ll find mostly outpourings of joy and appreciation for all the things social offers its users.
Social Media Day no doubt holds a special place in the hearts of communicators. Few industries or disciplines have such an intimate relationship with the digital phenomenon. Being that the field tends to attract perennial early adopters, PR pros have had a ringside seat to the whirlwind that is the overnight rise and fall of countless social networks. Remember how Meerkat brought in the live video revolution only to fade into obscurity with the launch of Periscope and Facebook Live?
The darlings of the annual SXSW festival may come and go, but every now and then an app will stay relevant enough to join the major players at the top of social’s Mount Olympus. The most recent social media network to do this is the much-loved—but largely underutilized by brands—Snapchat.
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It’s high time that brands fully embrace the platform. Snapchat boasts an ever-increasing user count, incredible video viewing numbers and immersive chat functions that add up to a truly unique tool for connecting with audiences. But it’s been a long road to this point for the company.
OK, so Snapchat has made the grade. This leads us to...the next Snapchat.
To celebrate Social Media Day, PR News looked to the future and compiled this list of emerging apps and technologies PR pros should keep an eye on. Then again, maybe nothing on this list will be around for next year's Social Media Day.
musical.ly
What seems like a lip-syncing and music video creation app on the surface is in reality so much more. It’s quickly become one of the most downloaded apps across Android and iOS. The app has an incredibly active following of 95 million users around the world. The mainly teenage audience posts everything from music videos to comedy skits and can follow and interact with each other. One popular feature that brands should check out is contests on the platform. Organizations could potentially call out to "musers," which is what users of the app are called, to submit content to win prizes. Contests and games have already proven a successful tactic on other social networks like Snapchat and Instagram, so why not musical.ly too?
Line/Kik/WeChat/Facebook Messenger
Messaging apps have been around for a while and continue to enjoy an incredible amount of popularity. People around the globe turn to them as cheap and easy ways to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. But it’s only in recent years—and in some cases, months—that they've really became viable for enterprising brands. Chat bots and the integration of services like e-commerce and travel booking are increasingly making this area ripe for branded communications. The technology may not be perfect yet, but depending on which of the big players in this field comes out victorious, messaging apps could revolutionize the way that individuals interact with brands, not to mention how communicators strategically engage audiences.
YouTube Live/Facebook Live/Periscope/live.ly
There's no question that video is king on social media. At this point, brands that aren’t using video on social are missing out on increased engagement and bigger audiences. Though video isn’t going anywhere, live streams promise to overtake pre-produced video in the coming years. Each of the big social platforms, including Google’s YouTube, is racing to create the best user experience for live content. It was recently revealed that Facebook is paying celebrities and media companies to produce high-quality content on its platform, while upstart musical.ly’s live.ly just hosted a breakout success for media company Young Hollywood that drew more than 500,000 viewers and 13 million likes in five hours. Even though live video has its downsides, brands that embrace this emerging trend have the opportunity to captivate huge, highly engaged audiences.
The next Snapchat is...Snapchat?
With its rapidly expanding list of features and redesign, Snapchat is showing signs that it’s planning to become as brand-friendly as Facebook and Twitter. With rumors of native analytics features and verified profiles swirling, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Snapchat takes its rightful place next to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at the top of the digital communications food chain.
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